Security Solutions for Churches & Other Religious Institutions

Every house of worship—whether a cathedral, synagogue, mosque, or temple—deserves to be a place of peace. DFW Security helps protect sacred spaces with custom security solutions built for your people, your practices, and your mission.

Religious intuitions are unique, with different needs and priorities than regular commercial buildings. Not only do the physical and privacy needs vary - like needing accommodation for after-hours events, sacred festivals, and third-party access - but also financial stewardship and the desire to be a welcoming and peaceful sanctuary. 

Effective security should be scalable to allow for growth of the ministry, flexible to make it easy to pivot with changing needs and roles, non-intrusive, easy-to-use and affordable. 

Security Systems for Churches

A great place to start the process of securing your house of worship is to schedule an expert to evaluate the facility for areas of vulnerability, such as nurseries, classrooms, and all entry points. Second, select a reputable commercial security company to design, install and monitor an alarm system that balances protection and convenience.

Some features to look for in a church security system:

 

• -Remote access and a user-friendly interface
• -Automatic firmware updates to ensure the system doesn’t quickly become outdated
• -Intuitive reporting to track anomalies and arming activity
• -Custom notifications by event, schedule and person
• -Easy access to view the status of sensors throughout the building
• -The ability to quickly add and delete users from any internet connected device
• -Alerts when doors are left open or system is left disarmed
• -Cameras and access control that integrates with security seamlessly
• -A local service provider for future modifications or unexpected repairs
• -Reliability even in the event of power and internet outages
• -Integration of panic buttons and personal safety features
• -False alarm resistance

 

Video Surveillance for Faith Centers

You can’t be everywhere at once, but with smart video you can have constant surveillance inside and outside, day and night. 

Use strategically placed cameras in areas like the nursery, hallways, offices, storage closets, parking lot and chapel to control access as well as document incidents to reduce liability claims and meet insurance requirements.

Smart cameras, such as those offered by DFW Security, can not only keep your faith center secure, but can also improve your ability to care for your congregation.

A good commercial camera system can help you:

 

• -Analyze crowd gathering and traffic patterns with heat mapping to identify bottlenecks and improve layout
• -Count the number of people entering a worship center or secure area
• -Intercept suspicious activity before it becomes a problem
• -Identify training opportunities for volunteers and staff, like guests who weren’t greeted, overflowing trash or an unmanned prayer table
• -Easily search, download and share video footage
• -Notify the appropriate people of important activity without overwhelming them with unnecessary alerts
• -Speak to visitors, wanted or unwanted, directly through the camera, or let AI do the talking.
• -Dispatch the police in case of an emergency with Remote Video Monitoring.
• -Store recordings securely in the cloud with bank-grade data encryption. 

 

Access Control for Churches, Temples and Shrines

A customized access control system is a must, whether you seat 1500 or 15. Look for solutions that are easy to use and can be customized to meet your unique needs. 

Keyless entry is super convenient, with options to use badges, codes, fobs, smartphones or a combination of all methods. Grant access to your building remotely with the ability to lock, unlock or buzz-in visitors from any internet connected device. Make sure user management is fast and simple if frequent volunteer and staff changes are required.

Use schedules to automatically unlock doors for services, events or classes. Control access to certain areas at certain times by certain people, useful for after-hours programming or third-party building usage. Lock down sensitive areas while other areas remain open. Program evacuation and facility lockdown procedures with custom notification protocols and regular reporting. Link your access control system with video for even more protection.

Gunshot Detection Systems

Upgrade your protection with a shooter detection system. These affordable, unobtrusive sensors combine infrared and acoustic technology to detect gunshots with 99.9% accuracy. If a gunshot is detected, the system sends location data to the monitoring center, where dispatching agents can access relevant cameras to communicate real-time with the police. Arm your volunteers and staff with technology that goes beyond human ability, reducing delays and guiding proper response.

Why choose DFW Security

DFW Security currently protects over 200 religious institutions in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, including churches, temples, synagogues and mosques. We understand that faith-based organizations aren’t just buildings – they’re passionate communities that serve people of all ages and backgrounds. 

Our seamless solution combines security, video and access control - for one location or many – on a single platform, powered by Alarm.com. We’ve been protecting DFW for over 30 years with 4.9 stars on Google from thousands of happy customers. Our trusted experts can help you design the perfect system, respectfully install it, and support you for years to come with local, old-school customer service. 

Whether you’re retrofitting a historic cathedral or starting a new ministry plant, DFW Security can help you create a worship environment that’s both welcoming and secure.

How much can I expect to pay for church security?

Costs vary greatly based on needs, facility size and services required. Investments range from less than one-thousand dollars upfront and $50 per month to a hundred-thousand upfront and a couple-hundred dollars per month. 

 Although not ideal due to market cost fluctuations, projects can be broken into phases to help with budget constraints. Ask your DFW Security representative to help identify your priorities and design a timeline that makes sense, with the coverage you need now and a smart plan to expand later.

Although the Federal MSGP Non-Profit Security Grant Program is currently paused, applications for up to $200,000 per address are still being accepted, and funding allocations are expected to return at some point. Learn more about the grant for expanding the security of faith communities here: https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/nonprofit-security