What Every Responsible Gun Owner Can Learn from the Attack at CrossPointe Community Church
On June 22, 2025, a quiet Sunday morning in Wayne, Michigan, nearly became the site of another national tragedy. Approximately 150 people had gathered for worship at CrossPointe Community Church. Families filled the sanctuary. Children attended services. Volunteers greeted visitors. It was the kind of ordinary Sunday that takes place in thousands of churches across America every week.
Then a heavily armed attacker arrived.
According to law enforcement officials, the suspect approached the church wearing tactical gear and carrying both a rifle and a handgun. Investigators later determined that his apparent intent was to attack the congregation. Before he could enter the building, however, church members and members of the church security team intervened and stopped the threat. Authorities later stated that their actions likely prevented a mass casualty event (“Police Say a Man Opened Fire Outside a Church”).
One year later, the incident remains one of the clearest examples of how preparation, awareness, and training can change the outcome of a violent encounter. The headlines have faded, but the lessons have not.
What Stopped the Michigan Church Attack?
One reason the CrossPointe incident remains so important is that it did not follow the pattern often seen in active shooter events. The attacker never reached his intended target. According to reports, a church member arriving at the property noticed something was wrong. The suspect’s behavior raised immediate concern, and that awareness led to action that disrupted the attacker’s advance toward the building.
At nearly the same moment, members of the church’s security team responded and engaged the attacker before he could gain access to the sanctuary. Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong later credited the actions of church staff and security personnel with preventing what he described as a “large-scale mass shooting” (“Police Say a Man Opened Fire Outside a Church”).
The significance of that statement cannot be overstated. Most discussions about active shooter incidents focus on what went wrong. This incident provides an opportunity to study what went right. The outcome was not the result of luck alone. Prepared people were present when the threat appeared.
Why Do Churches Have Security Teams?
For many Americans, churches represent places of refuge, community, and worship. The idea that a church would need a security team may feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, history has demonstrated that houses of worship are not immune from violence.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to track active shooter incidents occurring in schools, businesses, healthcare facilities, public spaces, and houses of worship. While these incidents remain statistically rare compared to the overall population, their impact can be devastating when they occur (Federal Bureau of Investigation).
Church security programs have become increasingly common over the last decade. Some churches rely on off-duty law enforcement officers. Others utilize trained volunteers. Many combine physical security measures with emergency planning and response protocols. The goal is not to create fear. The goal is to create preparedness. CrossPointe Community Church serves as a powerful example of why many congregations have embraced that philosophy.
Preparedness Is Rarely Noticed Until It Works
One of the most overlooked aspects of successful security programs is that they often go unnoticed. When preparation prevents tragedy, most people never realize how much effort occurred behind the scenes.
According to reporting from Security Management magazine, CrossPointe Community Church had established a security team years before the attack. Team members had participated in firearms training, emergency response preparation, and security planning before they ever faced a real-world threat (“Planning and Quick Action Prevent Tragedy at Michigan Church”).
That preparation was invisible to the congregation on most Sundays. It became visible only when it was needed. The same principle applies to responsible firearm ownership. Nobody celebrates the emergency plan that was never activated. Nobody praises the training class that was never tested. Nobody notices the skills that were never called upon. Yet when a crisis occurs, those investments suddenly become invaluable.
The First Victory Was Situational Awareness
One of the most important lessons from the Michigan church attack had nothing to do with marksmanship. It involved awareness. Before the confrontation occurred, someone recognized that something was wrong. That observation created valuable time.
Many violent incidents are preceded by behavioral warning signs. Security professionals often refer to these indicators as pre-attack behaviors. They can include unusual conduct, escalating agitation, threatening statements, suspicious movements, or abnormal fixation on a target. Not every suspicious behavior leads to violence. However, nearly every violent attack is preceded by behavior. The challenge is recognizing it before it escalates.
