Church member Holly Burdick was noticeably shaken after the announcement. “You’d like to think you’re safe in your own church,” she said, shaking her head, “but nowadays these terrorist threats have to be taken seriously.” Another member, Dale Swisher, agreed. “The trauma from the last building campaign is still so fresh in our minds,” he said, choking back the tears. “The ‘widow’s mite’ sermon… the donor recognition dinners... It’s just so hard to believe this nightmare could happen again.”

Pierpoint’s threat advisory system was first created after a surprise “Time to Build” Campaign Kick-Off rocked the unsuspecting congregation two years ago on a quiet Sunday morning. Since that time, the overseers have issued regular threat advisories that consist of these five color-coded levels:

GREEN (LOW): Low risk of Building Campaign; Congregation still burnt-out from last one.

BLUE (GUARDED): General risk of leadership seeking God’s “vision” for the church.

YELLOW (ELEVATED): Significant risk of offering Financial Stewardship seminars.

ORANGE (HIGH): High potential for sermons containing the words “sacrificial commitment” and “new spiritual journey.”

RED (SEVERE): Hold on to your wallets, folks, a committee is doing a “needs” assessment!

Don Williamson, the overseer in charge of the church’s threat advisory system, was reluctant to go into any details about the gathered intelligence which necessitated the elevation to Code Orange. “Let’s just say that ever since Pastor Bill got back from one of those leadership seminars, he’s been walking around with his tape measure and muttering a line from Field of Dreams.”

Williamson added, however, that members should remain optimistic during this time and not assume the worst. “As Christians, it’s so easy to get lackadaisical about evangelism after your church adds an espresso bar and rock climbing wall. Perhaps this Code Orange is a wake-up call to remind us that adding a new game room would be really cool for us to use for God's glory.”