No one likes to see stories of bombings and shootings in the news. However, the prevalence of these stories, especially ones involving churches, is an important reminder that every church design should incorporate security measures. Therefore, we want to talk about some security options you should consider incorporating into your new church building or remodeling project.
More than Church Building Security for Your Children
Children are the future, of both our churches and of society. We’ve shared before about various church design examples that incorporate security for children’s areas. Some security elements focused on children’s protection include check-in desks and barriers, one-way glass windows, cameras, and creating a church design that places everything children need within one secure area, including restrooms and child-focused worship spaces.
But there are many additional security elements that can be implemented throughout your church building. For example, you can situate volunteers at strategic check-in stations around your church complex. We can also wire security cameras and an alarm system with a control room into your church building.
More than Sundays: Security for Staff and Volunteers
Security isn’t just a concern for guests and attendees who come for worship and events at your church. Security is also a concern for staff and volunteers who can be at your church building anytime, day or night. We can install ballistic film on windows, which makes it more difficult for someone to break in using a sledgehammer or baseball bat. Bulletproof glass is also an option, although we have not yet had any churches request this choice in their church design.
Access controls that lock-down doors and security doors that limit access are becoming more popular. A good church design should also consider the location of emergency exits. We can even build safe rooms, which feature solid-core doors, internally locking deadbolts, phone access and security cameras. This would give people a place to retreat and wait for assistance in case of an intrusion.
More than Security: Incorporating Care into Your Church Design
One final element to consider would be a worst-case scenario: caring for victims of a security incident on-site as you wait for professional help to arrive. As we noted earlier, Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Columbus, Ohio has incorporated a medical exam room into their church building complex. Church attendees who are doctors and nurses volunteer their time as part of their church vision for ministry in their community, but a room like this can also function as a first-aid or triage station in case of a security incident. Pairing it with a restroom would allow people to “shelter in place” during a security lockdown.
We don’t love thinking about the worst-case scenarios, but we do think it’s important stewardship, not just of your financial investment in a church building, but of the investment you are making in the people you serve through your place of worship. Because we’ve spent almost fifty years building churches, we have thought a lot about options for many types of situations. To learn more about our views on church building and design ideas, sign up for our free i3 webinar series today.