Christopher Taylor, M.A., M.Ed., M.Div., I.C.P.S. 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 team at Christ Community Church in Tucson, AZ. 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 the Arizona Crime Prevention Association. He is an Integrated Community Solutions to Active Violence Events (ICSAVE) contributing member. Read MoreHe is recognized as an International Crime Prevention Specialist, Certified CARVER Assessment Professional, and holds the CPTED Professional Designation. He holds numerous instructor certifications from several professional training organizations. |  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 Advisory Board Member / Instructor 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. |
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 Team Coordinator at Church For The Nations (CFTN) - Phoenix since 2019 and Global 365 since 2017. Past Security Team leadership includes Security/EMS Director for Dream City Church and Tree of Life Congregation. Read MoreExperience 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 co-ordinates 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. My church security experience includes working with small, medium, and large churches. I am aware of the challenges each church faces recruiting, retaining, training, and operating a security team. AZCSN and their mission is important to me because there was a time when I 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 – we’ve helped churches in Phoenix set up and operate volunteer security teams. |
Patrick Boyle Instructor / Medical Director 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. |  Karl Garsha 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 thought leaders 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, Read Moreteaching 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. |
 Christopher King, M.A. Instructor Christopher King is a retired US Air Force Master Sergeant with over 20 years experience as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician. He is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and has spent over two years in South Korea. He holds numerous degrees and certifications and has a Master of Arts in International Security. Additionally he is an NRA instructor in various disciplines to include, pistol, rifle, shotgun, personal protection inside and outside the home, and Refuse to Be a Victim. He is currently holds International Post Blast Investigator certification through the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators. He currently serves as the director of safety for his church. |
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.
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Ken Arnold Instructor 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! |
