By Emma Gibson
CU News Corps

DENVER — Parishioners in Colorado and around the country are questioning what they would do if someone decided to target one of their weekly services or prayer sessions.

Many places of worship in Colorado have responded by creating safety teams to protect their members. No matter the name — active-threat team, life-safety team, security team — the groups’ goals are the same.

Members from churches statewide have volunteered to watch for and try to defuse potentially threatening situations during religious events before someone gets hurt. In some Christian churches, select team members with concealed-carry permits are armed during every event, in case there is a problem.

"I’m hoping that more churches all over the world will begin to practice some type of a safety protocol," said Marcus Ferrell, director of security and safety at Potter’s House Church of Denver. "Terrorism is real and, unfortunately, the church is not left out of that discussion."

It’s been 10 years since the last church shootings in Colorado, but the memory is still fresh for many who live here. On Dec. 9, 2007, Matthew Murray went to a missionary training center on the campus of Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada and New Life Church in Colorado Springs, killing two people in each location.

Around 12:30 a.m., Murray asked Tiffany Johnson, the 26-year old director of hospitality at the missionary training center, if he could stay the night. She let him in, but asked him to leave 30 minutes later. When Murray left the building, he shot and killed Johnson and Philip Crouse, 24, and wounded two other staff members before he ran from the scene. He evaded police for the next 12 hours.

Just after 1 p.m., Murray began shooting in New Life Church’s parking lot. As he walked by the vehicles of the 7,000 parishioners preparing to leave, he killed two sisters as they climbed into their family’s minivan. Neither Stephanie Works, 18, nor her sister — Rachel, 16 — survived.

Murray wounded three more churchgoers before an armed volunteer on New Life Church’s Life-Safety Team wounded him, which led to Murray fatally shooting himself.

After New Life Church’s Life-Safety Team shot Murray, "that kinda put an exclamation point on the necessity of having a formal, full-time program here at New Life — what we call Life-Safety," said Jeff Kowell, the church's director of life safety.

According to a 2016 study published by the University of Alabama, there were 292 mass shootings around the world from 1966 to 2012. Out of those, 90 occurred in the United States. That means 31 percent of the world’s mass shootings happened in this country.

The definition of "mass shooting" varies, but in 2013, President Obama redefined it as a shooting with three or more victims.

From 1982 to today, there have been 86 mass shootings in America’s airports, workplaces, military buildings, schools and churches.

Mother Jones magazine tracks mass shootings in an online open-database that updates every five minutes. Before 2013, the database reflected incidents with four or more victims, but it changed its requirements in 2013 to fit Obama’s definition of mass shootings.

According to the database, five mass shootings have occurred in Colorado since 1982, including three in the last five years.

Dylann Storm Roof committed the last mass shooting in an American church, killing nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., on June 17, 2015. Mother Jones reported three earlier mass shootings on U.S. religious property — one in a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., in 2012, one in Brookfield, Wis., at a Living Church of God in 2005, and one in a Baptist church in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1999.

When the number of victims isn’t a factor, the number of shootings on church property spikes. From 1980 to 2005, there have been 137 shootings in churches, including three in Colorado, according to a church-shooting database published by the Center for Homicide Research.

A 1991 church shooting in Wheat Ridge was followed by one in 1992 at a Methodist church in Fort Collins. The third occurred at a Catholic church in Colorado Springs. The 2007 shootings in Aurora and Colorado Springs bring the total number of church shootings in Colorado to five.

The Potter’s House Church of Denver has a three-part security plan, Ferrell said. For each service, two to eight officers from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department and uniformed security guards stand guard, as do volunteers from the church’s Safety Team. The first priority for anyone on these teams is to watch over the flock, which can swell to as many as 2,000 people per service.

Ferrell said the officers first and foremost are there to secure the church’s offering and help direct traffic, but they’re also the first responders in case a threat occurs on the church’s 11-acre campus. The Potter’s House’s contract with the Sheriff’s Department only applies to church events, but during the week a uniformed security team protects the church’s staff and school. Ferrell said each team member is armed with a gun.

However, only a portion of the 15 to 20 volunteers that make up the Safety Team during an average service have guns. Three to five of these members have their concealed-carry permit and are armed during church events, Ferrell said. He chooses these members based on their history with firearms, their character and their ability to talk someone down before any weapons are drawn. Coincidentally, most of these members are retired military and law enforcement.

