2023 Church Security Conference
It is official! We are holding our annual church security conference this April, 21st & 22nd, 2023.
Welcome to The Watchman church security program. Our training is different because we spend most of our time (about 75%) teaching you practical hands-on exercises which are paramount to your team’s mission success. In addition, our training is not based on the use of a firearm. An active shooter is the least likely threat you will face, but it is one of the most dangerous ones. However, the focus of your training should not be on dealing with an active shooter. Instead, it should be based on solid security principles that will most likely deter anyone from choosing your facility as their target.
the only layered training system
Our church security conference training consists of several layers of training. Truthfully, training a security team is more in-depth than what most people can imagine and we do not take it lightly. There is no possible way for you to learn everything you need to know in a day or two. Anyone who says anything remotely like that is misleading you should steer clear of them. In fact, we could spend a week with you and just scrape the surface of just how much there is to know about church security. Yes, it is really that in-depth if you want to do it right.
HANDS-ON PRACTICAL EXERCISES
The first layer of training is our church security/safety team conference or on-site training. In these training venues, we teach you hands-on practical exercises because these are things that are the most difficult to learn without having an instructor present. The two days of hands-on training will last approximately 8-10 hours each day. Most people are overwhelmed after the two days because they realize that they have a lot of work ahead of them. For the most part, people teaching church security/safety are giving lectures. While there is some great information being taught, you are only getting information and no real practical skills which are critical to your team’s mission success.
THE WATCHMAN CHURCH SECURITY DVD SERIES
Now, onto the second layer of training… Because we throw so much information at you during these two days of training, we send attendees (one per two people from the same church) home with a complimentary copy of The Watchman DVD series that is approximately 9 hours long. Naturally, you will have many questions after the conference and the DVD series will address many of them. And, it will also prompt more questions. In addition, we provide you with an 80+ page digital manual that contains a lot of information that will assist you in developing your security plan.
INTERACTIVE ONLINE TRAINING
The third layer of training is via our online training. There you will find a wide variety of topics that will expose you to a lot of things that you have never considered. Some of them being a very different mindset of concealed carry, unarmed combat, etc. There are over 200 hours of online videos and a discussion forum with a lot of great information.
ITC has been training people for over 30 years and we know that you will not retain everything and that is why we layer the training. We cannot in good conscience spend two days with you and say that you are “ready” for combat because that is just ridiculous. Anyone who knows anything about church security would realize that there are literally hundreds of hours of preparation that go into a properly planned security plan.
It is critical that your team leaders see the big picture before they go and start writing and implementing policies and developing a plan. And, this is where most people go wrong because they have very minimal information when they go train with other trainers. What we are trying to tell you is that you cannot start a team and expect to be successful with a minimal amount of information. We have been running a team for over a decade and there is nothing “simple” about getting a team up and running. Not to mention having an effective plan. Sure, you can assemble a team and pretend to know what you are doing. But, that is not a wise thing to do and you are not going to be an effective security or safety team. Of course, if you are not effective, then what is the purpose of your existence?
DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF TRAINING WITH JUST ANYONE
Why would you train with people who do not have the experience of being on a team or running a team? Not only that… our experience of training hundreds of churches has given us some unique insights on this topic. If you are serious and passionate about getting a security team in place, then you must make sure that your team is properly trained and that you have as much information as possible about the bigger picture. There is no such thing as “too much information” when it comes to protecting people. Our goal is to provide you with as much information as possible so that you are more likely to be able to successfully protect your flock. After all, that is why we are doing this! This is not a job. Rather, it is a calling and it is something that we are very passionate about and hope that you are too. Once you learn what is really involved in protecting people, you will realize that it is probably the most demanding ministry next to pastoring.
No other church security training program offers the level of training as we do. And, that is why over 300 churches nationwide have chosen us to train them. We have trained another 500 through our DVD training series and countless more via our online training program.
We strongly suggest that the team leaders go through the training and watch the videos before sharing the information with the rest of the team because not everyone is ready to hear what we have to say and that can impact your team greatly.
Innovative Tactical Concepts will introduce you to tactics and tools that are outside of the box and are considered to be unorthodox. What we will say about that is this… “If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck”. (– John Steinbeck) This is not about being “fair”. This IS about preventing the fight from ever coming to your facility and then turning the tables in your favor if something does take place. One of the most important skill sets that we teach during the conference is verbal de-escalation via role-playing. In fact, this is probably THE most important skill we teach during the two days. Most people think that they know how to deal with situations without making them worse. However, our training will show you just how easy it is to inadvertently escalate the situation. But, through training, you can learn how to avoid making those mistakes.
Furthermore, as the old saying goes “you get what you pay for” is very true in the training world. When you consider what all you are getting for $600, in reality, you are paying about $2.00 per hour for professional training.
Even if you choose not to train with us, we are still here to help you out with questions, etc. We are not in this just for the money. As Christians, we are called to help others in need and we always do our best to do just that. God gave us these skills and information in order to save lives and that is what is most important.
Other training resources offer their virtual training for close to $500. That’s not including ANY hands-on practical skills training. We are offering you two days of hands-on training, combined with two more layers of training consisting of over 200 hours of training for a mere $600.00.
You may send up to 2 people from your church for a flat $600. This includes:
What is Covered in this course
Over the two days, the church security seminar will cover more than 30 key concepts to help you secure your church and protect your flock, including:
Of course, we can custom tailor a program to meet your security team’s needs.
2 Days / $600 for up to 2 attendees per church (no discount for only one person attending)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We ask that you empty your cup before coming to class. Also, we ask that you try it our way for the duration of the course. What happens a lot of the time is that someone with training wants to do it their way, and it causes issues with what we are trying to accomplish.
Our teaching methods are based upon the following things from having trained several thousand people over the years. First of all, we teach you simple, effective, and easily replicated techniques. Next, we are going to assume that you will never train on what you learned because that is typically what happens. Lastly, that we will never see you again. It is our experience that most teams will not train often, or at all, once they leave the training session. The tactics we teach are what we feel is going to give a security team the best chance of dealing with an active shooter. Yes, there are other tactics out there that may be better for the highly trained person, but not for the average person who doesn’t know anything. Again, assuming that the team is not going to train as they should, we teach them a “universal” tactic.
To our friends in Law Enforcement and those with Military backgrounds. We teach some things that may go against how you were trained. And, we might teach some things that seem unorthodox. That does not mean that the training is bad. It just means that it is different. What you will learn are tools to put in your toolbox.
Everyone should come with the expectation of learning new things. Not everything is going to be for you and your church as every churches needs are different. Please look over the course outline and if you think that you are trained in these areas, then this training may not be for you. If you think that any or most of these situations does not apply to you, then this training is not for you.
In regards to the train-the-trainer solution, we are going to work through some practical exercises and give you feedback on what you are doing wrong. This is NOT our instructor’s program where you teach. Simply put, you are going to learn things and take them back to your church to teach them.
We cannot predict what your church will and will not use. This course covers things that you need to know, but you may not choose to use them. That does not lessen the value of the course to most people. What we teach in the two-day course is based upon over 10 years of experience of being on a security team. The complimentary DVD and the online training program will fill in the gaps in what we do not cover in the actual training seminar.
If you have all of the above mastered, then you might want to consider our advanced training for security teams. However, we have found that the majority of teams do not fully understand or practice the information just mentioned.
Click here to see the training schedule or to enroll in the 2023 church security conference.
If you cannot afford either the on-site training or the church security conference… then you might be interested in FREE training.
If you are serious about your team being effective, then you might want to check out our church security certification program.
Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to learn more about this ministry.
We offer church security training in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.