Securing the Sanctuary-Christian Warrior Training

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Saturday night in Washington, D.C., a 31-year-old man named Cole Tomas Allen tried to walk into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. He charged the Secret Service checkpoint, opened fire, and put a round into a federal agent’s chest plate. The agent survived because he was wearing his vest. Allen was tackled, handcuffed, and is now in custody.

The President and First Lady were inside that ballroom. So were members of the Cabinet, senators, and journalists. Allen wanted them. He did not get them. He got stopped at the door.

Let’s set the politics and press coverage aside. The Hilton was a hard target with professional security at the entry point. Allen was a determined lone actor and the team at the door shut him down. That is what your team is supposed to do at your church on Sunday morning. The reason this matters for every church in America is what Allen would have done if that checkpoint had not been there.

The Shooter

Allen is from Torrance, California. He has no criminal record. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from Caltech in 2017 and a master’s in computer science from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2025. He worked the past six years as a tutor at C2 Education and was named Teacher of the Month in December 2024. He looked like a quiet, employed young man. No flags.

He legally bought a .38 semiautomatic pistol in October 2023 and a 12-gauge shotgun in August 2025. He stored both at his parents’ house without their knowledge. His sister told federal investigators he had been making increasingly radical statements over the last several months, talking about doing “something” about the issues in today’s world. He trained at the range regularly. None of his coworkers, students, or parents saw it coming. Before the attack he sent a written manifesto to family. His brother in Connecticut called New London PD. The warning came in minutes before he charged the checkpoint.

Federal law enforcement and the President publicly confirmed Sunday that Allen’s social media accounts contained anti-Christian rhetoric, and that his writings reflected what the President called a “religious” motive that was “strongly anti-Christian.” The specific posts have not been released yet.

There is one detail in this profile that I want every pastor and youth ministry leader in America to read twice. During his undergraduate years at Caltech, Cole Allen was listed as a member of a Christian fellowship group on campus. He sat in those rooms. Somewhere between 2017 and Saturday night, that young man’s heart turned far enough that he loaded a shotgun and drove across the country to kill people he believed were the enemy. We will come back to that.

Why This Matters for Your Church

The Washington Hilton on Saturday night was a hard target. Magnetometers at the door. Secret Service inside and outside. Local police, federal agents, K-9 teams. Allen still tried it because the President was inside. He did not succeed because the team at the door did its job.

Now think about a lone actor with the same hatred Allen had who does not have the appetite to charge a Secret Service line. He looks at the federal building downtown. He looks at the Hilton. Then he looks at the small Baptist church on the corner with two greeters at the door, the parking lot wide open, and the front doors propped during the service. He picks the church.

That is the operational logic of every lone wolf attack we have studied. A hard target pushes the threat to a softer one. The threat does not go away. It moves. A man willing to die rushing the President’s security detail Saturday night is a man willing to walk into a worship service Sunday morning and not stop until the magazine runs dry. The team at the door is what stands between him and that morning.

The Lord told us this directly. “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16, ESV) Wisdom and watchfulness are not optional for the people of God. They are commanded.

The Pipeline Pointing at Us

For more than a year on this platform we have documented left-leaning influencers, podcasters, and online voices openly calling on lone actors to target churches instead of regular Americans. The framing is always some version of the same instruction. Don’t hurt regular people. Hurt the Christians, the conservatives, the politicians. The message is published. The audience is real.

That message is operationally identical to the lone wolf doctrine ISIS publishes in al-Naba and pushes through its supporter networks. Different ideology. Same instruction. Same target. Pick the soft target. Pick the symbolic target. Pick the people who will not fight back. Both pipelines now point at the same buildings, and yours is one of them.

Cole Allen attended a “No Kings” rally earlier this year and family identified him as a member of a group called The Wide Awakes. He spent his radicalization online, in the same digital space where the church-as-target message circulates daily. We may never see the specific posts that pushed him over the line. We already know the soil he grew in.

The Insider and the Young Believer

This is the section I want every pastor reading this article to take to his next staff meeting.

Cole Allen was once part of a Christian fellowship group. He was in our world. Then somewhere along the way he was pulled into nihilism, political rage, and hatred deep enough to put a gun in his hand. That did not happen overnight. It happened over years, in lonely hours, in his social media feeds, while no one in his church world was watching for it.

The insider threat to the American church is not always the visitor at the door. Sometimes it is the young man who used to come on Sunday and stopped, and nobody followed up. The young woman whose worldview hardened semester by semester at college and her parents thought it was a phase. The teenager who is six hours a day on platforms designed to feed him rage and despair, and whose youth pastor is one of three adults in his life with the standing to ask hard questions.

