Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 10 December 2025

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

Training Your Church Security Team Members

The article warns that firearms use in a church setting carries enormous risk. Even trained police officers can miss 60–70% of shots under stress so, in comparison, untrained or only minimally trained security volunteers pose a significant danger if an organization asks them to draw a weapon. Because of that risk, any church security team that contemplates armed response must commit to realistic, relevant, and recent training, that covers but is not limited to:

• Threat Management
• Use-of-force decision making
• Firearms safety
• Safe gun handling
• Marksmanship under stress
• Gun fighting in crowded spaces
• First aid

Importantly, the article emphasizes that the decision to use force must be based on sound judgment: deadly force is only justified when the threat has both intent and ability to inflict serious harm. It also stresses that many security-team encounters will not involve a real threat, so members must be prepared to interact with suspicious or distressed individuals with courtesy and compassion, instead of automatically escalating to force. 

Analyst Comments: This piece highlights a challenge many houses of worship face: volunteers often step into security roles out of care for their community, but they may not fully recognize the skill gap between willingness and readiness. Emphasis on realistic, ongoing training is especially important in faith environments where crowds, limited exits, and mixed-age groups increase the risk of unintended harm. The reminder that many encounters involve confused, distressed, or vulnerable individuals reinforces the need for de-escalation skills, interpersonal communication, and compassionate engagement, instead of pure marksmanship skills.

The article also indirectly underscores the importance of a layered approach to security: strong greeter teams, situational awareness, clear communication channels, basic trauma skills, and consistent drills can significantly reduce risk before force ever enters the equation. For congregations with volunteers rather than professional security, prioritizing judgment, preparation, and safety habits may be even more valuable than focusing on weapons or tactical skills.

Over 250 people quarantined in South Carolina as measles outbreak rages

A measles outbreak in upstate South Carolina has prompted health authorities to quarantine more than 250 people, as of the latest reporting on Tuesday December 9^th.  The outbreak has grown rapidly: the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) now reports over 110 confirmed measles cases in the current cluster, many concentrated in Spartanburg County. The spread has affected community institutions: exposures occurred across several schools and a church, with some new cases traced to the previously identified church-linked exposure. 

Analyst Comments: This outbreak illustrates how quickly a highly contagious disease like measles can disrupt day-to-day life when vaccination gaps exist in a community. The fact that exposures spread through schools and a church highlights the vulnerability of communal settings, especially those with children, mixed-age groups, and close-contact gatherings. Large quarantines place significant strain on families, workplaces, volunteers, and local health departments, underscoring how prevention is far less costly than response. For community leaders, including houses of worship, this serves as a reminder to maintain strong communication networks for health alerts, review protocols for managing illness in group settings, and support trusted health messaging when outbreaks emerge.

Weekly Security Sprint EP 138. Reports galore and shoring up for the holidays

The above Gate 15 Weekly Security Sprint website also provides links to many security-related items of interest.

In this week’s Weekly Security Sprint Dave and Andy covered the following topics:

• FinCEN Issues Financial Trend Analysis on Ransomware
• Five-page draft Trump administration cyber strategy targeted for January release
• FBI PSA: Criminals Using Altered Proof-of-Life Media to Extort Victims in Virtual Kidnapping for Ransom Scams

Information on other Gate 15 podcasts can be found at Podcasts (gate15.global).