With a warm and welcoming environment, churches worldwide have become targets for vandalism and theft. Many see the church as a safe haven for those looking to improve their lives and find different paths. Sadly, some people are willing to take advantage of a helping hand, assuming churches have low to almost no security measures in their facilities. As time passes, change is inevitable for churches worldwide to bulk up their security for the benefit and safety of their people and facilities.
Reverend Emmitt Peterson first organized Good Shepherd Baptist Church between 1930 and 1933. After many years of serving the community and sharing the gospel, the Church Recognition Council was called to accept the Good Shepherd Mission as a Baptist Church on March 11, 1941. Good Shepherd did not stop there and created many ways to spread the word, becoming the first black congregation in the nation to serve as a training institution in theological education and ministry development.
Under the leadership of Reverend Jeffrey L. Reaves, Good Shepherd experienced immense growth within its congregation and educational ministry services, requiring the church to find a bigger space to fit all its new members. In 2006, the church moved from its smaller venue to an old Kmart and Sun Supermarket building, with over 68,000 square feet of dedicated worship space. As crime rose in the area and with efforts to avoid further break-ins and instances of vandalism, Good Shepherd decided to take the next step in securing their people and their building.
“Four to five years ago, the church was not considering looking into a new system. With different break-ins and vandalism on the property, we found it necessary to protect our members and our building.” – Michael Tuggle, Good Shepherd Baptist Church Trustee.
Gallagher was the most upgraded and integrated system we reviewed. The others were so far out of range with what our system needed. It was like hitting the jackpot installing Gallagher. We liked the seamless integrations of the cameras and doors.
Michael Tuggle, Good Shepherd Baptist Church Trustee
Good Shepherd faced significant security challenges due to outdated infrastructure and a lack of efficient surveillance measures within their facilities, such as a 40-year-old analog camera system without integrated door security. By integrating Gallagher’s advanced security solutions in partnership with Security Systems, Inc. (SSI). Good Shepherd experienced a transformational improvement in its security protocols, leading to enhanced protection, reduced incidents of vandalism and theft, and increased peace of mind forits members and staff.
Trustees at Good Shepherd interviewed five different companies when looking to upgrade their system. “Gallagher was the most upgraded and integrated system we reviewed. The others were so far out of range with what our system needed. It was like hitting the jackpot installing Gallagher. We liked the seamless integrations of the cameras and doors.” said Michael Tuggle, a trustee at Good Shepherd.
“We wanted the system to be hidden but not unseen. We wanted the system to be present to those looking for one, but not in the faces of our members.”
Good Shepherd is utilizing access control and intrusion solutions within its facilities, along with Gallagher’s first site integration to the IDIS Solution Suite VMS (Video Management System) within the US. The church now has over 45 cameras installed, 128 alarm zones and counting, and T30 readers with dual-factor authentication that verify credentials for those entering spaces only accessible by Good Shepherd staff. As the church grows, it looks to include more Gallagher solutions within its system, including key management, mobile evacuation options, and potentially parking lot management. With the completion of installation, the church will have secured upwards of 80 doors within its facilities.
With Gallagher’s total security solutions, Good Shepherd can now watch over the entire property. After implementation, the church has found a complete stop in property theft from their kitchen and storage areas and found the system to be a significant deterrent to future incidents.
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