Churches are becoming more and more aware of the need for proper planning and management to keep their congregations safe and secure.
Don’t miss your chance to learn techniques, procedures, and planning strategies to create a safer environment!
Who Needs to Attend the Church Safety Conference?
- Safety & Security Directors
- Pastors
- Executive Pastors
- Team Members
Basically, anyone involved in protecting your church property or who desires to manage the holistic safety of the congregation should attend CFX!
Speakers and Sessions
Check back often for program updates!
Emergency Preparedness
Meltdown: How to Respond When a Crisis Happens at Your Church or Ministry
Description: It’s not if a crisis will happen, it’s when. In today’s 24/7, social media-driven, digital culture, word travels fast. That’s why having a plan in place right now is more important than ever. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a shocking number of moral failures, financial collapses, sexual revelations, and other disasters hitting churches and ministry organizations across the country. How should you respond? Do we need an attorney? When should we alert the authorities? Should we meet with reporters? How do we tell the congregation? Those are just a few of the many questions that come at you with blazing speed. Phil Cooke has advised many churches and ministries in crisis, and in this session, he’ll share exactly what you need to know and how you need to respond.
Speaker: Phil Cooke
Planning and Preparing for Emergency Incidents in Your Church
Description: Your church isn’t immune to emergencies. Most likely you’ve already experienced something that happened that was unexpected: a missing child, a medical emergency, a natural disaster, or perhaps an active violence situation. How did the emergency go? Were you prepared for what happened?
In this session, you’ll learn how to have a better understanding of managing an emergency at your church when it happens by walking through a case study from an active violence situation at Peoples Church in Salem, OR. We’ll discuss lessons learned from this incident and use that knowledge to prepare and build your team to more effectively respond to any situation.
Speaker: James Homolka
Medical Emergency Planning: Using Your In-House Medical Resources Wisely
Description: When it comes to first aid and safety, churches have different needs than other businesses. Based on the size of your church and how many days a week the building is open, there are some standards you can use to ensure you have the right amount of first aid equipment and resources available when an emergency happens, specifically discussing how to design the perfect first aid kit and trauma bag for the average church and the proper usage and placement of AEDs in church settings. We will also discuss how to recognize cardiac arrest, heart attacks, and strokes.
This class will provide an overview of these topics, as well as proper maintenance for all resources. We will also discuss how to get your teams trained properly and how to determine what your state’s regulations are for first aid and AED equipment.
We will have hands-on training opportunities to learn how to use certain first aid items such as tourniquets, AEDs, and other trauma items. Please note that this will NOT be a certification course.
Speaker: Jason Laurie
Training Policies for Safety Teams
Description: coming soon
Speaker: Jeffrey Sanow
Physical Security
Focusing on Active Shooter Prevention First
Description: Most Active Shooter incidents are over within five minutes; however, it normally takes law enforcement more than eight minutes to arrive on the scene and identify the threat. We need to focus on prevention by utilizing our training, tools, and technology, to give the gift of time and save lives.
We’ll discuss how to plan for the prevention of an active shooter threat at your church. There is no need to respond with fear, but instead with preparedness. We are setting the bar by leveraging the latest advances in technology, including artificial intelligence, to alert first responders of potential threats before the first shot is fired.
Speaker: Glenn Norling
Security and Safety for Children & Youth in Churches and Schools
Description: Learn how to create standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training programs to apply safety and security to your children’s and youth ministries. We’ll also discuss how to manage safety for schools on church property.
Speaker: David Fullerton
De-Escalation Skills
Description: coming soon
Speaker: coming soon
Facility Assessments: Threats, Vulnerabilities, Risk, Priorities, and More
Description: Conducting or contracting for a comprehensive facility security assessment can be a daunting task. Understanding the key elements to include in an assessment is the first step to ensuring that your time and money are being put to good use.
A proper assessment is simply a starting point. Learn how an effective assessment can help you set priorities; determine immediate, short-term and long-term mitigation strategies; and allow you to design a process that will make your house of worship safer and more secure.
Speaker: Glenn Norling
Cyber & Fraud Security
Understanding Cybersecurity
Description: coming soon
Speaker: coming soon
IT Networking Skills
Description: coming soon
Speaker: coming soon
Installing Safeguards in Your Ministries: Panel Discussion
Description: This panel discussion will cover topics such as protecting yourself from working with developers, understanding legal implications of putting policies and procedures in place, and protecting your congregation and staff from information theft and embezzlement.
Panelists: Rita Roberts-Turner
Sponsors: Klein Solomon Mills
Leadership & Team Development
3 Simple Strategies to Make Your Security Team an Evangelical Tool
Description: Transform your church’s security team from only protectors into active ambassadors of God’s peace and presence. Rather than viewing security roles as reactive or purely physical, we’ll explore how your team can become a vital part of the church’s mission to care for your congregation’s physical and spiritual needs. With interactive activities, group discussions, and real-world scenarios, this workshop will equip you with the tools to transform your security team into a ministry of care, creating a more welcoming, safe, and spiritually supportive environment for all.
This workshop is essential for church leaders and security team members.
Speaker: Lori Morrison
Securing the Future: Leveraging Grants for Enhanced Security Practice
Description: As churches work to provide safer and more secure places for people to worship, many may not be aware of the financial resources available to them. In this session, we’ll discuss what grants are out there for churches to apply for, as well as tips for how to write grant proposals that get chosen.
Speaker: Elisa Mula
Sponsor: EM Designs
Conflict Management for Healthier Working Relationships
Description: coming soon
Speaker: coming soon
Keeping Your Pilot Lit: Five Strategies for Avoiding Burnout in Ministry
Description: In the world of ministry church leaders face challenges and pressures on a consistent basis. For many who are Bi-Vocational the ministry and life demands are doubled. The demands of ministry on a church leader’s time, family, and health have led many to burn out and leave the ministry altogether. Church leaders are expected to be experts in the scripture, model a perfect marriage, be involved in or lead a small group, while at the same time become the employee of the month or manager of the year at their other job and while coaching their children’s soccer team if they are Bi-Vocational. Although God has gifted those of us who lead in church with grace He has granted, the task of leading in a 21st Century church can be grueling.
By the end of their time with me, pastors and church leaders will learn how to see the signs of buildup to burnout and learn strategies that will help them avoid burnout so they may burn bright in their calling. Attendees will leave the session with hope as they will be given takeaways that will assist them in keeping fresh fire for ministry.
Speaker: Arthur James
The Five "S's" of Ministry Success
Description: In ministry there are always challenges, there are always problems, difficulties, and situations that leave you scratching your head, asking, “WHAT IS GOING ON!??” In all of the hustle of ministry life and complexity that comes with it, it is really easy to get lost in the “Fog” and before you know it, that building project is so far off the rails not even Google can find it! In a blink of an eye that seemingly minor staff issue gets really big – really fast. Or, maybe the facilities and the budget don’t seem to align, or you have security and access control nightmares that make your head spin and maybe your AV systems are a running joke!
The Five “S’s” helps cut through the chatter, the noise, and the fog, and helps to bring the issues to front and center so it can be dealt with in a clear and concise way.
Speaker: Rich Fuchs
Women in Ministry and Leadership
Description: coming soon
Speaker: coming soon
Communicating with Senior Leadership
Description: coming soon
Speaker: coming soon
Additional Advanced Learning Opportunities
- Facilities Manager & Safety Director Leadership Collective
- Pastor & Executive Pastor Leadership Collective
presented & produced By:
2025 Conference Sponsors
