Child Abuse:
10 steps to protect children, workers and the ministry

By David C. Gibbs, Jr.

Churches should be some of the safest places in the world for children. The Bible describes Christ's love for children and promises dire judgment upon anyone who would harm a child:

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. (Mat. 18:1-6)

Lately, newspapers have been filled with articles about sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. However, Catholic priests are not the only church leaders and workers abusing children and trying to cover up their crime. Tragically, pastors, teachers and childcare workers in all denominations have been found guilty of abusing the children in their care or of failing to report known or suspected abuse to proper legal authorities.

As a matter of principle, churches should take every reasonable precaution to protect the children entrusted to them. Therefore, we at the Christian Law Association are taking this opportunity once again to strongly urge churches to implement several important measures. It has also become increasingly necessary for churches and other ministries to take special care to protect their pastors, teachers and all childcare workers from unfounded allegations of sexual abuse.

Prevention measures for churches and other ministries should include the following:

1. Acknowledge that child abuse, including child sexual abuse, is and should be a major concern for the ministry; and affirm that ministry leaders are dedicated to meeting the concern, both as a spiritual and as a criminal problem.

2. Raise awareness of the reality of child abuse, neglect and child sexual abuse by setting aside at least one Sunday a year to promote child protection and to celebrate children and the family.

3. Train ministry leaders to recognize the signs and symptoms of neglect and abuse, including sexual abuse, and to work with victims and their families to make mandated reports and/or appropriate referrals for pastoral care or counseling. Ministries should make it a point to really know the children and families their ministry serves and to look for danger signs.

4. Commit, at a minimum, to a mandatory quarterly meeting for all staff and volunteers who work with children to alert them to the criminal dangers at stake. Instruct all staff and volunteers in the appropriate procedures for preventing and reporting any reasonable suspicion of abuse, including sexual abuse. Teach staff and volunteers the spiritual and legal danger of violating their positions of trust with children. Allow time to respond to questions and observations. Document and record the meetings, clearly identifying all participants, to use as evidence to protect the ministry should criminal activity take place despite its best prevention efforts.

5. Ministries that work with children should check their ministry liability policies to make certain the ministry is covered for risks arising out of child abuse and/or failure to report child abuse. Look for policy exclusions for criminal and intentional acts such as sexual abuse, and familiarize yourself with procedures for reporting claims to the insurance company.

6. Explain to all staff and volunteers who work with children the enhanced liability they would face for perverting a position of trust with children in order to engage in child abuse. Explain that the church is obligated to report any criminal behavior to the police and will not protect anyone who engages in such crimes against children.

7. Emphasize to staff and volunteers who work with children--especially youth pastors and teachers--that Christian workers must maintain an appropriate and professional distance from those to whom they minister. Excessive familiarity and horseplay can lead to misunderstandings and situations with criminal consequences or to allegations of abuse that can ruin lives.

8. It is especially important that childcare workers never be alone with children. Isolation invites false allegations as well as secret indiscretions. Your church should make being alone with a child a dismissible offense for a childcare worker.

9. Every ministry should conduct background checks on all workers who deal with children. Allegations against a ministry worker should trigger a mandatory investigation. Children's workers with reasonable suspicions of sexual or other child abuse should immediately initiate the ministry's child abuse reporting procedures, including reporting to the appropriate authorities and immediately suspending the accused worker or volunteer pending investigation and resolution of the allegations.

10. At least quarterly, the pastor should issue statements from the pulpit reminding workers and the congregation of the seriousness with which the church and its staff and volunteers take their Scriptural and legal duties to protect the children entrusted to their care from abuse. Childcare workers and volunteers should be happy to comply with background checks and other means of keeping children safe and protecting themselves from false allegations.

We cannot stress too strongly that churches and other ministries must regard the tragedy within the Catholic Church as a wake-up call. We must all do the serious work required to keep the children you serve safe from harm and to protect your church against these types of lawsuits.

To contact the legal missionary ministry of the Christian Law Association, please call (727) 399-8300 or visit www.ChristianLaw.org.