Texas Pastors met last week for Security Training in the wake of the Sutherland Springs Massacre.
The event, titled “Church Security in the 21st Century,” was held at the 42,000-member Prestonwood Baptist Church exactly a month after the worst church shooting in American history. Around 650 pastors and church leaders attended.
That mass shooting occurred about 300 miles south of Plano at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, on November. 5. Twenty-five members ages 1 to 77, including a pregnant woman, were killed.
As he led a security training last Tuesday, Sgt. Mike Gurley, a retired Dallas policeman, warned against thinking that worshippers licensed to carry handguns can offer reliable protection.
He told Religion News Service, “To assume they’re going to be effective in an active-shooter situation is comparable to giving me a set of golf clubs and expecting me to win the Masters.”
Gurley, the principal of the security firm Teamworks Consulting Inc., said even people licensed to carry firearms need specialized training to be able to respond to active-shooter situations.
He urged churches to develop policies for minimum training and qualifications for anyone armed with a gun and to consider involving members with law enforcement and military experience. He said, helping with the security team requires just as strong a calling and “God-given talent” as any other service.