Houses of Worship
Training
Creating Reticent Warrior Tactics over five years ago was completely a God thing! So many things lined up and literally fell into place without us even asking. We know this is our calling and we have made it our mission. We believe with all our heart and all of our mind that God has put us in your path. We are grateful that you have found us, believe you were led here for a reason and we just don’t believe in coincidences. You don’t have to be from a Mega Church to need an armed security team. If fact, most church shootings do not occur in Mega Churches. As Christians we are all called to care for the flock and especially those who cannot care for themselves. Feel free to contact us today to see how we can help you fulfill your mission of protecting your congregation.
We provide training for church security teams and active shooter response teams. We can help make your team better and safer. It doesn’t matter if you are just forming a volunteer team or have had one in place for years. We can teach and coach your team members in all aspects of church security and response to make them more professional and safer.
Threat Identification and Classification - De-escalation - Managing Unknown Contacts - Contact/Cover Principles - Hand-to-Hand Combatives - All aspects of Firearms Safety and Deployment - Active Shooter Response - Close Quarters Combat (CQC or CQB), Tactical Med - Stop the Bleed and more. We can even assist you with planning, creating policy and setting training standards for your team to reduce liability issues. Whether you want a few hours, a full day or ongoing monthly training, we can build and customize a program to meet your specific needs. Give us a call today at (912) 521-7230.
RESOURCES
Team Ministry
There are many layers to a solid church security plan or active shooter response plan. First and foremost, each member of the team must be ministered and attended to like all other members of the congregation. Your church should have a security ministry not just a team. Fellowship, prayer and scripture should be the underpinnings that support your team members. Burnout can become a real issue for those volunteering and sacrificing for the benefit of others.
Insurance
You must care for and help protect the members of your team not only spiritually, but also financially. If they shoot a suspect in protection of the church congregation, they will likely be sued and opened up to criminal liability as well. Obtain Liability Insurance coverage for the church and the active members of the team. There are many insurance options available on the open market and some that are specific to being a concealed carrier of a firearm. Some provide insurance only and others provide access to an attorney. Whatever your church chooses, your team members, their families and the church itself must be protected from catastrophic financial loss due to civil and/or criminal cases being brought after responding to a critical event such as an active shooter/killer.
Developing the plan
The church must develop an actual Security Plan/Manual (in writing). It does not have to be a 100 page in-depth answer for what to do in every situation, but it should provide sound and uniform guidance in your team’s response. Some will worry that having a plan opens the church up to liability. In actuality, the church will have a heavy liability burden if an active shooter shows up and the liability will be worse if there is no plan!!! It should involve every employee and volunteer who works at the church. It’s crucial everyone have “buy-in” to the church’s plan to protect the flock. Ingress/Egress Control is a critical component to any church security plan and must address access to the building(s), sanctuary, childcare or children’s area, bible study classrooms, etc.
Team Selection
This is one of the most difficult and important tasks. Everything, including your Active Shooter Team rises and/or falls on its leadership. Selecting the right person(s) to oversee the team is critical to success. While the team can fall under an employee or leader of the church for funding and administrative issues, it should be run by someone with the training and experience to help facilitate planning, training and response. A current of former Police Officer will likely understand this role and the role of the team better than most. They don’t have to be a trainer or instructor, but should be able to help arrange and encourage members to train.
All current and new team members MUST be trained in Active Shooter Response and Firearms qualifications. They must understand and be trained in solo and small unit tactics so they can effectively respond and end the threat. Training should be an ongoing process after their initial onboarding training to get them qualified for the team. Each member must be able to shoot a set standard with their firearm under time limits.
Biblical Authority
A church must be an open and very welcoming place to reach those in need. It also must be a “safe” place especially for those who cannot protect themselves such as children and the elderly. Members of your congregation may have questions and/or concerns about establishing an Active Shooter Team or Security Team. Helping them to understand the church’s biblical responsibility and authority to protect the flock will help calm fears and concerns.
Psalm 82:4 “Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” Victims of an Active Shooter (AS) will be wounded, weak and needy. The AS is clearly wicked and committing murder against God’s Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:17 and Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
Nehemiah 4:9 (NIV): "But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat." It is not enough to just pray. As Christians and protectors, we must take action to accomplish the work God has set before us.
Matthew 6:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.” The ultimate goal for the team is to “prevent” bad things from happening thereby keeping the peace.
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Proverbs 22:3 “The prudent sees the evil and hides himself. But the naïve go and are punished for it.”
Acts 20:28-31 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd.” Shepards guarded the flock and protected it from wolves.
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” This powerful biblical truth could very well describe the difficult choices AS team members will face. Their souls must be ready to meet our Lord.
Luke 11:21 “When a strong man fully armed guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed.” Jesus assumes the use of force for self-defense.
Responding to an Active Shooter
The primary goal of Active Shooter response is to Stop The Killing and then Stop The Dying in that order. Studies reveal that once the shooting starts, there is a casualty every 10 seconds so Time=Life. Doing the right thing too late is in fact the wrong thing!
Response to an Active Shooter differs based on whether or not there is a “driving force” such as gunshots, screams, etc. that provides the shooters location. Understanding the difference between a “driving force” response and a response without a “driving force” is critical for team members.
All response decisions must be made using Tactical Priorities and those start with The Priority of Life. Protecting hostages/innocents is the primary goal of any active shooter team. That means putting the lives of your flock over the lives of those responding.
Responders must pass by critically injured or even dying victims in order to stop the killing. They may drop medical gear to victims as they pass by if time permits but they cannot stop and tend to the wounded.
Once the shooter is no longer a threat, the next step is to Stop The Dying and that begins with basic medical training. We teach Stop the Bleed and Tactical Med courses that deal specifically with direct pressure, wound packing, chest seals, the proper use/placement of tourniquets and more. This is critically important training for all team members and church staff.
Feel free to call us with any questions about our programs or guidance with starting or improving your own church security. (912) 521-7230
