When news broke of a deadly shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, it hit home for Jeff Panknin, the executive pastor at Rock City Church in Flour Bluff.
“It’s heartbreaking.. that’s the first thing, it hit you like how could this happen," said Panknin.
Here in the Coastal Bend, Panknin says Rock City Church has long recognized the potential danger, and tragic events like the Minneapolis shooting fuels their mission to keep their worship environment secure.
“It puts a desire inside of me and inside our team to create a safe environment for our guests members and our kids especially," he said.
Each week, nearly 600 people gather at Rock City for worship, and for years the church has relied on a trained safety team committed to protecting the congregation. From the moment services begin, the team is alert and watching closely—not just for comfort, but for real-time safety.
“We have direct communication with our law enforcement officer at all times and we have a team that is kind of assigned to watching over people and watching if someone is acting strange or movements are out of the ordinary,” he said.
Safety at Rock City goes beyond a simple presence. Church doors are locked shortly after the service starts to monitor who comes in. It’s a step that gives the team more control while still welcoming those inside.
Children’s safety is an even higher priority. The Kid Zone is protected by a double-door security system, meaning that to reach the children, anyone would need to go through not one, but two secure entry points. Beyond that, a dedicated security room monitors the entire campus through a network of video feeds.
“We have video cameras everywhere, I actually have someone watching cameras at all times as well," emphasized Panknin.
For smaller churches or those without built-in safety teams, help is available. The Corpus Christi Police Department offers support for churches and worship centers concerned about protection.
“We do provide off duty jobs for officers so the business can hire the officers in an off duty capacity to provide like security for the event," said Madeline Vaughn with the Corpus Christi Police Department.
This service is flexible, available at any hour—whether it’s a long mass or a midweek church event.
As threats evolve, churches like Rock City continue to strengthen their safety plans—not out of fear, but out of love and responsibility for their people.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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