800.231.9106
Houses of Worship
Closing the Security Gap
Churches face critical security and safety gaps. When these gaps are not addressed, the legal consequences are severe. In October 2024, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to an $880 million settlement to compensate more than 1,300 survivors of clergy abuse. Combined with prior payouts, the total cost to the Los Angeles archdiocese alone exceeds $1.5 billion. This represents one of the largest institutional failures to identify and address predatory behavior and inadequate safeguards.
Negligent security cases against organizations typically result in judgments ranging from $150,000 to over $1,000,000, depending on the severity of harm and institutional negligence. One church we worked with had previously paid out $1.5 million in a settlement when a volunteer helping to change a sanctuary lightbulb fell 20 feet off a ladder and broke their hip and back. Not only was the church found negligent, but they also received a large fine from OSHA.
Your house of worship likely has vulnerabilities you do not know about. Threat Suppression has completed comprehensive physical security assessments for numerous churches, synagogues, and faith-based organizations, identifying critical gaps and delivering actionable plans.
Why People Trust Threat Suppression
"I was skeptical about hosting such an extensive course at our church, reasoning that safety and security had to be common sense. Within five minutes, I was already blown away by the presenters and the content. I heartily recommend this course for all houses of worship."
- Reverend Matt Kuiken, First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Gastonia, North Carolina
This course is credited with preventing at least two significant church active shooter events. Attendees have also credited this training with preventing numerous other crimes and reducing their safety and security liability. Numerous local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies have recommended this training.
Most security assessments come from one of two sources: large system vendors with a financial interest in selling you their products, or generalist consultants without operational experience in faith communities. We are neither. Our team brings decades of combined experience in law enforcement, military operations, emergency response, and active threat scenarios. We have trained thousands of first responders and conducted hundreds of physical security assessments. We understand how churches actually function, how volunteers respond in crises, and how predatory behavior exploits institutional gaps. More importantly, we know what works in real organizations under pressure, not just in theory. Several members of our team currently serve as security members as large churches, including two mega-churches.
We are vendor neutral and do not profit from recommending specific systems, alarm companies, or surveillance solutions. Your assessment is based on your actual vulnerabilities, your budget, your staffing, and your operational reality. If the solution is a low-cost procedural change, we recommend that. If it requires infrastructure investment, we explain exactly what problem it solves and why. Our assessments stand up in court, have been recommended by law enforcement agencies at all levels, and have prevented active threat incidents. We deliver actionable implementation roadmaps, not shelved reports, and we remain available to support your team through the implementation process.
Our team members hold multiple board-certifications that are the highest in the industry, including Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Physical Security Professional (PSP), Certified Threat Manager (CTM), certified Human Resource Manager (SHRM-CP), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), CPTED Master Instructor, certified OSHA General Industry inspector, and certified Clery Compliance Officer (CCO).
Why Conduct a Physical Security Assessment at Your House of Worship?
Houses of worship face unique security challenges. You welcome the community, maintain open access, yet must protect your staff, volunteers, and attendees from credible threats including active assailants, predatory behavior, theft, fraud, and other criminal acts. A comprehensive assessment identifies specific vulnerabilities and provides a roadmap to address them. Learn more about our physical security assessment here.
Churches conduct assessments for several reasons:
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Legal and Liability Protection - Courts have established that churches are responsible for providing adequate safety and security measures. Institutional failure to identify and address known vulnerabilities has resulted in multi-billion dollar settlements. A professional assessment documents your due diligence and strengthens your legal standing.
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Response to Incidents - After a security breach, safety incident, or disclosure of predatory behavior, an assessment identifies root causes, systemic vulnerabilities, and prevents recurrence.
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Regulatory Compliance - Many municipalities, insurance carriers, and grant programs now require documented security and safety plans. An assessment fulfills these requirements.
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Grant-Funded Infrastructure Improvement - Many state and federal grants for facility hardening and security upgrades require a needs assessment as a prerequisite.
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Proactive Risk Management - Leading churches recognize that families, especially those with young children, choose faith communities based on demonstrated commitment to safety. A professional assessment shows you take this seriously.
Are your Policies and Procedures enough?
A security plan is only as effective as the policies that support it. Houses of worship often operate with informal procedures or outdated practices that leave gaps when threats emerge. Threat Suppression helps your organization develop, document, and implement comprehensive written policies and procedures that address the full spectrum of emergencies your community may face. These policies create clarity for staff and volunteers, establish accountability, reduce liability, and enable coordinated response during crises.
Courts have established that organizations are responsible for providing adequate safety and security measures. When an incident occurs, your written policies demonstrate that your organization took deliberate, thoughtful steps to protect your community. Absent written procedures, courts assume organizational negligence. Comprehensive policies also ensure that your security plan is understood and followed consistently by staff and volunteers, reducing confusion and improving response effectiveness during high-stress situations.
Our policy templates are adapted from military, law enforcement, healthcare, and educational best practices, then customized to reflect your facility's specific needs, your community's risk profile, and applicable federal, state, and local regulations. We help your leadership team review, approve, and implement these policies so they become part of your organizational culture, not a binder on a shelf.
