Last week, I wrote what I believe was a pretty impassioned column about why churches need security teams. This past Sunday, my niece’s fiancé shadowed me on security (he’ll be able to join the team when his background check comes back), and he and I talked about the need for vigilance in this dangerous world we live in.
And it’s getting ever more dangerous. Keith Graves of Christian Warrior, a site that offers training modules for church security volunteers, released a video earlier this week warning that ISIS is encouraging its followers to attack synagogues and churches, even in the U.S.
“In their weekly newsletter, Al-Naba, they have asked their followers to go and attack Christian churches in America,” Graves said. “I think it's important for you to listen to this because they've been doing this pretty rarely, and every time they put it out, I have noticed that a church gets attacked. So when they put it out in the newsletter, it seems like within the next couple of weeks, a lone wolf attacker attacks a church.”
Related: Houses of Worship Under Attack: Why Every Church Needs a Security Team
It might sound far-fetched, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. A 2024 Department of Homeland Security threat assessment pointed out that violent extremists “have mostly targeted faith-based organizations. Some of these incidents focused on less secure targets, like houses of worship…”
Granted, this was a Biden-era threat assessment, which means it talks about climate change and threats to the 2024 election, so take it with a grain of salt. However, there are crazies out there ready to attack churches, and some of them align themselves with Islamic terrorism.
What does this threat entail? Graves translates and comments, “‘Perfect the plans and diversify the operations. Blow up with explosives, burn with incendiary bombs, shoot with lethal bullets, cut and slaughter with sharp knives, run over and crush with buses…’ That's pretty specific. ‘… and the sincere will not lack a trick to make the hearts of Jews, Christians, and their allies bleed and to heal the chests of believing people from them.’”
Another portion of the ISIS message translates as, “Strike the gatherings of the Christians and the Jews, especially where they gather in churches, synagogues, and public events, and make their assemblies unsafe for them.”
Churches have been threatened for a long time, but we’re seeing it more often in 2025. International Christian Concern released a report in July about attacks on churches, and the stories are alarming. While some are random crazies or people with personal beef against a particular congregation, there’s one story of an attacker who had been watching ISIS videos before he tried to attack a church. From the July report:
An Arizona man, identified as Zimnako Salah, was found guilty of a hate crime on April 3, 2025, after he targeted Christian churches with bomb threats. Salah intentionally attempted to intimidate Christians because of their faith, according to a special finding from a federal jury.
After visiting four churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado, Salah left backpacks at two of them to cause fear among congregants. Although there were no bombs in the packs, improvised explosive device (IED) components were found in Salah’s storage unit. The man had also consumed on social media violent videos of the Islamic State group (ISIS) killing people.
Michele Beckwith, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, said Salah purposefully targeted Christians.
“[Salah’s] actions were designed to threaten and intimidate the congregation because he disagreed with their religious beliefs,” Beckwith stated.
So what do we do? Graves agrees with me that a security team is essential and that the team should be public.
“It's okay to let people know you have a safety team,” he said. “I don't know why safety teams want to be secret. But let them know you have a safety team and they're there for their protection so you can come worship in peace, and talk about how important it is for them to still come to church, but to be vigilant, to pay attention, to use good situational awareness, and to report anything out of the ordinary.”
“Now Psalm 121 reminds believers the Lord watches over His people, and Luke 22:36 shows that preparation is a necessity in protecting our people,” he added. “So if you have a safety ministry, it is not a lack of faith. It is stewardship so that people can continue to worship without fear. It's okay to have a safety ministry.”
We need to pray for churches across the nation and around the world. We need to be vigilant and keep an eye on what’s going on around us at church. And I’ll say it again: our churches need trained and dedicated security teams.
