Kansas City, MO - A number of churches are seeking assistance to equip security teams as prevention against violent encounters.
Steve Jams is a volunteer on the security team at Divine Mercy Perish in Gardner, Kansas.
He said the church has a security team that is trained for more than active shooter scenarios.
"General security for property-related things that are taking place in parking lots, or potential domestic issues, and trying to get in front of those before they make their way inside the church building itself," Jams said.
"Our number one goal is, we just want to keep people safe, and we do church security training because a church is a soft target, and so is a public school," said Barry Young, vice president of operations at Strategos International of Grandview.
Houses of worship can be easy targets because typically congregants sit with their backs to the door, and attention is focused away from the doors, says Young.
The idea of a church security team is not to act as bouncers, Young said.
Strategos advisors want security personnel to be friendly, excepting and welcoming, while maintaining a high level of awareness.