Ferrell decided that if there were a situation on church property, the number of armed Safety Team members needed to be low in order to reduce loss of life.

"You’re already dealing with chaos if you have to use your weapon," Ferrell said, "and then to think about what’s beyond your target in the event that you do not hit your mark are innocent people."

Ferrell said The Potter’s House always had security precautions in place, but the 2007 shootings on the campuses of Faith Bible Chapel and New Life Church spurred it to increase its security.

New Life Church increased its Life-Safety team as well. Kowell did not want to say how many members the team has, but confirmed that it's five times the size it was before the shooting.

"Back in 2006, the thought of churches having violence was pretty far-fetched," Ferrell said. "From that point to today, it seems like it’s almost every week in the news you hear about the church having some type of crime occurring."

After the 2007 shootings, the safety teams at New Life Church and Potter’s House started training with a new purpose.

In their quarterly trainings, Ferrell’s team members focus on how to respond when other non-Safety Team members produce a weapon, because sometimes people try to help stop the threat on their own. The group also learns how to lock down the church, how to deescalate a verbal or physical threat and how to guide the crowd in the event of an emergency — be it an active shooter or a fire.

Both Ferrell and Kowell require armed volunteers to pass two range qualifications per year in order to remain on the team.

"With the climate of society," Ferrell said, a domestic dispute "can erupt into something with weapons."

The goal of a safety team, Kowell said, is "to keep the peace."

" ‘Watchfulness’ is probably one of the keywords that make this program work," he said.

Megachurches aren’t the only houses of worship that could benefit from adopting security protocols and training their parishioners, Ferrell said. He believes that no matter the size of the congregation, at least one person should be trained to respond to an emergency. A small prayer meeting incited Roof to shoot nine people in the 2015 Charleston incident.

Kowell and other safety directors at religious organizations in Colorado Springs created the Faith-Based Security Coalition to better connect places of worship to each other and the Colorado Springs Police Department during a crisis.

The group of leaders from Christian churches, a mosque and a synagogue established the coalition so that no one would have to build up their security protocols alone.

"Why reinvent the wheel when someone else is doing something great," Kowell said.

Some religious institutions said keeping their security precautions private is the best defense against a possible threat.

At Temple Sinai in Denver, Jody — who did not want to divulge her last name for privacy reasons — chose not to comment on the security measures at the synagogue.

Jeff Galasso, facility manager at Faith Bible Chapel, chose not to comment on the details of the church’s security precautions, but said there are five police officers on the property during church events. These officers help with traffic and security.

Because Faith Bible Chapel had an active shooter on its campus in 2007, Galasso said he hopes the police presence will deter future tragedies.

"In February, we had some vandalism at the mosque. Someone threw a rock into one of our windows, and since then we’ve decided to take extra security precautions," said Iman Jodeh, a spokesperson for the Colorado Muslim Society. However, she, too, chose not to disclose the specifics.

She said the Department of Justice and private security firms reached out to other mosques in the area to help prepare parishioners for bomb threats, active shooters and vandalism.

"If a mosque, or any place of worship, is located in a place where there are threats at a much higher level, then yes, I think armed safety groups makes sense," Jodeh said. "But then again, I think every case is different, and that’s something each place of worship needs to measure for themselves before determining if that is the right protocol."

Lt. Jim Byrne, spokesman for Fort Collins Police Services, said "waiting for police officers to respond will not always be timely in a critical situation. I think it’s a wise thing for organizations to do, as long as there’s some balance" between paranoia and preparedness.

He also said it’s "a valuable tool" for a safety team, well-trained in emergency response, to already be on the scene of an active-threat. He noted that they need "mindset" and situational training.

If a safety teams knows how to respond to the arrival of law-enforcement, on top of being able to responsibly handle an emergency before FCPS arrives, he said, it’s easier for its officers to understand the situation and get it under control.

Regardless of the incident, Byrne said, a volunteer needs to handle a situation appropriately and know when to talk someone down and when to take physical action.

When church members disagree with the idea of an armed protection detail during services at Potter’s House, Ferrell "refers them to Christ." He retells the story of Jesus' arrest and emphasizes that Peter had a weapon and cut off the centurion’s ear.

"Peter was basically like a bodyguard," Ferrell said. "Peter was the armed security that rolled with these disciples."





