« Re-thinking The Ways We Hire Church Staff | Main | Create a Child Abuse Response Plan »

April 13, 2010

Dealing with Sex Offenders Who Attend Church

How do we protect our members from known sex offenders?

 by Richard R. Hammar


(Editor’s note: Since this post first published, Christianity Today International completed "Sex Offenders in the Church," a comprehensive research project exploring the attitudes and beliefs among church leaders regarding integrating sex offenders into the faith community.)

Question posted through "Ask the Experts" on ChurchSafety.com:

There is a female, registered sex offender who wants to attend our Sunday services. We want her to attend, but what guidelines should we have in place to safeguard our children?

Answer by Richard Hammar:

When the senior pastor, or any member of the church board, is informed that a registered sex offender is attending the church, there are steps that can be taken to manage risk. These include the following:

1. Obtain a record of the sex offender's prior criminal convictions by conducting a national criminal records check. The church must be fully informed regarding the sex offender's criminal background.

2. If the sex offender is on probation, identify his or her probation officer and ascertain the conditions that have been imposed. In some cases, sex offenders are not even allowed to attend church. If the probation officer says that the offender is free to attend church, ask the officer if he or she would recommend that the offender be allowed to attend church, and if so, under what conditions. Obtain this information in writing, or, if that is not possible, make a detailed written account of the officer's response.

3. Condition the sex offender's right to attend church services and activities on his or her signing a "conditional attendance agreement" that imposes the following conditions:

• The sex offender will not work with minors in any capacity in the church.

• The sex offender will not transport minors to or from church, or any church activity.

• The sex offender will not attend any youth or children's functions while on church property, except for those involving his or her own child or children, and only if in the presence of a chaperone (see below).

• The sex offender will always be in the presence of a designated chaperone while on church property. This includes religious services, educational classes, activities, and restroom breaks. The chaperone will meet the sex offender at the entrance of the church, and accompany the sex offender on church premises until returned to his or her vehicle.

• A single violation of these conditions will result in an immediate termination of the sex offender's privilege to attend the church.

• The conditional attendance agreement option will not be available unless the church's insurer is informed and confirms that coverage will not be affected.

4. In some cases, exclusion of the offender from church is the only viable option. This option is advisable if (1) for any reason the conditional attendance option is not feasible or enforceable; or (2) if the offender's crimes are so frequent or heinous that exclusion is the only appropriate option; or (3) one or more of the offender's victims attends the church. This will be a judgment call made by the pastor and board.

5. It is often desirable to draft a short policy addressing the church's response to registered sex offenders attending the church, and have it adopted by the congregation during an annual or special business meeting. This would allow the membership to discuss this issue in a rational manner.

6. Seek legal counsel in formulating the church's response.

For additional information on handling registered sex offenders, see volume four in Richard Hammar's four-book set, Pastor, Church & Law (4th ed., 2008, Christianity Today International).

Richard R. Hammar is senior editorial advisor for Your Church, Church Law & Tax Report, and Church Finance Today. He serves as legal counsel to the Assembly of God denomination. He is an attorney and CPA, specializing in legal and tax issues for churches and clergy. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is the author of more than 100 books, including the annual Church & Clergy Tax Guide, the Compensation Handbook for Church Staff, and his landmark work, Reducing the Risk: Keeping Your Ministry Safe from Child Sexual Abuse.

Share thisshare this

Posted by Lindsey Learn on April 13, 2010 8:30 AM

Related Tags: child abuse, Richard Hammar, risk, safety, sex offender

Comments

(1) Can you provide a sample "short policy"? #5 in your list
(2) How do we find appropriate legal counsel for this specific issue? #6 in your list
(3) What will the church be able/required to do to exclude someone, if need be? #4 in your list ... It's hard for us to imagine policing our entrance doors.

Thank you for addressing this concern -- it is important for churches to face into ... both as a community of redeeming grace and also as a place that must be a safe sanctuary for children and youth and for those who have suffered abuse.

Posted By: Jim Beckwith | April 20, 2010 9:40 AM

Thank you for these helpful guidelines. Sad to say that they are much needed ... and their need will only increase in the years ahead.

Christ has come to free the captive, but we have people to protect and nuture. We need great wisdom and discernment as we walk through this minefield.

Posted By: Linda Stoll | April 21, 2010 8:03 AM

Thank you so much for your insight and sharing your knowledge on this critical issue. Even the best child protection policy cannot 100% protect our children, youth or ministry workers. Reading your comments energizes me to continue working to improve our policy at our church. Thank you!

Posted By: Linda J. Pitzer | April 22, 2010 5:33 PM

It's a sad state of affairs when a murderer or drug dealer is forgiven and accepted upon repentance, but a convicted sex offender isn't.

It's the motive that matters most here. Is it really to protect the congregation or prevent liability? Remember what a Convicted sex offender must go through after conviction(probation, therapy, jail time and registration).

A (s)Ex-offender that goes to church and seeks God should be commended not harassed. The Lord did not call the righteous he called the sinner.


Just a note: The highest rate of sex offenses committed are by those without histories and most are level I and II offenses not involving children.

I would decide to go to or staying at a church based on their policies of forgiveness and acceptance.

The Lord doesn't have a lot of patience for misuse of his house of worship and prayer.

Remember what he did to the merchants in the church by making his house a den of thieves rather than a house of prayer!

Posted By: Robert | October 29, 2010 4:26 PM

Post a comment:





Verification (needed to reduce spam):

Tags

see more...

April 2012

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30          

resources