Churchgoers across America are taking up arms before Sunday services, and signing up for "warrior training", citing concerns about attacks on places of worship.
Kris Moloney has run Sheepdog Church Security since 2014. With a background in military and law enforcement, he began managing a safety team at his church in Minnesota. Since then, more than 6,000 church members across the US have taken part in his Christian-based firearms training.
He told the Idaho Statesman that a balance must be struck between being “welcoming” and secure: “Those of us who do carry firearms, we do so on a concealed basis. We have the protection we need, and yet we're not ostentatious about it.”
“Warrior training” sessions include practical drills and scenario training for situations such as bomb threats and active shooter incidents. The programme is advertised with images of handguns atop Bibles, branding Moloney as a "Protector of the People and Guardian of the Church."
Churches across the US are adopting similar security measures. In Tennessee, pastors received active shooter training for pastors. In Houston, spiritual leaders began security training after a shooting at Lakewood Church in February 2024. Clays Mill Baptist Church in Kentucky also organised a security conference, and Idaho has seen an increase in security teams responding to threats against churches.
Moloney told the Idaho Statesman that there are two types of church attacks: random and targeted.
He alleges that shifting attitudes towards Christianity has driven violence against worshippers: “When I was a teenager, the churches were essentially unlocked 24/7. Even as a kid who was not exactly a very good kid, it never occurred to me to go into a church and do something stupid.
“Public leaders and politicians used to never say a thing against the church. Now, it's very common. I think as time has gone by, the general respect for religious authority has diminished greatly. So attacking a church 'is no longer off-limits … is what it comes down to.”
A study by the Family Research Council found that acts of hostility against churches more than doubled between 2022 and 2023, with violent attacks nearly tripling.
Yet many congregations are refusing to turn to fight firearms with firearms. Rev. Stephen Cady heads up Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester, New York. Whilst some many faith leaders are claiming their jobs now require them to draw up plans for mass shooter incidents, Cady told the Associated Press: “To carry guns into the church itself risks damaging the spirit of empathy and reflection the congregation exists to foster.
“Can you serve God and guns? I don't think you can. I think you have to make a choice.”