“It’ll never happen here.”
That’s what the pastor said when the topic of church security came up before the attack.
He didn’t say it with arrogance. He believed it. His church wasn’t in a major city. There were no direct threats. No troubling people lurking outside. The community was quiet, and the congregation was close-knit. Like many pastors across the country, he assumed that violence would visit other churches — not his.
But that kind of thinking is exactly why churches remain soft targets.
The Attack That Proved Him Wrong
On November 5, 2017, a gunman walked into First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, during Sunday service. Within minutes, 46 people had been shot. Twenty-six were killed. Twenty more were wounded.
The suspect entered the church with intent to kill. He wasn’t high. He wasn’t ranting. He moved with purpose — clearing the building like he had training. Victims were shot at close range. Many were children. There was no negotiation, no warning, and no chance to “de-escalate.” It was evil in its purest form.
The suspect had a history of violence. He was prohibited from owning firearms but acquired them anyway due to government reporting failures. He didn’t choose a courthouse or a police station. He chose a church — a soft target filled with unarmed believers.
This wasn’t the first time a church had been targeted, and it won’t be the last.
Watch the Debrief and Learn What Your Church Can Do
This video isn’t just a story — it’s a wake-up call. I walk through what happened, how it unfolded, and what church safety teams can learn from the Sutherland Springs shooting. Whether you're a pastor, a team leader, or a concerned member of your congregation, this is the kind of training that can save lives.
▶️ Watch the full debrief here above
Here’s what I cover in the video:
✅ What the attacker did right — and how you can recognize similar behaviors before a shooting starts
✅ Why denial is the greatest threat to your church’s safety
✅ How trained security volunteers can shift the odds in your favor
✅ What policies and practices failed this church, and how to avoid the same mistakes
✅ The mindset every Christian needs when evil walks through the doors
A couple of years ago, my pastor approached me about starting a security force within our church, and I accepted, and soon we had security cameras and some of the congregants on the security detail. We are located in a small city in the midwest, but from spring through fall, our population grows because of the Truman Lake and also the Osage River, which flows right by the city for fishing and swimming, plus this is a great location for deer hunting.
Luckily in Missouri, anyone 21 or older without a felony record is allowed to carry concealed, and if the pastor, priest, preacher, etc. allows the church members to carry concealed if they are on a security team.
Having someone controlling the parking lot is essential, as well as locking the access points down .
Three churches in this city have been repeadedly vandalized over the past few years, with none of them having any sort of security force or security cameras, while my church has not been hit.
Yet.
To give everybody reading this an idea on which kind of church is the most likely to be attacked or vandalized, the churches hit here are a Baptist church, a Catholic church, and a Methodist church.
It doesn't matter what kind of a 'feel-good, it won't happen here kind of a church' you might attend, I can only say that if any of you lose one member, one child due to an attack, having second thoughts about having a belated security force after losing somebody is being very foolish and hard-headed, in the extreme.
When Jesus called upon his disciples to buy swords for self protection IS the call to go proactive in protecting the members of all of your churches, no questions asked.
I am a Marine, retired from the service, and the pastor is retired for the US Army, and he is part of the security force, also carrying concealed. We've both been in precarious situations during our times in the service, so we bring in experience in 'when to shoot, when to not to' encounters are presented to us, more so than anyone else in our church, but with me being the pointman (as it were), and him on the other end, with God's help (and with some others on the team) ...
Also, concealed carry weapons, as well as an M4 carbine and a 12 gauge 18-inch shotgun are also easily acquired within our church, along with a taser, and a pistol equipped with gas releasing cartridges.
Along with a police type extendable baton.
Too much?
If I could, the church would also have .50 cal Ma Deuce machine gun, but that may be just a dream thought up by a Marine.
On the other hand, do any of you happen to have a spare M2 machine gun lying around, collecting dust?
I would be happy to give it a new home!
Well, at least a church, where it will be well looked after.
Thank you for sharing the details and tragedy of this event. I attended a church that had a shooting/murder in its history and these events dramatically changes both the church and almost every member. Church leadership really need to take these types of events into consideration for the safety of their congregation. My prayers and God's blessings to all the members of the First Baptis Church in Sutherland Springs.
This is such a great interview, Keith. Thank you so much for all you do brother! So helpful and insightful
Thanks for being dedicated to getting this content out to us. I keep up with you religiously on all your media outlets. God Bless!!
Thanks for the quality content and important reminder that we need to stay ready. Much appreciated. God bless you, thanks again.
Sutherland Springs was the fulcrum needed to get our church leadership to announce to the congregation that we had a security team to prevent such an incident. At all 3 services, the church broke out in applause.
The photos and the music at the end brought this presentation home. Thank you pastor, his wife, and Keith.
Thank you for this interview. What a horrible tragedy, I remember when it happened. As a former Security Forces NCO, I knew people who had dealt with the shooter while he was in the AF. It was terrible oversight that even allowed him to legally buy the weapons but that probably wouldn’t have stopped him. Hate doesn’t have a stopping point.
I’m part of my church’s security team and I just forwarded this to my head of security.
Thank you Keith for your tieless work you do to protect and make churches aware of protecting the flock. Every Pastor and church leader should watch this and take it to heart and soul.
"Tieless" work :-)
Thank you for this Keith.
I don't follow the 10 spies network and didn't know this event had happened. I am shocked and deeply saddened. I am on a church armed security team where we have monitored cameras. We just need more scenario training and range time.
I have heard Steven talk about what he to do when he faced evil. Last time 6- weeks ago in Stockdale, TX. Strong, emotional story. Especially, about how his life changed forever.
Oh, Jesus✨🕊
I was DOS at my church when the Pastor and "Elders" declared "nothing will ever happen here. If it does we'll just call 911". Then eliminated the safety team. That was 18 months ago.
Since then I have been looking to help multiple churches. One of them was actually contacted by the FBI and were notified that a known terrorist who does illicitation, had been tracked to their wi-fi system. That Pastor didn't even think they should have security.
I'm just shaking my head in disbelief and still looking for a church that's aware of what's going on.
Thank you so much Keith, for everything you are doing. God bless you!
Keith, the word is suicidal ideation, not ideology. ology after a word implies the study of.
I'm actually putting the finishing touches on an Active Shooter class for my church and school. Couldn't have been better timing. Let us pray that this will never happen, but always be prepared for it. Evil will not win.
If you live in California contact https://www.cisa.gov/ or https://sacrtac.org/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1. They will provide active shooter training for free.
Powerful information and you keep marching forward. Praise the Lord.
I know Pastor Pomeroy - I have had the blessing of sitting with him on multiple occasions. Thank you for posting this.