Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Church Security: Need Highlighted by S.C. Shooting


The massacre of nine Christians during a prayer service at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., highlights the need for all congregations to implement security measures, a security expert told Baptist Press.

"The biggest obstacle for churches is just not believing that [a violent attack] could happen at their churches," said Jimmy Meeks, a Southern Baptist police officer in Hurst, Texas, who presents church security seminars across America. People "don't listen to what needs to be done until they believe it needs to be done."

Since 1999, there have been at least 971 incidents in which "deadly force" was employed at faith-based organizations in the U.S., according to statistics posted online by church security expert Carl Chinn. Those incidents resulted in more than 550 deaths, with more deadly force incidents occurring in Baptist churches than among any other group, according to Chinn. Keep reading

Also see
Violence at Church
Charleston Church Attack the Deadliest in Decades

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