I used to be a secretary at a church.
One morning, the volunteers in the food pantry reported to the pastor and I that one of the regular patrons had thrown a pen at one of the volunteers.
It was not uncommon for patrons to become rude and disrespectful towards church volunteers as well as the staff.
But that was the first time I knew of a volunteer being assaulted.
Some of the teens involved in the church's youth group were either gang-affiliated or had full gang membership.
The youth group meeting had been canceled one afternoon due to a special event that was going to take place.
The youths were told in advance about this, but not all received the message, nor passed it along to their friends.
A group of kids, upset because they could not use the gym to play basketball that day, harassed the people who attended the special event.
Bricks and rocks were thrown, and someone's car was damaged in the process.
Another time, I was the only staff person on the premises when I heard banging and kicking on a side door of the church.
I looked out the window and did not recognize the person at the door.
After banging and kicking some more, along with yanking on the door to try to open it, whoever it was went away.
I would often bring up safety issues with church leadership, only to be told there was nothing to be worried about.
It appeared that the thought was building security wasn't a priority because, well, it was a church.
People did not believe that something major could happen, and no plans were put in place in case something did.
Meanwhile, the church continued to be burglarized and vandalized, and there were numerous incidents where staff and volunteers were harassed and threatened.
Many churches are working with small budgets, but that is no excuse for not having some safety procedures in place for the protection of the building and the people who frequent there.
Here are some tips that can go a long way in creating a secure environment.
1.
Train the ushers.
Have the ushers greet everyone who arrives for service, and greet them on the way out, shaking hands and making eye contact.
The ushers should escort visitors who are unfamiliar with the church building to the washrooms, the nursery, etc.
They should also be on the lookout for anyone and any situation that seems to be out of the ordinary.
If the church has a parking lot, rotate ushers to watch this area while the worshippers are inside.
2.
Know who has keys to the church.
This is especially important if the church building is being used by more than one congregation.
Policies should be in place regarding who can have access to keys and what areas of church they may have access.
3.
Be mindful when making schedules.
Try to have meetings, events, etc.
, take place after church service, if possible.
Be aware of the area where the church is located and have an idea of how people travel to and from church.
If something has to take place during the week, have it occur early enough in the day so as to not have people out late in the evenings.
4.
Have enough volunteers available for ministries, especially "open door" ones such as food pantries.
The more people available to keep things running smoothly, as well as keep an eye out for unusual incidents, the better.
5.
If staff works at the church during the week, request that whoever gets there first in the mornings walk through the building to check to see if any windows and entrance doors have been left open.
There should also be a check for any signs of burglary and/or vandalism.
6.
The secretary should keep track of any unusual phone calls or emails that come in.
People would be surprised at the attempts to con churches out of money and other items.
There have also been threats made to pastors, church staff and volunteers.
Sometimes people are just venting, but there's always the chance that a threat may be backed up with action.
7.
Have a written plan in place for emergencies such as fires, and make sure the staff, volunteers, and church board members are familiar with it.
8.
The pastor should make a visit to the local police station or invite the police commander to a meeting at church in order to make the church's presence known.
Another good idea to have the police walk through the church and give suggestions on how to make the building safer.
9.
If there is a youth ministry, an effort should be made to know the parents/guardians of the youths who participate in that ministry.
This can be helpful in curbing some negative behaviors, especially out of the teenagers, if the pastor and other church members are familiar with the people who are responsible for raising the youths.
10.
Be wary of allowing people to do community service at church.
The pastor was yelled at and threatened by an individual who expected the pastor to sign off on paperwork stating all of the community service hours were done when they were not.
I remember a woman pretending to want to volunteer in a ministry just so she could sneak her teenager in who had some community service hours to complete.
If there isn't enough staff or volunteers to monitor and make sure the hours are being completed, don't accept community service requests.
If there is any uncertainty about the safety having someone around in church - whether it is known or not why the community service hours have to be done - do not accept a request to do community service there.
It would be nice if everyone respected the church, but unfortunately, that is not the world we live in.
A little bit of prevention can make houses of worship be safer.