Through his company Venom Tactical Techniques, Training, & Consulting, or VT3C as he likes to call it, Stephen Page has taught many what they need to know about personal protection, home security, firing weapons and how to properly carry a concealed weapon.
But his latest offering combines all his knowledge and skills into a comprehensive, day-long workshop during which he teaches tactics to recognize and counter an active shooter situation in public gathering places, including schools and houses of worship.
He is hosting his workshop at Grace Fellowship Church, located at 16 N. State St. in Preston, on March 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost to attend is $75, but openings are limited.
“I like to have smaller classes so people get more of a one-on-one feeling instead of a PowerPoint presentation feel,” said Page, who is also a member of Grace Fellowship Church. “We are only allowing 20 in this class right now.”
Page is former military, who last served in 2011-12 in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Intelligence. When he returned home to Dayton, he went into private security and enjoyed it for a while. But he eventually stepped away from it.
Things shifted with the COVID-19 pandemic, however, and Page said his passion was reinvigorated.
“I could just see how people were so worried,” he said. “Then there was an uptick in firearm purchases in 2020 and 2021.”
He got recertified and began providing private security and executive protection
“I got back to doing security work for the DOD (Department of Defense) and executive protection work for one of the governor candidates during the 2022 election,” Page said.
It was during that DOD work that Page found himself instructing some of those he was working with and realized he liked teaching. He was also working for a gun shop in Pocatello while providing freelance security services, and it was that employer who offered to pay for him to get a firearms instructor certification with the United States Concealed Carry Association, which teaches a number of other courses as well.
It was through the USCCA that Page became certified in other areas, including emergency first aid and active shooter training. Areas of focus in that active shooter training included church safety and security. He founded VT3C in 2023 with the goal of providing firearm and concealed carry training at a reasonable price.
“I really wanted to have a budget-friendly option for the everyday person to learn firearms, concealed carry, first aid and counteractive shooter tactics,” Page said. “I was hearing from a lot of people that they wanted to learn, but the cost at many of the options was too high for their budget.”
Ironically, it was after he started his business that Page began to realize that violent incidents in and against faith-based properties — churches and other houses of worship — were on the rise.
“What really got me focused on that was all the incidents we had around the country last year,” Page said.
According to data from the Family Research Council, violent acts against people and property based on faith in the U.S. has increased dramatically during the past few years. FRC is a nonprofit organization that tracks data based on “family issues that affect the nation from a biblical worldview,” and makes that data available to “the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government,” according to its website.
FRC reports double-digit incidents from 2018 to 2021, but in 2022, it reported that there were 198 violent acts at or toward faith-based property. It jumped to 485 in 2023 and then dropped to 415 in 2024. Although 2025 had several high-profile incidents of violence against faith-based property, the exact numbers aren't available yet.
During the March 21 USCCA Church Safety & Security workshop at Grace Fellowship Church, Page will be teaching those in attendance how to develop situational awareness, how to create an emergency plan, navigating the legal and liability issues, de-escalation tactics, first aid triage and traumatic injury response, and how to equip those protecting the sanctuary.
Those interested in attending can reach Page at 385-831-1208 or by email at venomtacticaltraining@gmail.com. More information on Page and VT3C can be found on his website, www.venomtacticaltraining.com.
JIMMY HANCOCK Correspondent
