Are You Equipped to Tackle the Rising Threat of Drones?

Learn how drones are being used to spy on and threaten churches. Discover practical steps your church can take to detect, deter, and respond to unwanted drone activity.

May 14, 2025

Why Drones Should Concern Churches

Drones are rapidly becoming more advanced and accessible, offering anyone with modest means the ability to observe, scout, and even disrupt events from above. While drones can be tools for security, their misuse poses serious risks, particularly for places of worship. Churches, as both public spaces and symbolic institutions, face unique vulnerabilities when it comes to unwanted drone activity.

A Tool for Reconnaissance

One of the primary threats drones pose to churches is their ability to conduct covert reconnaissance. Criminals, terrorists, or other bad actors can use drones to survey church grounds, security protocols, and patterns of life to plan malicious activities.

How Reconnaissance Works:

Surveillance of Vulnerabilities: Drones equipped with high-definition cameras can map out blind spots in your church’s security, such as unmonitored entrances, parking lots, or secluded areas.
Roof Access and Layout Exploration: Drones can identify rooftop access points or determine structural weaknesses for future break-ins or sabotage.
Pattern Analysis: By observing church activities from the air, drones can monitor patterns like when services begin and end, peak attendance times, and when the property is unoccupied.

Real-World Implications:
Reconnaissance is a common precursor to larger-scale attacks. Criminals could use drones to plan burglaries by identifying entrances with the least surveillance. Terrorist organizations or active shooters might study your building layout to identify where congregants gather or where security teams are stationed.

Drones as Weapons

While reconnaissance is a serious concern, the potential for drones to act as weapons elevates the threat significantly. Churches must recognize the risks of drones being used as delivery systems for harm.

Types of Weaponized Drones:

Suicide Drones: These drones are equipped with explosives or incendiary devices and flown directly into targets, causing destruction upon impact.
Payload Delivery: Drones can drop dangerous items such as bombs, incendiaries, or harmful chemicals into crowds or restricted areas.

Why Churches Are Targets:
Churches are highly symbolic locations that attract a range of bad actors, from ideological extremists to individuals seeking attention through violence. The public nature of worship services makes them more accessible to threats, and the congregation’s focus on prayer and community can create moments of vulnerability.

Emerging Trends: Weaponized drone tactics, commonly seen in conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, demonstrate how easily commercially available drones can be repurposed for attacks. While this may seem distant from local church settings, the tools and knowledge to replicate these tactics are increasingly accessible.

Furthermore, drones used as weapons are commonplace in Mexico where drug cartels use them to eliminate rivals. With the influx of illegal immigration into the U.S., a number of bad actors have come into the country with intimate knowledge of drone warfare.

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Why This Should Concern Your Church

Even small churches with minimal resources should be aware of the growing risks drones pose. Reconnaissance drones might gather information today, only to lead to thefts, vandalism, or worse tomorrow. Weaponized drones, while less common, represent a catastrophic threat that cannot be ignored.

The Key Takeaway:
Churches must balance their commitment to providing a safe, open place for worship with the realities of modern threats. Understanding the risks of drone misuse is the first step in building a proactive security plan.

Identifying Unwanted Drone Activity

Drones can be small, fast, and difficult to spot, making it essential for church security teams to know what to look for and how to identify suspicious drone behavior. By training team members to recognize drone activity, churches can take early action to mitigate potential threats.

Recognizing Suspicious Behavior

While not every drone near your church is a threat, certain patterns of activity should raise red flags. Knowing these signs can help your security team differentiate between harmless hobbyists and potentially malicious operators.

Key Indicators of Suspicious Drone Activity:

Hovering Over Sensitive Areas:
Drones lingering above entrances, parking lots, or rooftops may be observing or recording sensitive locations.
Frequent Flights at Odd Times:
Multiple drone sightings during off-hours, such as late at night or early in the morning, can indicate reconnaissance.
Unusual Flight Patterns:
Drones repeatedly flying the same routes or circling the building suggest someone gathering detailed visual or structural information.
Close Proximity to Congregants:
Drones flying low over groups of people during services or events could be testing boundaries or attempting to intimidate.

