Disturbance at Maben Church Raises Questions About Church Security

MABEN, Miss. (WCBI) – The incident in Maben raises concerns about what churches are doing to keep staff and congregations safe.

While the Maben incident is only minor, compared to what some churches in the U.S. have faced, security details are becoming a common interest in places of worship.

An Easter Sunday service is interrupted, and three people are put behind bars.

“They had a young man come into the church, during the service, and speak to a child and try to attempt to get the child to leave,” said Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Deputy, Lt. Brett Watson.

While everyone, including the child, is unharmed, the question of church security comes back up.

“You don’t want to think about the possibility of something happening in the church, but I think as we’ve seen in the national news it does happen,” continued Watson.

Watson is the deputy who assisted Maben Police in getting things under control on Sunday.

He says a few churches already have their own security, and others are becoming interested.

“A lot of churches in this area and around the state have been looking at the various programs available to them to come in and try and teach different aspects and different thoughts regarding how to go about securing their churches,” said Watson.

Watson says having a pair of trained eyes in the congregation can result in faster responses to potential dangers.

“If you’ve got somebody that’s sitting there watching for these dangers, watching for things out of the ordinary, watching for people who may not have the best intentions when they come into church, and that gives somebody that’s got eyes on them can react immediately before things get out of hand,” said Watson.

Since 2016, open carry laws and The Church Protection Act in Mississippi have made this easier for churches.

Again, some churches in our area already have security teams, both armed and unarmed.