Our youth ministry leaders need training. Not retreat-planning training. Training in how to recognize the early signs of ideological capture in a young believer. Sudden shifts in language and worldview. Withdrawal from fellowship. New online identities. Dark humor about violence. Contempt for the church they grew up in. Following voices online that tell them the system has to burn. These are warning signs and they are showing up earlier and louder every year.

The security team at the door is the last line. The youth pastor in the small group room is the first one. We need both. The team that watches the parking lot is doing the visible work. The leader who notices a kid drifting and walks toward him with the gospel is doing the harder work, and the more important one. We are losing young people to the algorithm faster than we are reaching them with the word, and the consequences of that are no longer theoretical.

If your church does not have a youth ministry plan that addresses online radicalization, build one. If your youth leaders cannot tell you what their kids are watching, what platforms they are on, and who they are following, that is the gap. Close it.

The Lesson for the Door

A few things to take to your team this week.

The lone wolf does not announce his timing. Allen’s family had minutes of warning and only because he sent a manifesto first. Most attackers do not send one. The team on duty is the warning system.

The lone wolf picks the soft target. If your church is the softest building on the block, that math goes against you. Magnetometers are not realistic for most congregations, but visible badges, locked side doors, a posted greeter team, and a security presence in the parking lot send a message to a man scanning targets that this church will cost him.

The lone wolf studies you before he comes. If a stranger has been on your property three Sundays in a row sitting in the back, watching the room, and leaving before the sermon, your team should know about it by Sunday number two.

The lone wolf is sometimes someone we used to know. Watch the parking lot. Watch the youth lounge. Watch the kid who used to come and stopped. Stay in relationship long enough that his family or his friends would call you before they call the police.

The Word

The world this morning is loud. The political fights are pulling at the heart of every believer who watched what happened in Washington Saturday night. The temptation is to live there, in the rage and the noise, and let the next attack pull us out of joint all over again.

The Apostle Paul wrote this to Christians who lived in the middle of empire, persecution, and uncertainty. It is the right word for the church security team this Sunday morning.

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Colossians 3:1–2, ESV

We will guard the door. We will train the team. We will watch the parking lot, watch the youth lounge, and watch our brothers and sisters who are drifting toward danger. We do that work with our hands. Our minds and hearts stay set above. The Lord owns the day. We do this work because we belong to Him.

Stand at the door. Stay alert. Keep your eyes on Christ.

Did this article reach you? Share it with your pastor and your team leader. Drop a comment below. What is your church doing to train youth ministry leaders on online radicalization? We learn from each other in this space.

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I’m Coming to Florida: Christian Warrior Academy, May 2, 2026

Christian Warriors, if you are anywhere in the Southeast and you have a church security team, or you are trying to build one, I want you in Inverness, Florida on Saturday, May 2, 2026.

I am teaching a full-day Christian Warrior Training course at Cornerstone Baptist Church from 9 AM to 4 PM. This is not a meet-and-greet. This is a brain dump. Seven hours of church security work pulled from my 29 years in law enforcement, including narcotics and SWAT, and from everything I have built training teams across the country.

What We’re Covering

You are going to walk out with the framework, the doctrine, and the practical steps to go home and fix what needs fixing on your team.

We will work through recognizing pre-attack indicators before a situation turns violent. We will build out what a comprehensive church security team actually looks like, including roles, assignments, and accountability. We will go deep on access control, surveillance, and how to monitor a service without turning your church into a fortress.

We will talk through use-of-force, legal exposure, and liability, which is where most teams get themselves in trouble. We will discuss how to actually coordinate with local law enforcement so that when something happens, they are not walking in blind. And we will talk about the culture piece, because a church that feels like an airport checkpoint has lost something important.

Who Needs to Be There

Pastors. Elders. Security team leaders and members. Ushers and greeters, because they are your first line of contact. Volunteers who want to serve this way. Faith-based school staff. Ministry leaders. And any law enforcement partners who want to understand how to better support the churches in their jurisdiction.

Whether you are starting from zero or you have a team that has been running for years and needs a tune-up, you will leave with work to do and the tools to do it.

Why I’m Telling You This Directly

I do not get to the Southeast often. I am based in the western United States and my travel schedule is what it is. I do not know when I will be back in Florida to teach a full-day course like this. If you have been meaning to come to a CWT training in person, this is your chance.

I am going to make it worth your time.

