Protect your church from violent intruders

By Shannon Baker, BCM/D National Correspondent

COLUMBIA, Md.—It was in all the headlines. In December, 24-year-old Matthew Murray killed two staff members and wounded two others at a Youth With a Mission facility in Denver before killing two and wounding three others at New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

Though a volunteer security officer shot the young man several times, it was later ruled that Murray died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Denver television stations, in trying to piece together the acts of violence, pointed to Murray’s website, in which Murray reportedly wrote, “All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you ... as I can especially Christians who are to blame for most of the problems in the world.”

In his website, www.christianadc.org, Gary Cass, chairman of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, called the violence the worst incident of Christian-bashing that happened in 2007.

With the growing number of churches and educational institutions affected with such violence (see sidebar), the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCM/D) has developed emergency response guidelines to assist churches in the development of personalized procedures for handling violent intruders.

“Every church facility is different, and every situation unique,” noted Bob Simpson, BCM/D’s associate executive director. “It is impossible to cover every conceivable scenario. Instead, this resource is intended as a guideline for the most severe situations involving violent intrusion of a church facility.”

At a minimum, Simpson said that all staff and key volunteers (ushers, greeters, teachers, custodians, etc.) should be thoroughly acquainted with their specific procedures. Regular updates and training sessions should be provided to keep new and seasoned personnel on the same page.

It is also important that police notification should not be left to chance, Simpson said. Specific individuals should be charged with the responsibility of calling 911.

“This should not be performed by the pastor or other obvious authority figure, but instead should be delegated to a less visible leader in the community. More than one person should be charged with this responsibility,” he said.

Simpson recommends that church leaders establish and train an intercept team from among those normally charged with greeting guests and members. The intercept team is responsible for identifying and responding to potential threats.

Simpson cautions these leaders to be attentive but not suspicious.

“The church should be a place where broken and distraught people come for healing. A loving attitude and much prayer have prevented many tragedies. Do not underestimate the power of prayer,” he said.

He also advised that not all broken and hurting people are immediately receptive to the helpful intentions of a stranger.

“This should not be considered cause for concern unless the individual is exhibiting other abhorrent behaviors,” he said, pointing to actual or threatened physical aggression, use of excessive vulgarity, possessing a weapon, actively avoiding all contact with others, extreme anger or apparent loss of self-control, or the appearance of being in an altered state.

In the event that a potential threat exists, the intercept team should follow the established protocol for gently isolating the individual(s) from the congregation.

“This should be done in a spirit of love and gentleness, and should not be seen as an overtly defensive action unless actual physical violence has occurred or appears unavoidable,” Simpson said.

The response to an unarmed physical altercation will be markedly different, and much easier to handle, than an armed attack. For that reason, the procedures recommended on the BCM/D website are for the worst-case scenario of an actual armed attack in which injury or loss of life has already occurred.

“The best response is a reasoned response,” Simpson said. “Do not assume that instinct will suffice in the face of an emergency.”

For complete details on how to respond or to download a full copy of the Emergency Response Procedure, visit online at www.bcmd.org.