Who would have ever thought that our church would need security? The time and condition of our culture have changed enough to necessitate better security here at Fellowship Free Will Baptist Church. This is a must according to the county sheriff’s office and the district attorney’s office.
When we remodeled in 2006, we installed a security system to monitor our buildings when no one was around. Now the time has come to step up security even when people are around.
In recent days, several churches in our area have been broken into or robbed during worship services.
Beginning Sunday, August 1, we will be locking the doors of the church during service times. About 5-10 minutes into the services, an usher will lock all doors of the church, including the main sanctuary door. Please understand we are not trying to keep anyone out of our church except those who would like to do us harm. We want everyone to feel welcome, but we also want everyone to feel secure. We are having paddle locks installed on the doors so that people on the inside can get out very easily even when the doors are locked. This does meet the requirements of the fire code for Sullivan County.
There should be no problem with this new system. Just a word to the wise, come early and you won’t be locked out.
We also encourage everyone to lock your vehicles and put all valuable items inside the vehicle out of sight.
Yes, it is sad when we must go to these kinds of security measures, but the times and culture demand that we do so. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the pastor or one of our board members. They can answer any question to clarify any concern you may have.