Should Churches Lock Doors During Service Trends

However you can see in though the doors and the service is piped into the ante room.

Should churches lock doors during service trends.

During services assign a volunteer to monitor an unlocked door. Only a few decades ago it was a common practice for churches and other places of worship to leave their doors unlocked practically 24 7. One of our armed men stands next to me every sunday as i shake hands at the main door. Monitor the area remotely with video cameras.

During the week we have all doors locked and to get in a person must press an intercom button and when they do a camera comes on and records them and i can see them. In the wake of the texas shooting and other acts of violence a pastors group suggests protective measures for the faithful. Monitor doors and lots. Any unlocked doors should be actively monitored.

Thus as with an external door a card reader can be installed on the stairwell side of the door as long as it will be overridden when a fire alarm sounds. This is all for church services. All other entrances should be inaccessible from the outside of your church. Our church closes the door and has ushers on the outside that let people in during certain points in the service so that the noise and movement do not bother those inside during the very quiet contemplative times.

At the presbyterian congregation of middletown interim pastor bruce humphrey said the side and back doors are locked during services leaving the only entrance through the main doors. All valuables or artifacts should be secured and visitors should be unable to access other parts of the building such as offices classrooms or day care areas. The talk was about emergency preparedness guns locked doors security and vigilance between parishioners and city police during a question and answer session nov. One security guy is monitoring the cameras at all times.

A general understanding seemed to exist that held these locations as sacred and in most people s minds places of worship were viewed as areas of refuge where you could pray meditate reflect or seek spiritual counsel no matter what time of day or night. Assign an usher or team member to lock doors once your service starts. Have a security person present while doors are unlocked. New beginnings and seven sorrows are not the only area church that locks its doors during worship.

An nfpa code allows stair doors to be locked from the stairway side if the locks will release upon fire alarm activation nfpa 101 7 2 1 5 7 2. Gods homes should be open to anyone but nowadays the amount of theft and vndalism forces the churches to lock their doors its a crying shame but it has to be done because of the dwindling numbers attending church nowadays church funds are hitting an all time low.