Kerby Anderson

A shooting earlier this month in the third largest church in America should have been a wake-up call for churches to evaluate church security. Unfortunately, many merely hit the snooze button. The secular media moved on, perhaps because the shooter (a 36-year-old Salvadoran woman) didn’t fit the media narrative. And many Christians merely took the news in stride without considering how to protect their congregation.

In the past, I have written about the need for church security. One of the people I interviewed is Jimmy Meeks, who works in the area of church security. In fact, he and his wife were married at a church (Wedgewood Baptist Church) that was the site of one of the first church shootings. He has documented hundreds of violent deaths in churches and other faith-based facilities.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council recently interviewed church security consultant Tim Miller on his radio program. Perkins talked about the increase in incidents in churches and said his organization documented more than 500 attacks on churches from 2018 through March 2023. Tim Miller added, “We’re seeing not only the frequency, but the severity of these attacks continue.”

Tim Miller explained, “Security is about being wise and prepared with a plan.” Proverbs 22:3 warns, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.”

He drew two principles for church security from Nehemiah 4:9, which says, “And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.” He says we need to first pray to God and then we post a guard.”

This is a wise admonition that I believe all churches should follow.