Our policy development process begins with your specific operational context: your facility layout, staffing structure, volunteer roles, community demographics, and local regulatory environment. We then develop or revise numerous policies. Click the dropdown box to learn more:
-Security communications policy and procedures Information protection and operational security (what information is shared with whom and how) -Personnel security (background screening, credentialing, access levels) -Visitor management and access control procedures -Lost or missing child or vulnerable adult -Kidnapping -Hostage situations -Response to workplace criminal activities -Arrest or criminal indictment of an employee -Report of sexual misconduct by an employee -Report of suspicions of abuse involving a vulnerable population -Suspected predatory behavior and threat assessment -Hostage situations and negotiation protocols -Active shooter and active assailant response -Civil unrest and crowd management -Terrorist incidents and suspicious activity reporting -Suspicious packages, bomb -threats, and explosives procedures -Lockdown procedures (threat inside the building) -Shelter-in-place procedures (threat outside the building) -Evacuation and crisis reunification -Fire and structural emergencies -Utility failure and backup systems -Inclement weather (tornado, thunderstorm, snow/ice, wind, severe heat and cold) -Earthquake and other geological emergencies -Suspected biological events and infectious disease protocols -Chemical and hazardous material release -Food and beverage contamination incident response -Working and training in heat (OSHA General Industry standards compliance) -Industrial hygiene standards for staff and volunteer spaces -Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations and accessibility -Injury reporting and workers compensation procedures -Attempted suicide and suicide threat response -Psychological crisis identification and support -De-escalation and behavioral management procedures -Intervention protocols for concerning behavior -Death on the property (expected and unexpected) -Transportation accident involving church vehicles -Mass casualty response and triage -Crime scene preservation and evidence handling -Communications and Continuity -Mass emergency notification to staff, members, and visitors Family reunification and casualty tracking -Media relations and public communications -Business continuity and facility reopening -Incident documentation and reporting requirements Investigation and root-cause analysis procedures -After-action review and continuous improvement -Litigation hold and evidence preservation
Research-Driven Approach Specific to YOU
Your security needs are unique. Our assessments are not generic checklists. We have completed hundreds of comprehensive physical security assessments for houses of worship, schools, universities, hospitals, government facilities, critical infrastructure, and private organizations. Learn more about our physical security assessments.
Many assessments exceed 200 pages and include:
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Site-Specific Threat and Risk Analysis - We evaluate your specific building layout, access points, staffing levels, operational patterns, volunteer screening procedures, and threat profile to identify your vulnerabilities.
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Detailed Findings and Recommendations - Clear identification of security gaps with prioritized, actionable recommendations organized by cost and implementation timeline.
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Implementation Roadmap - A phased approach to security improvements, from low-cost/high-impact fixes to infrastructure changes requiring capital investment.
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Compliance Documentation - Assessment reports position your organization to meet regulatory and grant requirements and provide documentation of institutional due diligence.
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Supporting Training and Planning - We help your team translate assessment findings into functional security and emergency action plans.
Professional Training Programs
Once you understand your vulnerabilities, you need to prepare your staff and volunteers to respond. We offer two professional training programs that your organization can host for your staff, volunteers, and community leaders.
SAFE: Sanctuary Actions for Emergency™ (4 hours)
Designed for church staff and volunteer leaders, SAFE addresses the emergencies most likely during Sunday services: active shooter/active assailant, armed robbery, disruptive attendees, child abduction, sexual abuse and predatory behavior, medical emergencies, weather events, bomb threats, and fires. Click here for more information.
This course includes:
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Biblical foundation for church safety and security responsibilities
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Statistical overview of security threats in houses of worship, including predatory behavior and institutional vulnerabilities
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Legal liability of failing to address safety and security threats
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Basic emergency response procedures for common scenarios
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How to develop functional church safety and security plans
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Risk assessment and security funding prioritization
POWER: Place of Worship Emergency Response™ (4 hours, combined with SAFE for 8-hour course)
Designed for church staff and volunteers managing security beyond Sunday services. POWER addresses emergencies occurring throughout the week and includes advanced security planning. Click here for more information.
This course covers:
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Safety and security of pastoral staff
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Developing security teams and security audits
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Burglary and theft prevention
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Church infrastructure and school safety
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Staff background investigations and screening procedures
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Emergency response kits and emergency action plans
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Creating a safety and security ministry
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Organizations often use SAFE and POWER together as an 8-hour comprehensive course for their staff and key volunteers.
Cost: Training courses start at $2,000 plus travel and lodging for a four-hour training session, and $3,500 for an eight-hour combined SAFE + POWER course (50% discount from our standard training fee). Costs may increase based on travel availability and time of year. Virtual options are available at a reduced rate. Contact us for an accurate quote.
Duration: SAFE and POWER combined is typically and 8-5 course with an hour for lunch. The course can be combined and shortened to five hours to meet the client's needs.
Booking: Contact info@ThreatSuppression.com at least 90 days in advance
Attendance: Your organization promotes and controls who attends. Your organization hosts for your community. Individual inquiries about course attendance should be directed to our Events page to see if a course is hosted near you that is open for attendance.
Next Steps
If you want to understand your vulnerabilities, request a threat assessment and physical security assessment. If you want to prepare your staff and volunteers, host the SAFE and POWER training courses at your church. If you need guidance on both, we can help. Start with an assessment to identify specific vulnerabilities, then use training to build your team's capability to respond.
If you have specific threats or concerns, our threat management experts can help. Fill out the contact form to the right, call us at 1-800-231-9106 or email us info@threatsuppression.com.
