Christopher Taylor, M.A., M.Ed., M.Div.

Founder / Executive Director

Chris has over twenty years’ experience working in the criminal justice system and campus security. He founded the Arizona Church Security Network in March of 2017 after being called and recognizing the need to network, train, and support church security teams. He founded and continues to lead the security ministry at Christ Community Church of Tucson in Arizona. He currently serves as the chairman of the Southern Arizona Community Organizations Active in Disaster. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Rangers and Arizona Crime Prevention Association. He is an integrated Community Solutions to Active Violence Events (ICSAVE) contributing member and instructor. 

He holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration, M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction, M.Ed. in Special Education, and M.Div. in Church Ministries. He is recognized as an International Crime Prevention Specialist, Certified CARVER Assessment Professional, and holds the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Professional Designation. He has completed the Force Science Institute’s Realistic De-Escalation Instructor course, Methods of Instructions for Training Practical Police Skills Course, and is a Certified Force Science Analyst. He is a Certified Massad Ayoob Group Deadly Force Instructor and graduate of the Law of Self-Defense Instructor Program. He holds numerous instructor certifications from several professional training organizations. 

After leaving the US Army as a Captain, Brian joined the Tucson Police Department. He retired from there as a Sergeant, with experience as a supervisor in patrol, investigations and plainclothes work. He is certified by the Arizona Peace Officer's Standards and Training board (AZ POST) as a General Instructor, and as a  Firearms, Less Lethal and Patrol Rifle Instructor. Brian is a member of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI). A certified Force Science Analyst, he has also been the primary investigator on a series of police uses of force and has testified as an expert witness in the Pima County Superior Court system. He has taught civilian, military and law enforcement students, both in the US and abroad. Brian holds a BS from the Virginia Military Institute and an MS from the University of Arizona.

Brian Kowalski

Director of Training

Advisory Board Member

John McGrath

Advisory Board Member / Instructor 

Behavioral Threat Assessment Team Leader

John leads the Security/Medical ministry at New Life Bible Fellowship in Marana. He is a retired detective sergeant with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and a retired security manager with Raytheon, where he developed and led the Behavioral Threat Assessment team. He holds masters degrees in forensic psychology and criminal justice and security administration and certifications with ASIS International (Certified Protection Professional) and the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (Certified Threat Manager). He has presented on the subjects of threat assessment and church security at several university and state sponsored conferences.

Steve Lyons is retired from the U.S Air Force and law enforcement. During his law enforcement career, he served as a patrol officer, detective, and major crime scene team member with the Anchorage Police Department (Alaska), and as an arson/fire investigator with the Anchorage Fire Department. During this time, he was deputized as a task force agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate crimes that met the federal level. After serving in law  enforcement and relocating to Arizona, he and his wife, Amy, established the private investigation company, Lyons Investigations & Consulting, which performed fire origin and cause investigations for insurance companies and legal firms.

Steve Lyons

Phil Pinkus

Advisory Board Member / Phoenix Metro Director

Author of, “Wise as Serpents Gentle as Doves, Insight, Ideas, and Discussion About How to Start or Improve a Church Security Team (Amazon 2018). Served as State Security Officer (SSO) for Christian Emergency Network (CEN) 2017, was the Committee Chair of Coalition Development for the Faith Based Security Network (FBSN) 2018 and has served AZCSN as the Metro Phoenix Director 2018 to present. Currently serving as the Volunteer Security/EMS Director for Dream City Church and Tree of Life Congregation. 

Experience includes being part of the security team at Phoenix Stadium when Gregg Laurie was there in 2017 and coordinating security teams for Pastor David Herzog at the awaken 2020 event at Sun Devil Stadium. He also coordinates all security for Sean Feucht of Bethel, and his Let Us Pray events in Arizona. Phil serves on the Phoenix Police Chief’s Faith Based Advisory Board through 2024. 

His church security experience includes working with small, medium, and large churches. He is aware of the challenges each church faces recruiting, retaining, and operating a security team. AZCSN and our mission is important to him because there was a time when he was looking for team coordination information and training and couldn’t find much help. Talking with pastors and church board of directors, together with AZCSN has assisted churches in Phoenix set up and operate volunteer security teams. 

Dr Patrick Boyle is a 25-year Navy veteran with a background in Naval Aviation and Military Medicine. He is experienced in practicing medicine in austere environments and has a passion for developing, training and equipping individuals to care for the injured in the field environment.

He has been affiliated for the past 15 years with a level one trauma center and serves as a trauma instructor.

Patrick Boyle, MD

Instructor / Medical Director

Karl Garsha

Lead Instructor 

Karl has accrued significant experience serving on security teams for large events, private schools and churches as well as having served on professional close protection details for prominent thoughtleaders and elected government officials. He has extensive training in the use of firearms to defend life, private security, defensive tactics, and in First Aid. Karl is a defensive firearms instructor and holds certifications through the AZ Department of Public Safety, NRA and USCCA. He currently lives in Sahuarita with his wife and is active in his community, teaching traditional Japanese martial arts to both children and adults on a weekly basis. Karl is also active in service to his church congregation, serving both security and video editing teams. Karl is a professional technology expert and inventor who specializes in high-performance digital imaging technologies and data analysis; he currently works full-time in the private sector to develop novel cancer diagnostics that will inform the use of targeted therapeutics. Earlier in life, Karl served as an EMT/Firefighter and open water lifeguard. 

Ken is a former Marine who served with the Light Armored Reconnaissance Bn. and as a Primary Marksmanship Instructor. He has trained extensively in threat assessment, identification, counter ambush tactics and is an Integrated Community Solutions to Active Violence Events (ICSAVE) contributing member. He currently serves as a supervisor on the security team at his church and is committed to protecting the flock!

Ken Arnold

Instructor

Jorge de la Garza

Instructor

Jorge served with the Arizona Department    of Corrections (ADOC) for 12 years where    his assignments included Counselor, Search Team, and Classification Chairman. Additionally he was a police officer and detective with the University of Arizona  Police Department (UAPD). He has been involved in security with his church for  several years. He has served with several other organizations.

• Industrial Security Officer 
• Member of Tucson Police Assist Group
• Shepherd Member of AZCSN