by Marcus Brewer (Fellowship, Bryan)
Recent events have put a spotlight on occurrences that previously we would have never dreamed that churches would have to be concerned with. A variety of events such as shootings, estranged parents looking to regain custody of their children, burglaries, vandalism, and general disruptions have all occurred in churches in the not-too-distant past. Traditionally these are things that we would have never thought we would have to face, much less plan for, at church; however, we find that churches are not immune from these types of incidents. Is your church prepared if one of these incidents should happen during a worship service? What are appropriate responses and what steps can you take to improve the safety and security of your congregation?
The ETC Conference at this year’s State Meeting focuses on the issue of emergency preparedness. Our speaker will be Eric Henderson, supervisor of the Crime Scene Unit at the Bryan Police Department and member of Fellowship FWB Church in Bryan. He will share, based on his experience in his career in law enforcement, information that churches can use to improve their ability to prevent some incidents from taking place or, when an incident does occur, to reduce its potential severity. Some of the topics to be covered in this workshop include: building security, protection of children, appropriate methods for observing suspicious behavior, and developing an action plan for incidents and assigning responsibilities.
This workshop will begin at 1:30 on Wednesday afternoon, June 6, at Pine Prairie FWB Church, and it will provide you with useful, practical information that you can apply in your churches. We hope you will make plans to join us for this unique workshop.
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