A small group including (from the right) Revs. Tracey Henry (Clinton) and Merideth Mueller-Bolton assess whether it is safe to jump from this window if the threat is inside the building, or how to cover it if the threat is from outside.
Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of God… ~Acts 20:28
On Saturday, November 1, 2025, forty people from Highlands Presbytery and beyond gathered at the Community Presbyterian Church of Chester. Their purpose was to gain important and timely information from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) on church safety and security. Unlike the natural disasters that have been since time immemorial, “human caused disasters” occur when persons intentionally take actions that endanger others.
The four PDA representatives – Rev. John Cheek, Michele Holifield, Mark H. McClain, and Vince Patton – came from throughout the United States, and brought a wealth of expertise with them, from law enforcement to facility management, engineering to organizational leadership. They also brought hard experiences with them, including working at the World Trade Center site immediately after 9/11, and having friends killed and wounded at a mass shooting. They represented the ninety people (split evenly between church members and teaching elders) who make up the PDA National Response Teams which provide hands-on assistance at disaster sites.
This workshop, sponsored by Highlands Presbytery and the Property and Insurance Team, was designed to help participants better understand our current context, and assess risk and threat, including behavioral threats. Much of the day focused on how churches can develop their own emergency plans, both to deter any human caused disaster, and how to respond should one occur. It was also very interactive, with skits, hands-on activities, and practicing some key skills.
There are a variety of factors that might lead a person to commit violence against a church or its members. These include personal grievances, relationships, a desire for noteriety, political anger or ideology (New Jersey has at least twenty hate groups statewide), addiction, and mental illness. As one small group experience, participants were asked to consider the following:
A friend who is a member of your church confides in you, saying:
“My child was obsessed with researching mass shootings on the Internet, and I found a notebook with drawings of shooting victims!”
What would you do?
This led to a rigorous unpacking of the hypothetical situation, followed by skits with class participation regarding the role of greeters and ushers in securing your church, and the need for training beyond “be friendly.” A tour of the church campus then took place, identifying exits, escape routes, means of barricading doors, and setting up a meeting place that is both obvious for evacuees to gather and out of the way of first responders.
Following lunch, participants learned about how to develop an emergency plan, including an Active Shooter Plan Template. Churches are encouraged to establish a team to design and implement emergency procedures in anticipation of what could happen. This often means being open to including experts from outside of your congregation, for example, first responders in your community.
Those gathered then learned about ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), used by churches, schools, government buildings, and other public places as a response to an active shooter. You are advised to check with your insurer for more information.
As one last tool, a hands-on opportunity to practice of “Stop the Bleed” techniques was provided, anticipating that some persons involved in a mass shooting will be wounded, and blood loss is a leading cause of death in such situations.
Thank you to the Community Presbyterian Church of Chester for hosting this event, and to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for its foresight and leadership.
Materials provided by PDA for the Church Safety and Security Workshop
Church Safety and Security Workshop Powerpoint
1 Resources on Human Caused Disasters
2 The Power of Hello Guide for Houses of Worship
3 CISA_De-escalation Action Guide
4 Protecting Places of Worship
5 Active Shooter Plan Template
6. How PDA Responds To Public Violence
as well as
ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate)
Churches are advised to have
- An AED Defibrillator Machine;
- a first aid kit;
- a fire extinguisher; and
- a “Stop the Bleed” kit (at the very least, in the kitchen).
Other Recommended Resources
Guide for Developing High Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Houses of Worship