Understanding Drone Capabilities

To assess the risks posed by a suspicious drone, it helps to understand what modern drones can do. Even consumer-grade drones are equipped with advanced features that make them highly effective tools for surveillance or disruption.

Common Drone Capabilities:

High-Resolution Cameras:
Drones can capture clear, detailed images or videos from considerable distances, allowing operators to map layouts or record sensitive activity.
Thermal Imaging:
Some drones are equipped with infrared cameras, enabling them to detect heat signatures. This technology could be used to locate security personnel or hidden entry points.
Payload Capacity:
Many drones can carry small items, ranging from cameras to potentially harmful materials.
Autonomous Flight:
Advanced drones can be pre-programmed to fly specific routes, reducing the need for an operator to be nearby.

Real-World Example:
A drone hovering over a parking lot could be equipped with a high-resolution camera, capturing license plates to identify vehicles associated with the church. Alternatively, a drone flying in repeated loops around the building may be mapping security blind spots for later use.

Why Early Identification Matters

The sooner a church’s security team identifies a suspicious drone, the more options they have to respond appropriately. Early detection allows teams to:

Document the activity for later reporting to law enforcement or the FAA.
Alert outdoor security personnel to monitor the drone’s movements and keep it in sight.
Notify the congregation and implement safety measures if the drone poses a direct threat.

By training your team to recognize suspicious drone activity and understanding the capabilities of these devices, your church can stay one step ahead of potential threats.

Should You Take Down a Drone?

The question of whether to take down an unwanted drone is both practical and legal. While the impulse to disable a drone might be strong, especially if it feels intrusive or threatening, churches must carefully weigh their actions. This section examines when intervention is appropriate, why restraint is often the better option, and how to handle imminent threats effectively.

When to Intervene

Intervening with a drone is only justified in very specific situations where it poses an imminent threat to safety or property. Determining when to act requires understanding both the drone’s behavior and its potential to cause harm.

Scenarios Warranting Action:

Visible Weapon Payload:
If a drone is carrying an item that appears to be a weapon, explosive, or hazardous material, intervention is necessary to prevent possible harm.
Aggressive Behavior:
A drone diving toward people, hovering directly over sensitive areas, or engaging in actions that suggest an attack should be treated as an immediate threat.

Key Actions to Take:

Alert your security team and initiate lockdown procedures for the congregation if necessary.
Notify law enforcement immediately, providing a clear description of the drone and its behavior.
Maintain visual contact with the drone to track its movements while prioritizing the safety of your team and congregants.

Why You Shouldn’t Shoot a Drone with a Firearm

While the idea of shooting down a threatening drone might seem practical, using firearms against drones creates more problems than it solves. For most churches, this option is both impractical and unsafe.

Practical Concerns:

Accuracy: Drones are small, fast-moving targets, making them difficult to hit, even for experienced marksmen.
Collateral Damage: Bullets fired at a drone are likely to miss and could hit nearby buildings, vehicles, or people.
Legal Ramifications: Firing a weapon at a drone, even in self-defense, can lead to significant legal consequences depending on local laws and FAA regulations.

Instead of relying on firearms, focus on safer and legally compliant ways to address drone threats, such as reporting the activity or using passive countermeasures.

Why Not to Take Down a Nuisance Drone

Not all drones are threats. Some are flown by hobbyists unaware of your security concerns, while others may simply be nosy neighbors. Interfering with a nuisance drone can escalate situations unnecessarily and may lead to unintended consequences.

Reasons to Avoid Taking Down a Nuisance Drone:

Legal Consequences:
FAA regulations classify drones as protected aircraft, and interfering with them can result in fines or criminal charges.
Resource Constraints:
Attempting to neutralize drones, even non-threatening ones, can divert your team’s attention from more pressing security concerns.

What You Can Do Instead:

Document the drone’s activity with photos or video for future reference.
Report recurring nuisance drone incidents to local law enforcement or the FAA.
Focus on increasing the visibility of your security team during outdoor activities to deter drone operators from lingering.

Addressing Imminent Drone Threats

If a drone poses a clear and immediate danger—such as carrying a weapon payload—taking proactive measures is essential. While direct takedowns are rarely an option for most churches, you can take steps to mitigate the risk.

