Standing Watch So Others Can Worship - Part 1

For whatever reason, many churches seem to either deny or question the need for church security. Some only talk about it or entertain it when some tragedy takes place and then they’ll quickly settle back in to lax (or no) standards.

I’ll also say that it is difficult to keep security volunteers engaged. Especially if you have some stricter qualification and training guidelines for your teams. Some spouses believe that a church security team is just and excuse “for guys to go shooting and spend money and time away from family”.

I want to be very clear: this is a ministry. And as with every ministry, it is a response to a biblical calling.

Beginning today, I’ll be posting - in order - parts from my presentation on the biblical call for churches to have security that I recently had the opportunity to share at a training event for the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches.

My prayer is 1. That it will open some eyes to a truth, and 2. That it will be a blessing to those already serving in this capacity.

Here is Part 1:

The Biblical Call for Church Security

There seems to be a question that gets thrown around a lot: “Why are we more and more concerned with church security?”

The correct question to ask may be “When did we stop doing church security?”.

It’s not about politics or cultural climate. It’s not about fear. It’s not a call to trade the gospel for tactics and metal detectors. It is a theological conversation. A biblical conversation about stewardship, responsibility, and the protection of what God calls sacred.

A church is not a business. It is not a club. It is not a social organization. It is an assembly of believers. And throughout Scripture, wherever God establishes something holy, He also establishes guardianship around it.

We’re going to look at that pattern. We’re going to look at Numbers. We’re going to look at Luke 22:36. And we’re going to look at the call of churches to be watchful, sober, and prepared.

And before we go any further, let me say this clearly: church security is not about fear. It is about love.

We lock our doors at night not because we hate the world, but because we love our family. We buckle our kid into a car seat not because we’re paranoid, but because we are responsible. Security is love expressed through preparedness.

And the Bible has a lot to say about preparedness.