Protecting your church congregation from sexual misconduct - a guest op-ed
The Blogland disagreed strongly with this policy for a couple of reasons, including on this blog, for a couple of key reasons. First is the fact that the Eastern Catholic Churches have long allowed married clergy with no problem, thus filling their clerical ranks. Second is because of the way this policy has fueled perceptions stemming from sexual abuse allegations which turns away people who may otherwise find a home within one of the several parts of the Catholic Church.
But sexual miscontact in churches is a problem in other churches as well, so it's wise to not be fooled into thinking that if you're not Catholic, you're safe. In the 80s, several televangelists fell over sexual misconduct allegations, so there's a lot of reasons why these issues should matter to any congregation which places people in trust in their churches.
I know this personally, as a family friend, a evangelical pastor, who presided my second wedding, went on to spend several years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
I know this personally, as a family friend, a evangelical pastor, who presided my second wedding, went on to spend several years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
While in Manning recently, I read a good article by John Durant, who owns DuRant Insurance of Manning, in a local paper which talked about some good steps any congregation's leadership should take in protecting their flock and church personally and financially from sexual predators in their midst. I'm not sure of his faith affiliation, but when the advice is sound, it doesn't really matter, so I asked him to submit this as a guest editorial, and appreciate him sharing it:
Sexual Molestation In Your Church
It seems that almost every day I read about a priest, pastor, teacher, or some other individual in a position of authority that has been arrested for abusing a child or student. There are few crimes more horrendous than this and I feel certain there is a special place reserved for them when they move on to the next life.
Prevention of these crimes is paramount before a child is violated. Sexual predators will often migrate towards places that have the easiest access to children. Schools come to mind but there is a place that has a far more trusting environment than even schools – churches. Parents go to certain churches because of the warm, caring environment. They trust that when their child goes to Sunday school or a camping trip, or just over to friend’s house with their youth group that they will be completely safe.
I would like to suggest just a few simple ideas to help prevent sexual misconduct.
The first step is to realize that it can happen anywhere – even in your small country church. Once you and your congregation understand that simple fact then it makes implementation of a plan that much easier. You must have open and honest communication with your officers and your congregation. The congregation needs to understand how implementing a plan will benefit the church. The purpose of a successful sexual misconduct prevention plan should do the following: 1. Protect your young people. 2. Protect your staff and volunteers from false accusations and 3. Simply make yours a better protected church.
Here are a few ideas:
Make background checks mandatory for everybody that works with youth, even volunteers. Don’t be selective about who you are going to check or you will receive backlash.
Do not allow any volunteers to help with the youth until they have been a member for at least six months.
Always have two workers or volunteers with any youth. This protects the staff as much as the young people. Never let a male staff member work alone with a young girl or a female staff member work alone with a young boy.
When possible always have a window in the door where are activities are held.
Encourage parents and church members to visit at any time unannounced.
These are few simple suggestions for making safety a priority in your church. People go to a particular church for many reasons, one of which is they feel comfortable and safe. It is supposed to be one of the safest places a child can be. When that trust is broken and a child is molested, not only is the child affected for the rest of their life but the incident can shatter a church to pieces. There will be whispers in the community, attendance may drop and everyone will ask over and over, “How did this happen? What could we have done differently?” By that time it is too late and the damage will have been done. Bringing the church back together could take years.
Don’t let it happen to your church.
John DuRant is an Independent Insurance Agent living in Manning, SC. He can be reached at 803-435-4800 or john@durantinsurance.com.
It seems that almost every day I read about a priest, pastor, teacher, or some other individual in a position of authority that has been arrested for abusing a child or student. There are few crimes more horrendous than this and I feel certain there is a special place reserved for them when they move on to the next life.
Prevention of these crimes is paramount before a child is violated. Sexual predators will often migrate towards places that have the easiest access to children. Schools come to mind but there is a place that has a far more trusting environment than even schools – churches. Parents go to certain churches because of the warm, caring environment. They trust that when their child goes to Sunday school or a camping trip, or just over to friend’s house with their youth group that they will be completely safe.
I would like to suggest just a few simple ideas to help prevent sexual misconduct.
The first step is to realize that it can happen anywhere – even in your small country church. Once you and your congregation understand that simple fact then it makes implementation of a plan that much easier. You must have open and honest communication with your officers and your congregation. The congregation needs to understand how implementing a plan will benefit the church. The purpose of a successful sexual misconduct prevention plan should do the following: 1. Protect your young people. 2. Protect your staff and volunteers from false accusations and 3. Simply make yours a better protected church.
Here are a few ideas:
Make background checks mandatory for everybody that works with youth, even volunteers. Don’t be selective about who you are going to check or you will receive backlash.
Do not allow any volunteers to help with the youth until they have been a member for at least six months.
Always have two workers or volunteers with any youth. This protects the staff as much as the young people. Never let a male staff member work alone with a young girl or a female staff member work alone with a young boy.
When possible always have a window in the door where are activities are held.
Encourage parents and church members to visit at any time unannounced.
These are few simple suggestions for making safety a priority in your church. People go to a particular church for many reasons, one of which is they feel comfortable and safe. It is supposed to be one of the safest places a child can be. When that trust is broken and a child is molested, not only is the child affected for the rest of their life but the incident can shatter a church to pieces. There will be whispers in the community, attendance may drop and everyone will ask over and over, “How did this happen? What could we have done differently?” By that time it is too late and the damage will have been done. Bringing the church back together could take years.
Don’t let it happen to your church.
John DuRant is an Independent Insurance Agent living in Manning, SC. He can be reached at 803-435-4800 or john@durantinsurance.com.
Thanks for an informative post.
Statistically, before the age of 18, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys experience sexual misconduct from people they know and trust.
The suggestions that were given in protecting the church congregation from sexual misconduct are great. If people want to learn more about ways to prevent sexual misconduct not only in their chruch but community as well, I strongly suggest the Darkness To Light training that was actually established in the Lowcountry. Anyone that has children or work with children should experience this training.
Check out www.darkness2light.org for more information.
While I cannot address the Girl Scout's program, the Boy Scouts, even as early as the Cub Scout program has an abuse prevention program for the Scouts... seems to have replaced doing a good deed to be allowed to turn you Bobcat badge right side up.
Interesting also that the info provided in the link is not limited to misconduct with children.