A recent and shocking discovery was made when several church security instructors talked about their experiences with churches that they have provided security instruction or audits for during the past three years.

Mark Carruthers, a respected retired law enforcement officer and security instructo,r and Rick McCann, also a law enforcement professional and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Private Officer International and Armour College jointly discovered that during their church security assessments and training events that most churches were not prepared for even the smallest incident involving violence and that even more shocking, there is still almost no training that is being undertaken by the church security teams including those who carry firearms.

Carruthers and McCann both stated that they frequently find that churches are in a hurry to provide some level of security for their places of worship and are slapping together volunteer church security teams comprised of willing members, most who have little to no experience in security, law enforcement or the law.

On a recent security audit of a church in Georgia, Carruthers found nine security team members packing weapons and that only two of the security staff had participated in any formal firearms instruction. A very scary thing Mark stated.

Both instructors and other members of their training teams have also noted that some churches much like nightclubs and other businesses have begun using terms such as “safety” teams, “staff” and words that deflect the notion that they are part of an organized “security” team.

These practices by private businesses and churches are used intentionally to avoid certain licensing, training and insurance requirements McCann said. This is very deceptive as the duties and purposes of those members are the same regardless of what titles the churches have given them. Carruthers agreed.

Other deficiencies during church audits have found improper lockdown procedures, a lack of locking devices to secure classrooms, offices or safety rooms and improper or no insurance coverage specifically written for the church security team members.

Caruthers pointed out that under most state laws, workers compensation coverage is mandatory for all employees and in some states, coverage is to include volunteers and independent contractors. Even if your state does not mandate this type of coverage for volunteers, it’s the right thing to do.

McCann and Carruthers say that they have found that seventy four percent of churches either lack security, proper security team training, the right type of insurance coverage to protect the security team members and the church or a combination of all three.

Churches must stop thinking that it’s never going to happen to them or that they don’t have to prepare because God will handle whatever comes their way. The scriptures clearly show that it’s up to us to be the watchmen and to be vigilant at all times Carruthers stated.