September 3, 2010

Preparing for a church crisis

by Linda Russell, KY3 News

Tools

Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

By James Holmes

Story Published: Jul 11, 2009 at 11:04 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jul 11, 2009 at 11:04 PM CDT

Staying safe in a sacred place; Some folks in the Ozarks spent their Saturday learning about potential dangers at church. It was a course dedicated to preparing for a church crisis.

It's something we hope will never happen, but it has happened, even here in the Ozarks, with the shooting at a church in Neosho in 2007 that killed three people.

Saturday, church leaders, police officers and other community members gathered at the Cowan Civic Center for an eight hour course - Responding to the Church Crisis. With violence in churches becoming more of a problem across the country, the Lebanon Police Department teamed up with Midwest Police Consultants and Crisis Systems Management to teach church leaders and their congregations what they can do to be prepared.

Pastor Don Anderson of the Emergency Services Chaplain Program attended the seminar and says, "The biggest tool they're giving us today is to be aware, to notice your surroundings, have certain people that watch for certain things, make sure your exits are secure, make sure there are no hiding places. Make sure you have a plan in place, that in case something does happen, who's gonna call 911? What are you going to have your congregation do?"

The training opportunity will also be coming to Springfield and Osage Beach.

For more information, click here.

Next article Un-Bearable weather postpones Missouri State U. football opener

More Good Stuff

StormTeam Weather

More Weather

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.