Active Shooters in American Churches, are you ready?

June 22, 2025 CrossPointe Church in Wayne, Michigan had an armed assailant open fired at the church and the church security team fatally shot him.
July 13, 2025 Bellaire Baptist Church Bossier City, Louisiana a man fully armed entered the sanctuary during a live-streamed service and was detained by congregants without harm.
July 13, 2025 Richmond Rd Baptist Church Lexington, Kentucky a shooter entered and killed two before being shot. He had killed a trooper before entering the church service.
August 27, 2025 Annunciation Catholic Church Minneapolis, Minnesota During an early morning pre-school Mass a shooter open fires killing two children and wounding 17 others.

According to a recent report on Fox TV there were 415 hostile acts in America’s Catholic and other Christian churches in 2024, up 730% since 2018.

As Pastors you must start seeing yourself in a true military style role. You are God’s general and preparing your sheep for spiritual warfare is understood, now however we have to prepare for real bullets aimed at us and our loved ones. We have to recognize that the enemy really wants us dead and we have to prepare to stand our ground! Our churches must be fortresses of prayer but also have tangible assets to protect and defend our sheep and especially the children.

Pastor Jerry Gumm of Richmond Rd Baptist Church never suspected his wife and daughter would be gunned down in their small community church. I would venture to say that just a few years ago we would say that will never happen at our church.

Pastor are you prepared for an active shooter to walk in on a Sunday morning? Is your congregation? It has been demonstrated repeatedly that having trained and armed personnel can make the difference between a peaceful solution or a disaster. Some pastors hesitate to address this from the pulpit because of scaring parishioners and losing some of them because of fear. We say losing from fear is far better than from being shot.

Several years ago one of our ministry volunteers was murdered by her husband who accused her of having an affair with their pastor. After shooting her he promptly went to their church and walked straight up the aisle during the morning service and shot the pastor and the assistant pastor. The security team tackled him and stopped him from doing more damage. Neither minister was killed however the familiarity with the shooter caused them to lower their guard just long enough for shots to be fired. This incident is not as uncommon as it sounds.

Having active shooters enter your church is something every pastor needs to take seriously! Soon and very soon you can expect legal liability for any church who has not prepared for this possible occurrence, especially where there is negligence. The above information regarding the shooters and hostile acts can be directly related to the passivity being promoted in many churches across America. The church is considered a soft target.

The recent incident in Minneapolis was obviously done by a deranged individual. When you see these kind of activities happening where mankind is directly going against God’s divine plan it should not surprise us that these atrocities occur! These children were killed and others wounded needlessly. Some of the indoctrination of children and students regarding gender and ungodly sexual activities have led them to a direct rejection of God. (It was reported that the young man who did the shooting had transformed into a woman.) Ultimately opening themselves to all kind of demonic influence and more. This incident is just one of many!

This is why it is critical for Pastors to lead and protect the sheep God has given them. The protection goes much farther than stopping a shooter from coming on premises, it means protecting from the anti-Bible and anti-God society that has infiltrated our cities and towns. It means calling out civic and governmental leaders who support an anti-God agenda. It means being involved with the education system from the ground up that has been filling young people with a lot of lies about Christianity and America. It also means to select leaders in our communities with Christian Bible based values who can not be bought off!

When we consider a room full of children being taught that our Judeo Christian values do not apply now and that they may really be a girl instead of a boy, it is far worse than the 2017 killing of 26 parishioners and and 22 others wounded at First Baptist Church Sutherland Springs, Texas. Yes this was a horrible event and yes we are saying let’s be prepared, but we are also saying that the stealing of innocent minds by the hundreds of thousands is far worse!

When we see the direction society has gone the only thing standing in the way is God’s Church led by God’s Pastors (Generals).

The sheep you are leading are bombarded with all kind of propaganda daily that make your job harder than any time in history. It is up to you to be fully prepared to fight off the wolves, bears and lions who are trying to devour them. A pastor who is knowledgeable is one who is much better equipped. Being on top of current events in your community may sound like a small thing however if your leadership of elected officials annually celebrates lifestyles that God calls an abomination, if they pass ordinances that are self serving, if they allow school curriculum that teaches sexual activities contrary to God’s word, and the church sits idly by and does nothing, what message does this send your church family and the community at large? Please don’t allow this to be as destructive or more than an active shooter!

If we take the threat of an active shooter seriously we most certainly should take these spiritual threats to our community and church just as seriously! Pastor, we pray that you have stepped up and have already prepared for the worst scenario.

We have a few recommendations to help your church family prepare. This may look a bit odd but bear with us. Having a Biblical worldview and Biblical Citizenship foundation can prepare your entire church family with the information they need regarding the Bible, our Founding Fathers, our Constitution and your responsibility as a citizen of the USA. It also, gives clarity to your legal “Rights” and how to defend your family. Rick Green’s Patriot Academy has the best Biblical Citizenship course available.

We strongly recommend Liberty Pastors Training Camps with Pastor Paul Blair. These 4 day camps equip you with the knowledge needed to effectively become engaged at all levels. You receive hands-on training and are equipped to be battle ready!

All Pro Pastors International Pastors Luncheons are free and often address the “active shooter” issue with the local law enforcement officials speaking and giving their instructions for your church. These luncheons within a 2 hour time frame have life saving information and encouraging inspiration as well for pastors.

I have a couple of questions for you. Is your church prepared for the “shooter” when he arrives? What are you going to do about it?
Are you content to allow the godless society to dictate what your children are taught? What are you going to do about it?
Are you happy with the elected officials that are supposed to be representing you and your values? What are you going to do about it?