Church buildings need security systems. In the past, there have been incidents at Churches. These make the news. But do they mean that the Church building needs for security are being ignored?

In the past, the Church – especially the sanctuary – was considered a place of safety. It was a refuge to those in trouble. People respected this, so the Church building was secure and safe. This is no longer the case. So staff need to take steps to make the Church building secure.

Property alarm systems can be installed, but who monitors the alarm in the middle of the night. One Church I was involved with had the alarm system connected to the police station, which was 2 blocks away. This meant that if there was a break in, the police arrived in 2 minutes. However, what happens if the youth are having an overnight event and accidentally trip the alarm. Better to have someone in the Church also get the alarm, and be able to override it before it goes to the police station. And that person should be up to date with the scheduled events of the calendar. That way, you don’t have an issue on the 4th of July.