The National Association of Church Security was born in the aftermath of a tragedy with the hope of preventing future tragedies.
On December 9, 2007, a gunman armed with two pistols, a semiautomatic machine gun and piles of munitions in his car, opened fire in the parking lot of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He entered the main building, near the children’s hall. While heading toward the sanctuary, several members of the church’s security team confronted him. After a trained security team volunteer wounded him, he took his own life. His rampage killed two people, wounded three others, and terrified thousands in the aftermath.
The previous day, the gunman had attacked a missionary center about 75 miles away. Although the shooting took place quite a distance from New Life, their team was aware and prepared. Because they had been trained and were alerted to the possibility of danger, the tragedy was contained and more lives weren’t lost.
The National Association of Church Security was created following this tragedy. John Casey was the director of security for New Life Church and was inundated with requests from churches and schools asking for help with plans, procedures, and training to help protect their ministries and campuses. Recognizing the need and realizing the monumental effort involved, Casey assembled a team of experts and began the process of bringing their expertise to churches across the country.
Today, our goal at NACS is to help ministries prepare, prevent, and protect by providing them with strategies, tools, and training. Any church, regardless of size or budget, can take steps to protect their people and know how to react to any emergency—whether it is medical, environmental, or security related. Learn how.