Articles with training

Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team

The Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network (ACLDN) is a membership organization that helps members in the legal fight after they justifiably use force in self-defense by paying for the services of attorneys, expert witnesses, private investigators, and more. It also educates members in the law governing use of force in self-defense and how armed citizens can protect against unmeritorious prosecution.

Attorney, court expert witness, and ACLDN Advisory Board member Emanuel Kapelsohn, president of The Peregrine Corporation, and author of the House of Worship Firearms Use of Force Policy Bundle (as a service to SemperVerus readers, Emanuel Kapelsohn is making this computer-fillable formatted policy bundle available at a $25 discount from the regular price. Order the bundle here. Then, on the checkout page, simply type in the discount promo code SEMPERVERUS25.), is interviewed in the ACLDN Journal on the subject of “Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team.” Below are the complete 2-part video interviews, links to the Journal print articles, and bullet points of salient information from the interview:

Read More…

Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents (Part 2)

This is the follow-up post to the first article about how Blue Arrow Consultants trains church security teams in handling Active Violence Incidents (AVI) in their houses of worship.

SemperVerus attended the two-day, more-than-six-hour training session at a Michigan church building with that church’s security team. It consisted of two hours of classroom teaching and four hours of live-action AVI scenario training with inert Glock blue guns and Glock 19X Gen5 Airsoft pistols and protective clothing.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents (Part 1) ]

The course instructor was Del Kostanko, police trainer and founder of Blue Arrow Consultants, LLC, who teaches that knowing how to assess and respond to threats can lessen the need for force, reduce the chance of physical harm, and minimize liability.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Disruptions during church services and events are generally benign, without violence, and can be solved using de-escalation techniques and skills.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

But, in the rare case of an AVI, church security teams must know how best to work cohesively to appropriately and courageously stop the deadly threat. SemperVerus highly recommends Blue
Arrow Consultants to expertly train your church safety team in the best practices of SWAT methods to properly prepare for when very bad times happen.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

The following is merely a small sampling of the excellent lessons Del taught, along with photos of some of the physical execution of those lessons in staged scenarios:

Read More…

Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams

Gentle Response is the organization founded by John Riley, a retired police officer and certified crisis intervention specialist with the National Anger Management Association. He and his team travel all over the United States conducting Conflict De-escalation Training seminars.

SemperVerus attended this excellent seminar, held in Immanuel Church, Holland, Michigan, May 14, 2023. With Mr. Riley’s permission, here are notes we took during that seminar and scenario training:

•   “A gentle response defuses anger” Proverbs 15:1 (MSG)

•   Conflict de-escalation: lowering the intensity of an agitated person to minimize a potentially volatile situation from becoming a critical violent incident.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

•   Peacemaking and de-escalating people’s anger is the goal, while staying alert to your own personal and public safety. When overwhelmed, stay safe and be an expert witness.

•   Mindset Priority: Each church security team member must have a “ministry mindset” — Every contact (even eye contact) is a ministry opportunity to represent the mission of the church. Don’t let your actions be heavy-handed and damage that mission.

Read More…