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North Carolina nonprofits are increasing their reach and enhancing services with nearly $1 million in grant funding provided this year by the Coastal Credit Union Foundation.

The latest round, totaling $260,000, is helping community groups promote wellness, deliver fresh produce and offer training in financial management.

Jonathan Tyndall, operations manager for the nonprofit Ripe for Revival, said the funding will help expand its food-distribution program, offering a pay-as-you-go market while also teaching communities how to create nutritious meals.

"Every mobile market that we have comes with a portable cooking cart or education cart," Tyndall pointed out. "Here at Wake Forest we have a volunteer that comes every time we're here and does some type of cooking demonstration. Everybody knows how to eat an apple but maybe not everybody knows how to make a sweet potato smoothie or a butternut soup."

He noted the mobile market in Wake Forest typically serves around 75 people per event, providing up to 42,000 servings of food, while also supporting local farmers by sourcing fresh produce. He added the organization hosts around 20 events each week.

Another recipient, the economic development organization EMPOWERment Inc., is addressing housing affordability in Orange County.

Dolores Bailey, executive director of the group, said rising costs and wage disparities force many low-earning workers to commute from outside communities, highlighting the need for more accessible housing options.

"The need is great," Bailey stated. "Our population that we target is specific. It's intentional. It's those people making $7.50 an hour up to $20 an hour who drive every day into Chapel Hill to work but can't live here."

In addition to funding affordable housing, financial well-being programs and initiatives bridging resource gaps, the foundation awarded $20,000 to the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, which supports credit union employees affected by natural disasters.


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Donations to charities are down this year, including to the Salvation Army. The longstanding organization acknowledges people are not giving their time or dollars this holiday season.

Many nonprofits depend on the generosity of donors to operate. But inflation is hampering those efforts as people are putting their money towards groceries and housing.

Samantha Hyde - Director of Communications for the Salvation Army Indiana Division - said money collected from November and December's red kettle donations funds programs and services for the full year, but they are feeling the pinch.

"Those people who would normally put money in the kettle, who would normally write a check, they might be holding their dollars a little bit closer than they normally would," said Hyde. "What we've seen are just not as many donations in the kettle, not as much money coming in through the mail."

The Salvation Army Indiana Division has 28 worship and service centers and thrift stores throughout the state. Salvationarmyindiana.org lists locations and different ways to help the organization.

Another issue the organization faces is the lack of volunteers, to ring a bell and greet people as they drop their dollars and coins in the signature bright red bucket.

Like many other nonprofits, the Salvation Army was affected during and after the pandemic. Some of their regular bellringers are generally older or retired and standing in the cold puts their health at risk.

Hyde said there is another urgent need.

"We still haven't seen those younger volunteers step up in the way that we really need them to," said Hyde. "People are willing to donate online or are willing to help out virtually. We're seeing fewer and fewer people willing to put a coat on and bundle up and go out there and stand in the cold and smile and say Merry Christmas to people."

A couple of hours are needed to stand at the entranceway of a local grocery or general merchandise store, and say hi to your neighbors as they come and go - and help raise a little money, said Hyde.

About 82% of donations to the Salvation Army go directly to program funding, to help people in need of housing, are facing food insecurity, or are combatting addiction.

A new Texas organization hopes to increase civic engagement among business leaders.

The Texas Business Leader Alliance officially launches today.

Anjanette Wyatt, CEO of Clinical Care Pharmacies in Houston and immediate past president of the American Pharmacists Association Foundation, said the group will focus on several key issues to increase work in the community.

"Economic development, health care, civic participation, cross-sector collaborations, business community partnerships," Wyatt outlined. "All this can really take us a long, long way. We're hoping to impact the communities and private sector by conducting research."

A recent survey of 500 Texas business leaders showed 97% agreed civic engagement is important, and 64% believe businesses should do more.

Twelve business leaders from across Texas make up the advisory board for the Alliance. Wyatt noted she assisted the community following Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. She emphasized members will work together to reach business owners across the state who need help.

"Businesses can make a huge difference in what happens in the community," Wyatt contended. "I think this is a great opportunity for us to prove as business owners that our visibility, our purpose of what's going on in America is very vital."

The survey also addressed the state of democracy in Texas. Among those surveyed, 90% of business leaders expressed concern about the spread of misinformation and 91% said a strong democracy where everyone can participate is crucial to a vibrant economy.


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