PastorMatt

Unfortunately my church does not have the luxury of being able to put up a sign with interchangeable messages, but I love it when I drive by a church and I see a clever saying on the sign. The following is a few of my favorites that I have come across. 1) This one here is good one for this time of year. "Come in and Let us prepare you for your finals" 2) Ouch. A direct message for the thieves from Clays Mill Rd. 3) This one hit the heart. 4) This one is straight to the point 5) This one is clever. Well done If your church has a funny sign or if you have seen one, feel free to post it in the comments below.

This topic has been in the news as of late and it seems that churсhеѕ have become a bееn a ѕоft target for сrіmіnаlѕ. Church used to be a safe place, but that all seems to be changing. There is money аnd rеtrасtаblе gооdѕ, there are people whо аrе dіѕtrасtеd, thеrе are cars left unаttеndеd, the properties not рrоtесtеd. The biggest things that we used to have to worry about was theft and vandalism. Now, it seems that armed security is become a necessity in our churches as more and more church shootings are taking place. Sometimes the churches are randomly chosen, while other times it may be a disgruntled member or a someone who just got angry at the pastor or church. Since churches are open to the public in worship the crіmіnаlѕ can dо their "casing" of сhurсhеѕ just as thеу do that of houses, tо ѕее іf thеrе аrе obvious оbѕtасlеѕ оn thе wау. The оnlу difference in a church іѕ that thеу juѕt gо іn аnd look around. Thеу could nеvеr dо thаt аt hоmе. Prоtесtіng thе church from аll fоrm оf security threats keeps the church safe tо worship. Some of the following is from some things I’ve seen in churches, while others are some things that we have implemented in our church. Our churches needs to be protected from violence, child abuse, sexual predators, thieves, vandalism, and more. Have a Security Plan: This plan should include all issues of security, from active shooters to child abuse. Contact your local law enforcement as they are usually willing to work with churches and to make recommendations. Don’t be in denial that this will not happen in your church. Look at security as a ministry not an expense. It is our responsibility as leaders in the church to provide a safe environment for those that choose to worship. Report illegal activity to the Police: Churches seem to find it easier to call the police for burglary or vandalism, but some fail to report abuse when it comes to a staff member and underage child. ALL reports of abuse needs to be reported to authorities. Before a church hires a staff members they need to do background checks, and that will only show if reported. Organize a church security ministry team: Thеn рrоtесt thе. Theft аnd burglаrу аrе thе crime оf сноісе for сhurсhеѕ. Churches uѕuаllу have ѕоund systems, sound еԛuірmеnt, соmрutеrѕ, еtс.. Thеѕе іtеmѕ аrе еаѕу to fеnсе іn аnd easy tо ѕtеаl. Mаrk thеm for easy іdеntіfісаtіоn and keep thеm іn a lосkеd storage room when not in uѕе. Just one visit to your church will show the thieves what your inventory is. Gеt a ѕесurіtу ѕurvеу: Your lосаl police саn do that, аnd іnѕurаnсе соmраnу сlаіmѕ managers will bе hарру to help. It is аlѕо their interest thаt your facility іѕ ѕаfе аnd ѕесurе. Remind Church mеmbеrѕ nоt to lеаvе vаluаblеѕ in ѕіght whenever thеіr cars аrе parked, аnd thеу should аѕ wеll lock thеіr cars. Hаvіng ѕоmеоnе реrіоdісаllу mоnіtоr the lot іѕ аlѕо a gооd dеtеrrеnt. It may also help if you have some abuse happen in your church, as it may be caught on camera. Armed members: Many churches can’t afford to hire an outside security team, but also many churches are blessed to have members serving on their security teams who are active duty law enforcement or those who are legally permitted to carry a concealed firearm. Make sure you follow all local laws and use wisdom when assembling your armed security team. You MUST train: Although you may be blessed to have members in you church who can legally carry a concealed weapon, or those with law enforcement and military experience, you should never assume that they will all perform at the same level during an emergency. Chances are, they won’t. This is why conducting firearms drills is so critical and should become a required component of your annual training. Please let me know in the comments below what do you do in your church to help in church security.

The Most Spiritual Churches in America I have always been a part of the most spiritual Independent Baptist churches in America. God has been so good to me. Some may think that this is a very proud statement. You may ask why do you think that the churches that you have attended are so spiritual. Let me explain. We all consider that being spiritual is submitting to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We all know that the Holy Spirit enables us to do his work in the church. He also imparts to us the ability to perform special tasks in the church that no one else can do as well as we can. What a blessing to have a part in the Lord’s ministry. Now, I think that the reason that I have attended the most spiritual churches in America is because even the most carnal, worldly, hateful, people in these churches have been given special gifts of a spirit and they exercise them regularly. Only in the best churches in America can you find carnal people exercising their gifts in the church. You may ask what gifts these people exercise. By and large, they all have the gift of tongues. Their tongue goes a mile a minute. They are very well-exercised in that gift. Most of them also have the gift of wisdom because they always know more than everyone else. If you ever have a problem in the church, they are so wise that they can solve all of the church’s problems in a matter of minutes. The gifts of wisdom and tongues are usually exercised simultaneously. Most of them have the gift of interpretation. They know how to interpret the passages that that the preacher preaches “falsely”. You know, like women wearing pants, carnal music, worldliness, and so on. It is sure a blessing to have these Bible scholars in our church. A few of them have the gift of governments. They really know how a church should be run. They are experts on each and every program that the church has. They are financial geniuses and know where and how all of the money of the church should be spent. The final gift that these people have is the wonderful gift of teaching. They are ready to teach the preacher how and what to preach. They are experts in the substance and delivery of each sermon. They can teach a preacher correct grammar in a matter of minutes right after the sermon. What a blessing to have these people in our church. The next time you get down and depressed about the state of affairs in your church just remember. You still have it pretty good. The majority of your worldly, backslidden, hateful, carnal, once-a-week Christians exercise their gifts daily. What a blessing to be part of the best Independent Baptist churches in America. 6-14-03 Pastor Danny Vanhoose http://www.graceindependentbaptist.org/