Mitigation Tactics:

Evasion: Move people away from the drone’s path and into safe areas if possible.
Signal Disruption: If legal in your area, signal jammers can disable the drone’s connection to its operator, forcing it to land or return to its starting point.
Detection and Documentation: Use binoculars, cameras, or smartphones to observe and record the drone’s features and behavior. This information is valuable for law enforcement investigations.

By focusing on safety and responsible mitigation tactics, churches can respond effectively to threatening drone activity without creating unnecessary risks.

Proactive Steps for Churches

Churches that take a proactive approach to drone threats are better equipped to protect their congregants and property. Even with limited resources, security teams can implement affordable and effective strategies to deter drones and address their presence before they become a threat.

Training and Preparedness

The most critical asset in countering drone threats is a well-trained security team. By equipping team members with the knowledge and skills to identify and respond to drone activity, your church can stay ahead of potential issues.

Scenario in Action:
During a routine patrol, a security team member spots a drone hovering near the church parking lot. Instead of panicking or ignoring it, the team follows their training: they document the drone's behavior using a smartphone, report the activity to local law enforcement, and adjust their patrol route to ensure full visibility of the area. The drone operator, noticing the increased attention, moves the drone away.

Practical Training Tips:

Educate on Drone Behavior: Teach the team how to recognize suspicious drone activity, such as prolonged hovering or circling.
Conduct Regular Drills: Include drone scenarios in security exercises, simulating both reconnaissance attempts and potential payload threats.
Develop Clear Protocols: Establish step-by-step instructions for documenting and reporting drone activity. Ensure every team member knows their role in a drone-related incident.

Physical and Operational Security

Enhancing your church’s physical security is a cost-effective way to deter drone activity. Simple adjustments can reduce the likelihood of drones being used for reconnaissance or disruption.

Scenario in Action:
A drone hovers over the roof of a church, possibly attempting to locate access points. However, the church has installed inexpensive privacy screens around rooftop HVAC units, and the team conducts regular outdoor patrols. The drone operator is unable to gather valuable information and moves on.

Practical Measures:

Obscuring Key Areas: Use tarps, screens, or awnings to block line-of-sight to critical infrastructure, like entrances, windows, or rooftops.
Routine Patrols: Train security personnel to actively look for drones during outdoor rounds. Assign specific areas of responsibility to ensure complete coverage.
Lighting and Visibility: Install motion-activated lights to discourage drones from operating undetected during evening or night services.

Leveraging Low-Cost Technology

Modern technology offers affordable tools that can assist churches in monitoring and responding to drone activity. While high-end detection systems may be out of reach, basic tools can still be effective.

Recommended Drone Detection Apps:

DroneWatcher: Detects Wi-Fi-controlled drones and logs activity, including the make and model when possible. Free for basic use; available on Android.
DeTect DroneWatcher RF System (Hardware/Software Hybrid): Offers advanced RF-based detection for recurring drone problems. Best for larger churches with recurring issues; contact vendor for pricing.

Practical Uses for Technology:

Equip team members with binoculars or smartphone cameras to observe drone behavior.
Store evidence of recurring drone activity to share with law enforcement or the FAA.

Community Collaboration

Churches often operate as part of a larger community, and working together with neighboring organizations can amplify your security efforts. Collaborative efforts can include sharing intelligence, pooling resources, or creating joint response plans.

Scenario in Action:
Several nearby churches report drone activity over their properties. By collaborating with local law enforcement and each other, they identify patterns in the flights, leading to an investigation that uncovers the operator’s identity and intentions.

How to Collaborate:

Partner with Nearby Churches: Share reports of drone sightings, descriptions, and patterns of activity to build a collective understanding of potential threats.
Engage Local Law Enforcement: Establish relationships with police and discuss protocols for responding to drone-related concerns.
Educate the Congregation: Encourage congregants to report drone sightings to security personnel immediately, ensuring the team can act quickly.

By combining training, physical security enhancements, low-cost technology, and community collaboration, churches can create a layered approach to drone threats that fits within their budget. Proactive planning ensures that the team is ready to act when drone activity arises, protecting both the congregation and the property.