Prepare for the worst,
pray for the best Kansas church relies on concealed carry rather than a professional security team.
By Deb Kluttz
The headline of this article was spoken at the Ministry Security Regional Training Conference that I attended in Kansas City, KS, presented the other month by the Center for Personal Protection and Safety. “Prepare for the worst, pray for the best” makes sense to me as the executive pastor of Westview Community Church in Manhattan, KS. We are a Wesleyan church in the middle of the Flint Hills, with both a military base and a university within a few short miles of our building. The workshop alerted me to our need as a church for a security plan. When you begin discussing security, gun control becomes a major topic. Westview does not have any of the stickers on our doors that say “NO GUNS.” For us and other churches that do not employ a professional security team, it is a blessing to have cool-headed and responsible people in our congregation who are licensed to carry concealed firearms in public. They form an informal security team in our church. They have agreed to be alert, attentive and active if necessary. We also have medical personnel in our church that can be counted on in case of a medical emergency on-site. Our thoughts concerning the NO GUNS stickers being placed on our doors is that it would be the responsible, conceal and carry “packers” who would obey the stickers and leave their guns at home or in their vehicles. For those who were irresponsible with guns and weapons, the stickers would mean absolutely nothing. So of what safety benefit do the stickers really serve? I and several church staff have taken the concealed carry (CCW) class and obtained our licenses. We serve as the point people in any type of emergency in our premises, and each of us has brought our handgun to church. The 10th Continued on page 38.
36 | Church executive | 07/2012