Father Josiah Trenham of St. Andrew’s Orthodox Church in Riverside, CA

Radical Islamic extremists aren’t just targeting Christians in the Middle East but are now threatening churches throughout Europe and even here in the United States, forcing pastors to add the task of security to their already long list of duties.

FoxNews.com is reporting on an incident that occurred outside St. Andrew Orthodox church in Riverside, California in April of this year which highlights the threat that is bearing down on Christian congregations around the world.

In this case, several parishioners were outside tending to crying babies when a green Honda Civic drove by. A man leaned out of the car and barked through a bullhorn “Allahu Akbar!” as they sped past. The parishioners were unable to identify any of the occupants to police, but said they believed one or more of the men inside the car were taking pictures.

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Father Josiah Trenham, pastor of the church, told police that multiple members of his congregation heard the Arabic phrase as the car drove by, but no mention of it was made in the official police report.

Even though no law was broken, the incident was a wake-up call to the pastor and his congregation.

In an email to his congregation, Father Trenham warned, “Be calm and keep a special vigilance over the property and our children while we are at church. Pray that these provocative young men might repent of their intimidation and be saved.”

As a result, Trenham told Fox that the situation remains “tense and tenuous,” and said the church now has security officers on hand for all regular services.

“It is a deep sorrow to live this way in the ‘new America,’” he said.

This “new America” includes the increasing menace of jihadis, whether “lone wolves” or part of an organized terrorist group, who are intent upon turning our churches from sanctuaries to targets, thus necessitating the need for security.

“Many churches are now hiring self-defense instructors for classes or security guards that include off-duty police,” said Ryan Mauro, a professor of Homeland Security at Liberty University and national security analyst for the Clarion Project. “If you are an Islamist terrorist seeking self-glory, executing a priest will bring you more attention than executing an average civilian.”

Graffiti scrawled on the walls of St. Bartholomew Church in Columbus, IN

This was certainly the case last month in France when two teenaged jihadis stormed a church in St. Etienne du Rouvray, France, and slit the throat of 85 year-old Father Jacques Hamel, drawing worldwide attention. Even though the murderers were killed on the spot, ISIS terror cells around the world celebrated the priest’s demise as a great victory for the cause of conquering the infidels.

Experts say these should not be looked upon as isolated incidents.

“I’m pretty sure there will be attacks in the future,” said Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, to Fox News. “Until [radical Islam is defeated], we can expect Christians, including in the West, to rationally tighten security measures and try to protect themselves from attack.”

He has reason to believe the threat is real.

Fox reports numerous incidents involving terrorist threats against churches here in the U.S. that have been occurring behind-the-scenes for some time.

For instance, in February of this year, 21 year-old Khial Abu-Rayyan of Dearborn Heights, Michigan was arrested after telling an undercover FBI agent that he was planning to “shoot up” a church near his home on behalf of ISIS.

In January, Rev. Roger Spradlin of Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, California received a threat written in Arabic, which remains the focus of an FBI investigation.

An Islamic man clad in combat gear was charged last September with making a terrorist threat after entering Corinth Missionary Baptist Church, in Bullard, Tex., and claiming that God had instructed him to kill Christians and “other infidels.”

A year earlier, police were called to Saint Bartholomew’s Catholic Church in Columbus, Ind., after vandals wrote the world “Infidels” in graffiti along with a Koranic verse sanctioning death for nonbelievers. The same night, similar graffiti was found on nearby Lakeview Church of Christ and East Columbus Christian Church.

“I don’t know that there is any real protection against the ‘lone wolf’ mentality, not without infringing on everybody’s freedoms,” said St. Bartholomew Pastor Father Clem Davis. “We don’t have metal detectors, people go in and out. Churches are family-orientated, public, tax-supported spaces; so they may appeal to some as a target.”

Steps must be taken to protect congregations and people must be made aware of just how real this threat is, even here in America.

In fact, just last month ISIS dedicated an issue of its online magazine, Dabiq, to portraying Christianity as a “false” religion and encouraging Muslims to launch more attacks like the one that killed Father Hamel in France. In the foreword of the magazine, Christians are referred to as “cross worshipers,” pagans and idolaters because of their belief in the Trinity, They refer to Jesus as a “slave to Allah” who will return in the last days and “break the crosses.”

This doesn’t mean Christians should live in fear and paranoia, but they absolutely must be aware of their surroundings and the people who come and go from their churches.

“We have guards now; we never used to have guards,” said Solomon Saddi, a Syrian-American Christian who worships at St. Andrew’s. In the aftermath of the April incident, “They keep an eye on everyone and talk to the faces that aren’t familiar,” he explained. “It is a very dangerous time for us even in America.”

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