(RNS) — When Nick Spencer heard about the shooting that took place last week at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, he, like millions of Americans, was heartbroken. But as the chief operations officer of the security firm Strategos International, he also prepared for what he knew would come next.
“Unfortunately, once an event occurs, there’s a huge inquiry that happens,” he said. “People want to know about resources: ‘What can we do to not be the next victim in this situation?’”
It’s a pattern that repeated across the country at businesses and groups that, like Spencer’s, help houses of worship develop emergency protocols and step up security, including armed guards, to protect against mass shooters and other threats. Long seen as unnecessary or even anathema by faith groups that oppose the presence of guns on principle, security firms say religious communities are increasingly requesting their services as the number of houses of worship impacted by mass shootings, while still rare, continues to rise.
Some have sought the counsel of businesses such as Strategos, a Christian business that offers training to faith leaders in addition to deploying Strategos security personnel at schools and houses of worship. “There’s an old saying in law enforcement: When seconds matter, police a …