Skip to main content

Violence in Church More Frequent than You'd Expect

CBN

Share This article

More than 450 people have died from violent incidents in a church or faith-based property since 1999, according to Sheepdog Seminars for Churches.

Sheepdogs Seminars wants to lower that figure by showing churches how to be aware of potential violence on their properties, and equipping them to create a safer atmosphere for worship.

"It has been said that there are three kinds of people in the world... wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs," the organization states on its website.

"When we refer to a 'Sheepdog Seminar for Churches,' we are appealing to churches to form 'eyes and ears' teams at their houses of worship: men and women (sheepdogs) whose assignment on that particular day is to watch out for anyone and anything that threatens the safety of the congregation," the website says.

Jimmy Meeks, a police officer and ordained minister, is one of the seminar leaders. He travels the country showing churches how to keep their congregations safe.

Meeks and his wife, Julie, were married at the First Baptist Church of Daingerfield, Texas. Five were killed and 10 others were injured at that church in a shooting June 22, 1980.

>>What is the most common kind of violence that takes place at church? Meeks answers this question and more on CBN's Newswatch, April 25.

Share This article