HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — Acts of violence at places of worship have almost tripled in recent years.
Adding to those numbers, a recent shooting at a famous megachurch in Texas, where a woman opened fire at the Lakewood Church in Houston run by celebrity pastor Joel Osteen.
A local security organization participated with that church — to find ways to keep its members safe.
The Gun Violence Archive tracked 627 mass shootings in 2023 — a mass shooting defined as four or more victims shot or killed.
That 627 mass shootings are many more than there are days in the year, and shootings are on the rise in places of worship.
Saturday, there was a sharing of ideas on how to make churches in Hampton Roads safer.
“I do not want to see that happen, but we need to be prepared if it does happen,” said Gary Jimerson, who heads the Faith-Based Safety and Security Coalition.
When evil enters a church
On a Zoom call Saturday, a former FBI agent who is in charge of security at Joel Osteen’s church in Houston Texas where a shooter opened fire before security killed her.
“The mistakes that they made, they were very open about that,” Jimerson said. “You know, there were some communication errors because there were so many people on the radios that some of the people maybe couldn’t get instructions to their teams in a timely manner that they needed.”
Jimerson quotes an FBI statistic that 47% of places of worship in Hampton Roads have no security plan.
“What would a pastor say to his congregation on a Sunday afternoon if something happened in their church on Sunday morning as to why you weren’t prepared for what happened,” Jimerson said.
Jimerson thinks places of worship can learn from how Jewish synagogues are protected.
“We actually have attended some of their classes,” Jimerson said. “They do they have a national network of security people for the Jewish Community Center, and we work closely with them, and that’s a great thing.”
Jimerson’s message: If you don’t have a security plan in your place of worship, get one.
“My message to you is to do it immediately because there’s no excuse for a pastor, a flock leader, someone that shepherds a group to leave their people unprotected,” Jimerson said. “There’s no worse feeling in the world to have no defense when someone comes in to do evil in your church.”
Jimerson said he gets calls from churches, but that’s where it usually ends.
They want to come out and meet with them, and then there’s no follow-up from the places of worship afterwards.
Jimerson called it an apathy they have not been able to conquer.
