I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Wes Pederson, Director of Safety and Security at Eagle Brook Church in Minnesota, one of the top five churches in the country. Together, we delved into the intricacies of ensuring the safety of twelve campuses and the...
Welcome back everyone, this month’s question comes from Rex in Vermont, he asks,” How does my tech team secure our equipment from being stolen or borrowed without permission?” One item Tech teams often overlook on their planning checklists is whether or not...
Many houses of worship seem to be talking about receiving an electrical shock while performing or speaking during a service or a rehearsal. Electrical shocks happen when a relatively large amount of current flows through your body. If you get shocked when touching a...
REGISTER AND DOWNLOAD NOW Is your building structurally sound? Most churches are completely unaware they potentially have issues waiting to happen overhead, and in many cases, it’s the churches themselves, albeit quite unintentionally, that created these risks by...
The Christmas holiday season is a time of joy and celebration, but it can also be one of the most dangerous times for churches. From natural disasters to active shooters, your church needs to be prepared for anything that could put your congregation at risk. As a...
With the holiday season fast approaching it’s that time of the year when we fill our ministries with volunteers to support our kids programs. At this busy time, there can be a tendency to relax the volunteer onboarding processes or in some cases remove it, but this is...
In addition to preventive maintenance, there’s another critical aspect to stewarding the resources entrusted to you: safety. While you can’t guarantee everyone’s safety 100% of the time, there are practical actions you can take to reduce the likelihood of...
The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in their study of attacks on Houses of Worship, said communication and preparedness are key to preventing attacks at worship facilities, and if they should occur, surviving...
What could be more important than the safety of your congregation, not to mention safeguarding the infrastructure of your Church. We are often not aware of the inherent hazards sitting right on top of our heads when heavy light and sound equipment is suspended above...
In recent years it cannot be denied that our American churches are seeing an increase of risk. Crimes such as embezzlement, assault, theft, and shootings are becoming commonplace in our once-sacred spaces. With so much to do in security to keep our open-door churches...
Smart technology has come a long way in the past two decades. Just by saying "Alexa..." you can turn lights on and off in your home, play any music you want, start your car, and more. More recently, churches have begun to adopt smart technology to transform how church...
By Bob Jensen Today’s headlines continue to bring shocking coverage of mass shootings from across the nation. On May 24th an attack at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas left 20 children and 2 teachers dead and 17 more injured. This horrific event is just one of...
By Chris Grollnek Active Shooter Events (ASEs) continue to create safety concerns for the communities trying to live their lives. The daily reports of ASEs create fear, reduce confidence in facility security, and focus far too heavily on law enforcement. Active...
An overview of CISA’s new guidelines By Antoinette King Traditionally houses of worship (HoWs) are safe havens within the communities they serve. Many have open-door policies and welcome all who enter with no questions asked as a means to encourage people to seek...
In the previous installment of this series we discussed how to do a comprehensive vulnerability assessment to determine in which ways your church and its assets - from the building to data, finances, and staff - are at risk of attack. With this concluding chapter we...
In the second part of this series we introduced the idea of the holistic approach to church safety, which looks at not just the physical building, but at the church's data, finances, and members, to ensure every important aspect of the church is addressed when...
In the first part of our series, we discussed a report from the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) study of the phenomenon of attacks on houses of worship. Looking at data from the period of 2009-2019, the study...
Professional advice on what’s required for volunteers versus staff
These ladies from Mosaic Christian Church have much to say on how they built their safety team from scratch. There’s more to it than just having armed guards!
Subscribe to the Worship Video & Lighting newsletter
Are you working with film and visual effects for your worship services? Interested in learning more? Subscribe to the only newsletter devoted to visual presentation in the church. Written by professionals with many years experience, you will be glad you joined the community.
Worship Video & Lighting is published twice per month.
| SUBSCRIBE NOW |