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April 25, 2011

Why Churches Should Take the Lead Preventing Abuse

What we can do to keep kids safe.

 by Marian Liautaud


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Editor's Note: April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. As the month draws to a close, here's a piece from Marian Liautaud regarding the need for churches to take the lead on child abuse prevention for the good of people—and the good of ministry:

Thirty-some years ago, someone I love was sexually abused by a trusted adult. Although this incident occurred when we were kids, time has done nothing to heal my friend. All it's done is stolen peace, freedom, and wholeness from him. Harboring hatred has a way of eating away at one's soul.

Child abusers are the most reviled people on the planet. Even hardened criminals view child molesters with particular disdain. And so did I. For years I harbored a deep hatred toward the perpetrator who violated my friend in an unthinkable way.

But then over the course of the last few years, I started to wonder whether all my righteous anger was really just a way for me to withhold forgiveness from someone who most certainly didn't deserve it. Could the blood of Christ cover someone as horrible as a pedophile? And if it could, would I ever bring myself to say to the worst of the worst—child abusers—you, yes even you, are saved by grace!

Questions like these are what drove me to spearhead a research project last year for Christianity Today. For nine months, I delved into the dark world of sex offenders. We conducted a national survey to find out what church leaders think about sex offenders—whether they should be integrated into congregations in a compassionate way, and if so, how they do this so no one is put in harm's way. Sex Offenders in the Pew, the Christianity Today story that grew out of the research, looked at how many churches have registered sex offenders attending their services and what they are doing to safely integrate these individuals into the congregation.

Continue reading "Are Churches Leading the Way in Preventing Abuse?" on our sister site, GiftedForLeadership.com.

Marian V. Liautaud is the editor for Church Management Resources at Christianity Today International. Her position includes serving as editor for a variety of books, publications, websites, and e-newsletters, including ChurchSafety.com. Marian has edited dozens of books and written numerous articles. She is a member of the National Association of Church Business Administration.

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Posted by Matt Branaugh on April 25, 2011 8:00 AM

Related Tags: background checks, child abuse, Children, church law, risk, risk management, safety, screening, security, sex offender

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