The Role of the Church

This past week, our Child Protection Tuesday post was geared towards churches though it can really be applied to any youth-serving organization. Right after posting, a young lady messaged us asking what we suggested that we do in addition to a background check. It was a great question! I thought it would be beneficial to share the answer I gave her for you all in case that was on your mind as well!

A 2019 study showed that “less than 1 in 5 Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) cases that are reported move forward with the prosecution process. About half of those prosecuted cases receive a conviction or a guilty plea.”. The reality is if we are relying solely on a background check for our ministries or organizations to be deemed “safe”, we are sadly mistaken. In the church world, for some reason, the children’s ministry is the easiest and fastest process to get involved. We must understand and be mindful that our “need for more volunteers” can not supersede our need to protect the lives of children.

Here are some practical things you can do to create more security within your ministry:

-Have a lengthier screening process that can include an interview process, references (actually check them out), background check, and a probation period.

-in the event that you cannot have more than one adult, install cameras.

-NEVER leave a child alone with an adult.

-have a written child protection policy and training for your volunteers every year or multiple times as needed.

-Have levels of service. For example, if you have a volunteer that is new and just onboarded, you may not want to immediately stick them in leading a small group.

It is necessary to note that because of the world we live in, things happen. You cannot eliminate 100 percent of the risks, BUT you can create ways to mitigate those risks. The reality is predators seek out organizations and churches where there is easy access to children. Let’s work together to create barriers of protection for our children.

If you’d like to know what a partnership with us could look like regarding strengthening your security for your children’s ministry, please reach out to us through our website. We’d love to hear from you.

Let’s work to protect the next generation together!

Photo by Erika Giraud on Unsplash