The Details

Event: Christian Warrior Training - Securing Sacred Spaces Date: Saturday, May 2, 2026 Time: 9 AM to 4 PM Location: Cornerstone Baptist Church, 1100 West Highland Boulevard, Inverness, FL 34452 Host: Right To Bear Association

Registration: This will not be televised, in person only.

Use promo code CWT to attend for FREE.

Seats are limited. Register now, then make your travel plans.

Bring Your Team

If you are a team leader, do not come alone. Bring your second. Bring your whole team if you can drive in together. The training compounds when more than one person from the same team hears the same material at the same time. You will leave the parking lot already building your plan.

Nehemiah 4:9 tells us, “And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.” Prayer and preparation. Both. Always.

I will see you May 2 in Inverness.

Remember your ABCs. Always Be Carrying (seriously, I’m going to ask you what you’re carrying).

Leave a comment below if you are planning to come — I want to know who to look for. And please share this post with your pastor and your team leader. Someone in your network needs to be in that room.

Christian Warrior Training is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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I have a class coming up in the next few weeks. If you are in the general area, come join me and make your security team great again. Don’t forget to follow me on whatever social media platform you are on.

The best way to help Christian Warrior Training in its mission is to upgrade your subscription.

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I have two classes coming up in the next few weeks. If you are in the general area, come join me and make your security team great again. Don’t forget to follow me on whatever social media platform you are on.

If this roll call briefing helps you, please consider upgrading your subscription to help us protect churches everywhere.

Facebook | X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | Threads | TikTok

I have two classes coming up in the next few weeks. If you are in the general area, come join me and make your security team great again. Don’t forget to follow me on whatever social media platform you are on.

If you find this briefing helpful in defending your church, please consider a paid subscription.

Weekly Roll Call Briefing — April 3, 2026 | Paywall Removed at Condition RED

We are at Condition RED heading into Easter weekend, and this week’s Weekly Roll Call Briefing reflects it.

The briefing covers active IS targeting of churches confirmed in the 2026 DNI Annual Threat Assessment, Iran-linked attacks on Jewish institutions already underway in Europe, a 16-year-old arrested in the UK with a suicide vest and homemade explosives, weaponized commercial drones in active cartel use, and eight violent incidents against churches across the United States this week including a deacon beaten nearly to death and an Easter Sunday shooting threat against a Black congregation in Florida. The Training Focus this week is securing outdoor events and baptisms, with Easter sunrise services and public gatherings directly in view.

The Roll Call Briefing is ordinarily part of the paid subscriber package. While we are at Condition RED, we are removing the paywall. Your safety team leader needs this information in hand before Sunday, and that matters more than the subscription wall right now.

We removed the paywall during the current increased threat level. Paid subscriptions make all of this possible. Please consider upgrading to paid.

The infographics for this week’s training are below for your use.

Paywall note: I removed the paywall on this week’s Roll Call Briefing because of the current situation with Iran and the elevated threat environment for churches. I want every church to have access to this information.

This post includes a video of me delivering the briefing, plus the downloadable PDF below. Use whichever works best for your team: watch the video together, review the PDF together, or do both.

Normally, this weekly roll call briefing is an added benefit for paid subscribers. Most of this information is available across the site, I’m simply packaging it in one place to make it easy for Safety Ministry leaders to brief their teams. I will not put critical intelligence behind a paywall. We also provide free training to churches, you can access it anytime by using the Training link above.

DON’T FORGET TO JOIN OUR WARRIOR BIBLE STUDY EACH WEEK. SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THEM BY EMAIL.

INFOGRAPHICS👇

We removed the paywall during the current increased threat level. Paid subscriptions help us keep Christian Warrior running.

The infographics for this week’s training are below for your use.

Paywall note: I removed the paywall on this week’s Roll Call Briefing because of the current situation with Iran and the elevated threat environment for churches. I want every church to have access to this information.

This post includes a video of me delivering the briefing, plus the downloadable PDF below. Use whichever works best for your team: watch the video together, review the PDF together, or do both.

Normally, this weekly roll call briefing is an added benefit for paid subscribers. Most of this information is available across the site, I’m simply packaging it in one place to make it easy for Safety Ministry leaders to brief their teams. I will not put critical intelligence behind a paywall. We also provide free training to churches, you can access it anytime by using the Training link above.

DON’T FORGET TO JOIN OUR WARRIOR BIBLE STUDY EACH WEEK. SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THEM BY EMAIL.

INFOGRAPHICS👇

If this assessment helped you, please consider a paid subscription. It helps us in our mission to protect churches.

Attack at Michigan Synagogue: What Churches Should Learn From Today’s Incident

Today a serious attack unfolded at a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The incident occurred at Temple Israel, one of the largest Reform Jewish congregations in the United States. The synagogue sits on a large campus and includes an early childhood center and preschool, meaning young children were present on site during the incident.

