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NORTH RICHLAND HILLS—While running background checks on nursery workers and children’s volunteers is a good first step, background checks alone are insufficient to protect children fully from sexual predators in the church, attorney Gregory Love told ministers and staff from more than 30 churches.
Love, co-founder and director of MinistrySafe and Abuse Prevention Systems, shared research, experience and advice during the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s regional Safeguarding Church Ministry conference at North Richland Hills Baptist Church, March 31.
Studies indicate that less than 10 percent of abusers ever encounter the criminal justice system, which leaves more than 90 percent who would go unidentified as a risk through a criminal background check, Love said. Additionally, research shows 1 out of 4 women and 1 out of 6 men have suffered abuse as a child, but most do not share it until they are adults.
Love explained the process used by sexual abusers to ‘groom’ both children for abuse, and he explained how molesters ‘groom gatekeepers’—those in ministry positions who stand between abusers and the children they desire to access. Love said leaders in the church can be trained to spot the grooming behaviors.
“Understanding the grooming process,” Love said, “is the key to understanding and reducing this risk—it is the core of any system designed to protect children AND those who serve them.”
The SBTC’s church ministries department holds the regional, one-day conferences at various times throughout the year to help equip churches in protecting children and youth in their care. Future 2016 conferences will be held at Castle Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio on Sept. 15 and Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston on Oct. 13, with additional conferences being planned for 2017.
“Safeguarding the next generation in the church is not an option; it’s a necessity,” says SBTC Women’s and Children’s Associate Emily Smith. “That’s why it is so important for ministers and church leaders to be aware of how vulnerable they may be without a strong safety plan in place.
“We provide the Safeguarding Church Ministry conferences to help churches become proactive rather than reactive. We want to prevent an incident or even an accusation from happening within the church. This is too important of an issue to ignore.”
For more information and to register for future conferences, visit sbtexas.com/safeguarding.
