Thank you for considering a membership in the FBSN.
All applicants are first vetted to confirm their status in one of the following.
- Paid or volunteer role of safety or security at a faith-based organization.
- Leadership role (not required to be safety or security related) at a faith-based organization. Can be a pastor, priest, youth leader, deacon, board member, teacher etc.
- Emergency fire or medical first responders
- Military, health care or first responder (police / fire / medical) chaplains
- Currently employed law enforcement officers (Federal, State, Local, Educational or Industry P.O.S.T. certified). NOTE: Must have arrest authority.
Please review the FBSN Code of Conduct which ALL applicants must agree to in the application process (you will be asked if you agree).
Membership Options:
- General Membership dues are $99.00 annually. (a 50% discount applies to confirmed certified law-enforcement).
- General Plus Membership dues are $149.00 annually. This includes unlimited access to the FBSN’s Learning Management System. NOTE: The LMS is scheduled to go live August 1, 2022. Members will not have access until August 1, 2022
- Affiliate Membership is $299 annually. Available for businesses who provide products and services directly related to the mission of Faith Based Security.
- Group discounts are available. A church or ministry team from the same faith based organization that has 3 or more FBSN members will receive a discount code of 30% off each membership. Email info@fbsnamerica.com for code.
When accepted, you will be invited to a password-protected forum and connected with peers across the U.S. In that FBSN forum you may start or join topical discussions, join relative groups and meetings in your area, join your state group of peers, receive relative threat information and have access to the resources of the FBSN.
You will also be allowed the following rights of membership;
- Vote on FBSN leadership and significant issues
- Access to all benchmarking study releases
- Access to all best practice documents, SOP’s and other templates
- Introduction to known local coalitions (aka association, alliance or group)
- Contact information shared with all other FBSN members nationwide
- Access to the training videos in the FBSN “Ready, Willing and Able” professional development series.
Discounts on FBSN sponsored events including the national SOS (Security Operations Summit) held each year.
WHY IS FBSN MEMBERSHIP DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER CHURCH SECURITY ASSOCIATION?
There are other fine groups, but the FBSN stands apart for many reasons. To be an FBSN member is to be in a truly unique association. Consider the following:
- The FBSN is not only a 501(c)(3) non-profit, it is Christ centric and member centric.
- All members are vetted. Members apply for membership. When dues and credentials are received, the membership is pending. When credentials are verified, the membership becomes “active” or that membership is denied.
- The primary point of vetting is to confirm a member is who they claim to be and that they serve the ministry or agency in the role they have listed.
- The members appoint a board of directors from the association to represent their interests.
- While the affiliation of local coalitions (aka alliances, groups, associations etc.) is important, the FBSN does not take over existing coalitions. The FBSN is a support structure for existing coalitions and those being developed.
- Some members and demographics will never operate with (or as) a coalition. Membership in the FBSN does not require affiliation with any coalition.
- Most church security operators are volunteers, many of which are in churches with little or no security budgets. So, most dues are paid out of pocket by volunteers already giving their time. When deciding the annual cost of memberships, this is the driving consideration.
- Volunteers often relocate to other regions or churches. This is especially true in regions where the volunteers are also active military. Due to this and the vetting of members, the membership is to the individual (not the organization).
- Approved members are introduced into a password protected communication community (the FBSN Forum) where they can connect with each other individually or as groups of similar interests, or by geographic association (a map of all members shows who else is in your area and allows you the ability to click on their name for contact information).
- Membership dues qualify as a charitable donation.
- Donations made through the year qualify as charitable donations.
- Memberships are to individuals, not to any group. If a member relocates to another church or region, their membership goes with them individually while qualifying them to participate in coalition activities in the new destination.
- All members are required to agree to a code of conduct and supply references for membership.
FBSN membership details are subject to change as improved methods may become apparent.
Download FBSN Flyer