If we are to be and do our best as members of a Church Safety Ministry, we must know what we are to do and how. This knowledge should also inform our attitudes. This means we are to listen, read, and study to equip our minds for safety & security.

The key role of a Church Safety Ministry is to protect the church’s members and guests. We try to do this in a way that does not interfere with the church’s ministry unless absolutely necessary. This means that the Holiday Season is a time of extra work for the Safety Team in order to keep the flock safe and able to enjoy and be blessed by the programs and activities of the season.

It is not only Safety Team members who need to know how to engage an active killer. Congregational members also should know they CAN fight back.

For a dozen years, now, there has been an increase in deadly force attacks on churches and other places of worship in the United States. During an attack, hiding is one of the defensive choices. In a school, office, or church, the room you are in may be the best hiding place.

Christian churches are targeted more with each passing year. Whereas criminals once hesitated to break into a church, let alone attack it, now they are more emboldened to target places of worship, not just for theft, but for vandalism, arson, and massacre. Since we are at odds with the viewpoint of the world around us, attacks are to be expected.

Getting people out of a building in an emergency may be easy for small churches, but more difficult for larger ones. Evacuation can become chaos with the potential of tragic results. Orderly and safe evacuations do not just happen. They are planned. The routes should be kept ready at all times. Everyone needs to know what to do and practice it.

We can be diligently working to prevent fires in the church, but what if one starts anyway? How a fire may be suppressed depends on how the building is equipped and what firefighting tools are available. Not only can fires be extinguished by people, they can also be put out by installed fire suppression systems.

Fire protection begins with fire prevention. This also means putting up roadblocks for fires that do start. This is just as important in churches and other places of worship as it is in homes, businesses, schools, and public buildings.

Every fire is either controlled or uncontrolled. Uncontrolled fire is destructive, even fearsome. Understanding what fire is, how it starts, and how it can be quenched is the key to knowing how to control it.

We are to be stewards (trustees and property managers) for God. This means that we are to use our assets (including the church’s assets) carefully and wisely. Wise use of resources includes accountability and protection.