Should Churches Lock Doors During Service Trends

Monitor doors and lots.

Should churches lock doors during service trends.

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. Have a security person present while doors are unlocked. During sunday or midweek worship services interior church doors should. All other entrances should be inaccessible from the outside of your church.

One of our armed men stands next to me every sunday as i shake hands at the main door. The talk was about emergency preparedness guns locked doors security and vigilance between parishioners and city police during a question and answer session nov. 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. 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.

Monitor the area remotely with video cameras. During services assign a volunteer to monitor an unlocked door. Any unlocked doors should be actively monitored. 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.

New beginnings and seven sorrows are not the only area church that locks its doors during worship. Ensure that the exit doors remain unlocked from the inside. 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. 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.

Assign an usher or team member to lock doors once your service starts. 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. One security guy is monitoring the cameras at all times. 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.

Time to lock the church doors once services begin. In the wake of the texas shooting and other acts of violence a pastors group suggests protective measures for the faithful.