Situational awareness remains one of the most valuable defensive skills available to responsible citizens. It requires no permit. It requires no expensive equipment. It costs nothing. Yet it consistently appears as a common factor in successful interventions. The church member who recognized the threat that morning may have provided the most valuable commodity in any emergency: time.
Does Carrying a Firearm Without Training Make You Safer?
This question deserves honest consideration. Millions of Americans legally own firearms. Millions more carry concealed firearms every day. Ownership alone, however, does not automatically create preparedness.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation reported that adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System checks exceeded 15.2 million in 2024, demonstrating continued widespread firearm ownership across the United States (National Shooting Sports Foundation). As firearm ownership continues to grow, training becomes increasingly important.
The members of the CrossPointe security team did not develop their response plan during the attack. They relied on preparation that had already occurred. Training creates familiarity. Familiarity reduces hesitation. Reduced hesitation improves decision-making during stressful situations.
This principle applies across military operations, law enforcement, emergency medicine, aviation, and self-defense. When people experience extreme stress, they rarely perform above their level of preparation. More often, they perform at it. The church security team responded effectively because they had invested in training before they needed it.
What Would You Have Done?
Imagine you arrive at your place of worship, workplace, or local community event. You observe someone behaving suspiciously. Perhaps they are wearing clothing inconsistent with the weather. Perhaps they appear agitated. Perhaps something simply feels wrong.
What happens next? Would you notice? Would you dismiss the concern? Would you communicate the observation to others? Would you have a plan?
These questions matter because emergencies rarely announce themselves in advance. The ability to recognize a developing threat often determines whether people have seconds to react or no warning at all. The CrossPointe incident reminds us that preparedness begins long before a firearm is ever drawn.
Constitutional Carry Does Not Eliminate Responsibility
Over the past several years, many states have adopted constitutional carry or permitless carry laws. For millions of Americans, these changes have expanded lawful access to concealed carry. At the same time, those legal changes have not reduced the responsibilities associated with firearm ownership.
Use-of-force laws still apply. Restricted locations still exist. Legal consequences still follow defensive encounters. The need for education remains. In some ways, it has become even more important.
The right to carry a firearm and the ability to use one responsibly are not the same thing. The Michigan church attack serves as a reminder that preparation extends beyond equipment and permits. Knowledge matters. Training matters. Judgment matters.
The Most Important Lesson One Year Later
One year after the attack at CrossPointe Community Church, the most important takeaway is surprisingly simple: preparation works. Not perfectly. Not every time. But often enough to matter.
The church security team did not know they would face a violent threat. They trained anyway. They planned anyway. They prepared anyway. When the moment arrived, they were not starting from zero.
That reality applies to churches, families, businesses, and responsible gun owners alike. Preparation is rarely convenient. Training requires time. Education requires effort. Practice requires commitment. Yet every emergency eventually reveals the same truth: the best time to prepare is before preparation becomes necessary.
Final Thoughts
The attack at CrossPointe Community Church could have become another devastating chapter in America’s history of mass violence. Instead, it became an example of what can happen when awareness, preparation, and training intersect at the right moment.
Approximately 150 people attended church that Sunday morning. Most of them likely had no idea how close they came to tragedy. A year later, the story remains relevant because it highlights a lesson every responsible gun owner should remember.
Owning a firearm is important. Understanding how and when to use it responsibly is essential. Because when seconds matter, preparation often determines the outcome.
Works Cited
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Active Shooter Incidents in the United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation, www.fbi.gov.
National Shooting Sports Foundation. “NSSF Adjusted Background Checks Top 15.2 Million in 2024.” National Shooting Sports Foundation, 2025, www.nssf.org.
“Planning and Quick Action Prevent Tragedy at Michigan Church.” Security Management, ASIS International, June 2025, www.asisonline.org.
“Police Say a Man Opened Fire Outside a Church Before Staff Fatally Shot Him, Averting Mass Shooting.” Associated Press, 22 June 2025.
“A Pastor Says God and a Heroic Security Team Prevented a Mass Shooting at His Detroit-Area Church.” Associated Press, 23 June 2025.
