08/30/2026
🛡️ A Heart for Church Safety Ministry
I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and Defense Grid LLC to those serving in church safety and response ministries.
My name is Stacey Guffey, and after more than 40 years in law enforcement, one thing I have come to understand is that preparation matters—but when it comes to the church, how we prepare matters just as much.
I don’t believe a church safety team should simply be a group of people standing at the doors watching for trouble.
It should be a ministry.
A ministry that welcomes people while remaining aware.
A ministry that knows how to de-escalate before a situation becomes a confrontation.
A ministry prepared for the medical emergency just as much as the violent threat.
A ministry that works alongside pastors, ushers, greeters, children’s workers, medical personnel, and parking teams rather than operating separately from them.
That heart is why I started Defense Grid LLC and why church safety ministry has become such an important part of what we do.
We work with churches and existing safety teams on areas such as:
• Building and strengthening Church Safety/Response Teams
• Situational awareness and behavioral recognition
• De-escalation and dealing with disruptive individuals
• Medical emergencies
• Children’s ministry and nursery protection
• Ushers, greeters, parking, and safety-team coordination
• Lockdowns and evacuations
• Active-threat response
• Policies, procedures, documentation, and team structure
• Realistic scenarios and decision-making exercises
• Shoot/Don’t Shoot judgment training using our Smokeless Range simulator
But one of the most important things we teach has nothing to do with tactics:
Never allow the mission of protecting the church to interfere with the mission of reaching people.
The person walking through the door who catches your attention may seem as a threat—but they may also be someone hurting, struggling, or walking into a church for the first time looking for hope.
Our responsibility is to be prepared enough to recognize the difference.
Defense Grid is based in Indiana, but our ministry is not limited by state lines. We travel to churches in other states to provide training, assist existing teams, and help churches develop safety ministries from the ground up.
If your church already has an established team, we would consider it an honor to come alongside you and help strengthen what you are already doing. If you’re just beginning and don’t know where to start, we would be equally honored to help you build that foundation.
We aren’t looking to replace what your church is doing or tell your team that our way is the only way. Our goal is to listen, understand your church, respect your pastoral leadership, and share the experience, training, resources, and lessons we’ve gained over the years.
And if you’re simply another church safety leader trying to build a better ministry, I’m always glad to connect, share ideas, and learn from others doing this work.
There are some outstanding men and women serving quietly every Sunday so everyone else can worship without having to think about safety.
Thank you for what you do.
Stay prepared. Stay prayerful. Stay ministry-minded.
Stacey Guffey
Defense Grid LLC
Church Safety Ministry Training & Development
Prepared, Not Paranoid.
Serving People • Protecting Ministry • Honoring God.
