Ministry News

You're Not the Help I Was Looking For

Details: Thursday, 13 August 2009 19:06

After watching the Catholic Church being rocked by repeated child sex abuse scandals over the past several years, the Southern Baptist Convention took a cue. Last year its publishing arm, LifeWay Christian Resources, began offering Baptist churches a discounted rate for screening services.

It's a good thing LifeWay did, because after 450 churches responded and requested more than 5,000 background checks on potential children's and youth workers, partner company BackgroundChecks.com found that almost 14 percent of workers screened had a criminal history. Of the 5,000-plus checks, 80 were cases involving serious felony offenses, while 600 of those potential helpers had some form of criminal record that would typically prohibit them from working with children or youth at a church.

"It is unfortunate that everyone must be checked out before they are given trust or confidence in their goodwill, especially when they are only trying to give back to the community through the giving of themselves to support a ministry," said Matthew Robbins of BackgroundChecks.com. "But child protection statistics tell a gruesome story that needs to change."

Overall, about one in 12 children aged 2 to 17 is the victim of a sexual attack, according to a 2005 nationwide study by researchers at the University of New Hampshire and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Children are our precious commodity," said Wayne Rogers, associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Estero, Fla., which has turned away volunteers in the past after a background check raised red flags. "They've been entrusted to us, and we have to protect them at any cost." [Baptist Press, 8/5/09; christianpost.com, 8/13/09]

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Comments

+3 #15 Virginia M 2009-08-15 23:28

I agree with this. Yes Jesus Christ does change the world. You don' put someone in that position though who is having problems with child abuse, even if they are saved. Everybody thought that the priest was safe because they were priest but evidently not. A Christian who has no problems with abuse or anything else will not have a problem with a backround check. As my pastor says, as Christians we don't check our brains at the door.

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-5 #14 Duane P 2009-08-15 03:05

Whether or not we intend to say it, the message we send is "We fundamentally don't believe that Jesus Christ changes a person". Of course, we say it can doesn, but we're not willing to put our children and family members at risk to prove our faith. In that case, like Luke 18:8, when Christ comes, will he find "that faith" on this earth? Look to 2 Cor 5:8 "for we walk by faith, not by sight." Regardless of what a persons background may tell about them - we can't see what is in the heart, true? Tread cautiously my friends.

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-4 #13 Duane P 2009-08-15 03:04

If we believe, as we claim, that the sanctification by Jesus Christ will change a person from a life of sin to a life of service and holiness; if we believe that Saul of Tarsus, who was a murderer and avid persecutor of the church, after his salvation, became one of the church's most valuable resources, and a role model to be emulated, then what are we telling the world, and our own congregations when we submit them to background checks to determine whether they're worthy of service within our church? (cont'd below)

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+3 #12 David Allburn 2009-08-14 14:24

Researchers confirm that child molestation is an addiction. This means that no matter how sincerely saved a person is, the addicttive force remains a weakness to temptation in the person. Nobody would be wiling to allow their child to be the one "in the wrong place at the wrong time" if forces batter that person into succumbing to the strong temptation to molest again. That is why we "scrutinize all" while "suspecting none." We know, however, that name-based background checks are weak compared to fingerprint checks. That's because many molesters submit fake names when arrested. FBI fingerprint files are filled with aliases offenders use. Those aliases are what populate the "national" criminal history databases of names. Molesters know it is far safer to have been screened-IN than to not be screened at all. That is why they prefer name-based screening. Does your screening use fingerprints?

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-1 #11 SherryS 2009-08-14 13:28

There's also the Scriptural option of setting aside time for the leadership to pray and fast for wisdom before appointing volunteers in any area where people's lives will be impacted, no matter their age. We have a promise that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all truth.

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+3 #10 Sojourner Truth 2009-08-14 13:20

Lakewood Church of Houston, Texas, is an excellent model of utilizing volunteer services while providing safety for the church members. Anyone who has this responsibility or is interested for any reason, should check Lakewood's plans for qualifying volunteers. The requirements are transparent, available to staff, members, visitors, the public...anyone who wants to know. No one need suffer the pain of rejection. Read and learn.

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+2 #9 Marwoo 2009-08-14 13:19

Good call! As a former children's minister, we had problems that could have easily been detected and prevented with a simple background check. As a chidren's camp director, we instituted our first background checks back several years ago and came back with 3 out of 50 workers that had a criminal history of child abuse. You just don't place people, even after they have come to the Lord, under that kind of one-on-one, often unsupervised time with kids. It's like sending a recovering alcoholic to be a bartender. One of the most heart-breaking things that I have had to deal with is kids that have been sexually abused. And I believe the ratio is much higher that what is listed in the article: my experience is closer to 1 of 4, especially in girls. If you get to talking to women, that ratio hold out for adults as well. And most abused has been by those that were trusted. For me personally, I was abused twice, both abusers were involved in my church.

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+1 #8 Crystal L Brooks 2009-08-14 13:18

Good article. We just need to be careful though. Because background checks don't always reveal criminal histories. A background check does not reveal someone who has struggled with pornography in the past. I had that situation come up. I was not aware of it. And this person passed their background check. He had gotten counseling for it quite some time ago. However, gossip continued to follow him to the church I am in. He had started attending their with his wife. He was very open about his past problems in a Sunday School class. He was just discussing past issues and how God helped him overcome. But some people were repulsed. Now had I dropped him, I would have lost one of the best volunteers I ever had. On the other hand, an article in our paper not too long ago talked about a member of a church who molested a young child in his care. He didn't have a criminal background. So how could the church have avoided this?

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+3 #7 SherryS 2009-08-14 12:51

The simple solution would be to make public that one of the requirements to volunteering in youth ministries will be a criminal background check. It is then up to the potential volunteer whether they want to expose themselves to that.

There are many areas of ministry and service available and once a person is well-informed of the requirements for each of them, then they can seek God's wisdom where He wants them to serve.

Some areas of ministry could well become a stumblingblock. For instance, a former addict wouldn't be a wise choice to work in your church medical clinic where samples of drugs might be available. However, that same redeemed former addict would be a wonderful addition to your outreach ministry. One ministry would be staring temptation in the face; the other would be a testimony in the making.

Should the church leaders do criminal background checks on potential youth ministry volunteers? It's the only responsible thing to do. God expects us to use wisdom.

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+2 #6 Jennifer Newell 2009-08-14 12:03

As we all know, this is an extremely sensitive issue that requires spiritual maturity and discretion on the part of those in leadership. We cannot throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water, but on the flip side of that coin,our children are not random elements to the equation of someone else's spiritual rehabilitation. All sin is forgiven and washed away under the blood of Jesus, but earthly consequences can still remain intact long after forgiveness takes place. I believe we can all agree that the wages of sin is death, and for some who have participated in less than wholesome acts with children, it may naturally require that they lay down whatever desire they have to serve in an area with children or youth. This in no way belittles their importance to the Body of Christ, but their gifts and callings will be put to better use elsewhere. Remember, our focus is the children! I appreciate the debate, and hope that all who have responded will further this discourse.

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