Is Your Church Prepared to Respond During a Crisis?

Statistics show that armed confrontations and active shooting incidents are occurring at places of worship in greater frequency. It’s apparent that the days in which the church was off-limits from the ills of society have passed. In response to these increasing risks, we must take steps to provide our congregations and families with greater safety and answer the question,  “What would we do?”

Equip and prepare your congregation now.

The key to critical incident resolution is adequate planning and preparation. You can’t wait until crisis strikes to develop your contingency plans. Instead, we must be planning our staff now for how to respond. Although it is impossible to plan for every variable that may arise within a rapidly evolving incident, having a core plan in place can mean the difference between life and death. The greatest contributor to chaos is a lack of preparation.

The first step in critical incident preparation is educating your staff and volunteers. Keeping it simple is essential for retention. Therefore, the goal in active shooter training is to adopt the RUN – HIDE – FIGHT model for congregations. This basic concept has proven to provide the greatest level of safety during mass shooting incidents.

Between January 2010 and the start of November 2017, there have been 534 fatalities on church owned properties and 1,334 deadly force incidents.

Churches should train and equip their staff and volunteers on how to respond during an active threat and/or critical incident. This knowledge can mean the difference between life and death – when every second and decision counts.

The best approach for congregational safety training is to Run, Hide, or Fight. You should work to identify all available evacuation routes for your congregation, lock-down points, locate potential safe rooms, and discuss the options and means available to protect and defend your congregation from harm.

Every ministry, regardless of its size, should have a church security ministry to watch over the safety and affairs of the local congregation. These members should oversee your approved safety policies and protocols, children’s ministries, parking lots, and service areas.

In addition to basic safety protocols, church security teams should be trained on how to respond and assist the local body in time of crisis. This training should incorporate areas specific to confrontation, containment, and control.

Every second counts when your confronted with a physical threat or an incident involving an active shooter. To reduce your risk, it is important that you attempt to remove yourself from the affected areas, isolate yourself from the potential risk, or work to contain and quarantine the identified threat. The easiest way to remember this process is to follow the RUN–HIDE–FIGHT model. Please feel free to share and use this one-page congregational handout as an educational resource.

The majority of injuries sustained during an active shooting incident can be contributed to two primary factors. First, the attackers tactical advantage and element of surprise. Secondly, the victim’s delayed response or inability to properly recognize the immediate threat and withdraw or defend themselves.

When faced with danger, people naturally tend to run away or confront the perceived threat. This natural survival mechanism is commonly known as “fight or flight” and is a physiological response. However, when mentally overloaded, some people may tend to freeze or fail to respond at all. This response can prove to be fatal and is the result of the mind’s inability to properly process the threat or draw from prior training and experience. This is why it is essential to provide individuals with the RUN-HIDE-FIGHT model, which  leans towards the bodies natural survival response.

For additional information on ways to increase your church safety, review our 10 Essential Steps for Church Safety.

Get Your Church Active Shooter Training Kit Today!

Our Church Active Shooter Training Kit comes with everything you need to help prepare your congregation and security team to respond during an active threat. This product contains TWO separate training modules: One for church congregations and the other designed specifically for church security teams. The included Instructor’s guides provide concepts in risk mitigation and outlines practical exercises and on-site drills that can be used to increase your readiness to critical incidents. This material is a perfect training resource for larger multi-campus facilities and smaller church settings alike.

All Full Armor Church material is designed by law enforcement personnel and uses recognized critical incident response protocols and threat mitigation concepts. We also incorporate much needed elements of spiritual preparation and intervention. Safety doesn’t happen by accident.