Representatives from 13 area churches got tips last week on proper handling of guns in the event any of their congregations faces a deadly intruder.
In an age when any house of worship might become a gunman's target, the 17 men who gathered at Calvary Baptist Church in New Stanton practiced the best grip and stance to use when aiming a handgun.
They watched as Atlanta-area trainers and Navy veterans Rodney Smith and Apollos Stanek demonstrated how to “clear” the church sanctuary during a simulated intruder alert.
The two armed men entered in a crisscross pattern as they quickly checked the corners of the room and then under the seats.
Those attending learned strategies and skills for minimizing a threat as well as the importance of advanced planning for enhanced security.
“We watch things on the news that happened a long way away, and we'll pray for those folks,” said Calvary Baptist pastor Richard Sementilli, who participated in the training. “But we need to be aware of the fact it could happen here.
“One does not take things for granted. You always hope for the best but expect the worst.”
Smith drew upon his experience in the Navy and in law enforcement to lead the Church Security Team Training program — including eight hours of classroom instruction at the church Friday and a Saturday session of tactical and firearms training at the Irwin Gun Club.
It followed previous classroom programs he offered in recent months at churches in Hempfield and in his native Bolivar, through the Georgia Firearms and Security Training Academy he founded in July 2015.
Smith recommended that all churches develop contingency plans for various threats, including fires, natural disasters and medical emergencies, and have the security and medical teams in place to carry them out.
He said all congregation members should be trained how to respond if security staff detect a potential shooter.
“If I say, ‘threat,' everybody needs to get down and cover their heads up so I have shooting lanes,” he said.
Congregations should decide whether they want to have armed security staff at church functions or they prefer a “less than lethal” form of protection, such as a stun gun, Smith said.
Some churches may want only unarmed security staff, which can still be effective at warding off those with criminal intent, Smith said, pointing out, “Presence is the No. 1 deterrent.”
Bill Supancic, a retired Penn Township police sergeant, attended the New Stanton program to bring tips back to fellow members of a volunteer security team that has been in place for about three years at Calvary Church in North Huntingdon.
He declined to reveal whether the team members are armed, but he noted they can draw upon various church members' military, law enforcement and medical expertise.
“If there is a medical emergency, someone is there to help take care of that person,” he said.
Army veteran Reid Crosby participated in the training with the hope of forming a safety and security committee at Harrold Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hempfield. He would like his church to take beginning steps of forming a medical team and a security team authorized to use non-lethal measures.
“It's about the safety of your flock,” he said. “Evil exists in the world around us. We can be prepared for what might come.”
Stanek and Smith offered ideas to “harden” a church or any other public building against someone with bad intent, including limiting entry points.
Stanek surprised Sementilli by reading off names of numerous Calvary Baptist congregation members he'd never met. The trainer revealed he'd looked through an exterior window and spotted the names written on a blackboard.
His recommendation: Close curtains or blinds and turn out lights to thwart those who may be looking for information they might use to commit a crime such as child abduction.
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6622, jhimler@tribweb.com or via Twitter @jhimler_news.
STEPHEN HUBA | Thursday , May 10, 2018, 12:48 p.m.
Local church leaders concerned about shootings at their places of worship soon will have a chance to get actual firearms training, including range time.
Rodney Smith, a Westmoreland County native and certified firearms instructor, plans to return to the area June 22-23 to offer a 16-hour advanced security course to interested churches.
Smith, 59, of Flowery Branch, Ga., taught free, three-hour courses in Bolivar, New Florence and Fairfield Township last year and at a Hempfield church in February. Nearly 100 people attended the first round of training sessions for the general public.
The upcoming course is for pastors and lay leaders who have a state firearms permit and who can bring their own handgun and ammunition.
“What we train is situation awareness, active shooter, active threat, use of deadly force, carry laws and room clearing,” Smith said. “Our goal is to enhance our students' awareness to respond and react to an active threat situation.”
Smith, a native of Bolivar, founded the Georgia Firearms and Security Training Academy in July 2015, a month after a white supremacist killed nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. Since then, he has taught security courses in more than 50 churches, most of them in Georgia.
A man opened fired last September at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ near Nashville, killing a woman and wounding six others.
In November, a gunman shot and killed 26 people attending a Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
The shootings in Tennessee and Texas make such training all the more necessary, Smith said.
The training will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 22 at Calvary Baptist Church, 792 S. Center Ave., New Stanton, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 23 at the Irwin Sportsmen's Association (pistol range), 995 Oakside Drive, Irwin.
Cost is $200 per person. Space is limited. Pre-registration is recommended, although walk-ins will be accepted.
To register, visit www.GAFASTA.com.
Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-1280, shuba@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shuba_trib.
Author: Joe Floccari
Published: 6:17 PM EST November 8, 2017
GAINESVILLE, Ga – Pastor Ken Anderson did something he never thought he would have to do: he hired a company to prepare his congregation for an active shooter scenario.
Pastor Anderson explained that times are changing and his job is to protect his people.
Rodney Smith provides tactical firearms training to organizations thru his company Georgia Firearms and Security Training Academy (GAFASTA). Smith understands training churches may be controversial to some but believes, in today’s world, it’s not,”If it will happen, it’s when will it will happen again.”
Smith spent 24 years in the United States Navy and 13 years as a police officer.
After the Charleston church shooting in 2015, he started the company with a mission is to help the public be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Since then he has trained more than 20 churches in the North Georgia area.