According to early reporting, a suspect rammed a vehicle into the building and entered armed with a rifle. The vehicle caught fire after the crash and there were reports of possible explosive materials associated with the vehicle. A security officer was struck by the vehicle during the attack and transported to the hospital.

Security personnel engaged the attacker and stopped him. The suspect is dead.

Most importantly, no children from the preschool or early childhood center were injured.

That detail alone changes how churches should look at this incident.

This was not simply an attack against a worship service. This was an attack against a religious campus with children present.

There is another detail worth noting. The FBI Detroit field office had posted earlier this year about conducting active shooter preparedness training at the synagogue in January. That shows the congregation was not ignoring the threat environment.

Preparation does not guarantee an attack will never happen. What preparation can do is increase the chances that the attack is stopped quickly.

Based on the early information available, that appears to be what happened here.

Share this bulletin to other Christians.

What Churches Should Learn From This

There are several lessons churches should take from this incident.

First, the attack did not begin as a typical active shooter scenario. It began as a vehicle assault. The attacker used a car to breach the building before the shooting began.

That means churches need to think about vehicle access to their buildings.

A simple question every church security team should ask right now is this:

How close can a vehicle get to your main entrance?

Many churches spend time thinking about armed threats but very little time thinking about vehicles. Yet vehicle attacks are becoming increasingly common around the world because they are easy to execute and difficult to stop without physical barriers.

Second, this incident highlights the risk associated with church campuses that include childcare or preschool programs.

Temple Israel has a long running early childhood center serving young children. Many churches operate similar programs. These ministries are wonderful and necessary, but they also create a different security environment.

A church with a nursery, preschool, or daycare is not simply a place of worship. It becomes a mixed use campus that may be occupied throughout the week.

That leads to the third lesson.

This attack happened during weekday operations, not during a Sunday service.

Many churches build their security plans around Sunday morning crowds. But offices, counseling sessions, preschools, and ministry programs often operate during the week with far fewer security personnel present.

Those weekday hours can become a vulnerability if churches do not plan for them.

Another lesson from this incident appears to be the role of immediate armed response. Security personnel at the synagogue confronted the attacker and stopped him. While one security officer was injured when struck by the vehicle, the attacker was prevented from continuing deeper into the building.

That likely prevented a far worse outcome.

This reinforces something I have said for years when working with church security teams:

Police are minutes away.Security teams are already there.

Finally, this incident shows the danger of layered attacks.

The attacker used a vehicle. There was gunfire. There was fire from the vehicle crash. There were reports of possible explosives.

Church security planning needs to recognize that incidents rarely unfold exactly the way we imagine them.

Prepared teams think through multiple possibilities instead of preparing for only one scenario.

The Larger Environment We Are Living In

It is important to understand that this attack did not occur in a vacuum.

Right now the world is experiencing a period of heightened hostility toward both Jewish and Christian communities. Extremist rhetoric has become increasingly open about targeting religious groups.

In recent months there have been repeated calls from various extremist actors encouraging attacks against Jews and Christians. These calls circulate widely online and often inspire individuals who want to act on their own.

Religious institutions have become symbolic targets.

Earlier this week I warned that we were in an environment where an attack was likely to occur. Unfortunately, today we saw one.

Churches need to recognize that the threat environment has changed. That does not mean believers should live in fear. It does mean churches should take security seriously and prepare wisely.

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What the Bible Says About Times Like This

Scripture teaches that followers of God should not be surprised when opposition arises.

Jesus said in John 15:20:

“If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

Christians throughout history have faced hostility simply for following Christ. The Bible does not hide that reality.

At the same time, Scripture calls believers to remain alert and watchful.

1 Peter 5:8 says:

“Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Being watchful is not about fear. It is about awareness.

Believers are called to keep their eyes open, understand the times they are living in, and respond with wisdom.

Jesus also spoke about discerning the times in Luke 12:54–56. His point was that people can often read the weather but fail to recognize what is happening around them spiritually and culturally.

Christians today should avoid that mistake.

The world may grow more hostile to people of faith, but that does not change the mission of the church. It simply means churches must pursue that mission with both faith and discernment.

A Final Thought for Churches

Today’s attack should not be viewed as a problem unique to synagogues.

It should be viewed as a warning for all religious institutions.

Churches are open places by design. That openness is part of their ministry. But openness does not mean ignoring the realities of the world.

Security teams exist so congregations can gather, worship, and serve others safely.

Events like today’s remind us why that work matters.