Safety and Security Plan
Because you never know when dangerous people will come calling
“At Five Oaks, we had discussed the need for security services but had never moved beyond the concept stage or planning. That was until Christmas 2006.
A parishioner with a history of mental-health problems had been communicating with the senior pastor. She had “a message from God” that the pastor needed to hear, and her communications grew more ominous over time. We grew afraid for our pastor and his family and recognized that we needed to create some distance between the parishioner and the pastor.
When several other attempts failed to diffuse the situation, we obtained a court order for protection, prohibiting her from contacting the pastor or being on church property.
We also developed a quick security team of police officers and other emergency workers to provide protection for the pastor during church events and to offer guidance as the pastor and legal staff filed for the court protections.
On Christmas Eve, the parishioner arrived at the church and started to create a scene. She was physically escorted away by a member of our new security team, an off-duty peace officer who held her for the local police.
This incident caused us to wake up and get moving. We could no longer put off the need for a safety and security plan for our church. So we started planning one—not for the church as it exists today but for the church that will exist in the years to come.