Child Protection In The Church

Churches are supposed to be a safe haven, but many deal with the tragic reality of child sexual abuse. This guide, supported by a multidisciplinary team of child abuse experts, helps churches and faith communities formulate policies and procedures to protect children and address possible abuse in their ministries.

On Guard offers churches eight strategies for preventing child abuse and three for responding to it, helping to move church staff and leaders beyond fearful awareness to prayerful preparedness.

How do we protect the children in our Christian community from sexual offenders? We are becoming more and more aware of the prevalence of child abuse, both in society at large and in the church. We want to protect children in our community from abuse, but we don't always know the best ways to go about that. From his years of experience as ...

Child Protection in the Church investigates whether, amidst publicised promises of change from church institutions and the introduction of “safe church” policies and procedures, reform is actually occurring within Christian churches towards safeguarding, using a case study of the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Australia. Through the use of interviews and document analysis, the book provides an insight into the attitudes and practices of “ordinary clergypersons” towards child sexual abuse and safeguarding to understand how safe ministry is understood and executed in everyday life in the Church, and to what extent it aligns with policy requirements and criminological best practice. It adopts organisational culture theory, the perspective used to explain how clerical culture enabled and concealed child sexual abuse in the Church to the present, in order to understand how clerical attitudes (cognition) and practice (conduct) today is being shaped by some of the same negative cultures. Underlying these cultures is misunderstandings of abuse causation, which are shown here to negatively shape clerical practice and, at times, compromise policy and procedural requirements. Providing an insight into the lived reality of safeguarding within churches, and highlighting the ongoing complexities of safe ministry, the book is a useful companion to students, academics, and practitioners of child protection and organisational studies, alongside clergy, church leaders, and those training for the ministry.

The Only Resource of Its Kind Is Now Two Bestsellers in One! Tragically, churches have not always been safe places for children or youth or vulnerable adults. With this in mind, attorney, pastor, and author Melton outlines a process for developing policies and procedures to recognize and reduce the risk of abuse in the church. Safe Sanctuaries combines and expands information from two of her earlier groundbreaking books, which focused, separately, on children and teens. "Safe Sanctuaries is the most helpful resource I have found dealing with this troubling topic," says one minister. "Straightforward yet non-threatening, the information is helpful for all denominations and congregations of faith." Practical guidance is provided in developing and implementing a substantive, holistic action plan of abuse prevention: recruiting, screening and working with volunteers training models for all who work with children, youth, and vulnerable adults suggestions for congregational response to unthinkable allegations of abuse order of worship celebrating the adoption of "Safe Sanctuaries" policies Melton's transformative, relevant, and foundational resource will train leaders in what they need to know to stay safe and keep the vulnerable in their care safe. This revised edition now features updated and timely information about protecting young people from online predators.

For parents, church leaders, and anyone who provides care for children. How to safeguard young lives from sexual abuse.

Child Protection in the Church investigates whether, amidst publicised promises of change from church institutions and the introduction of “safe church” policies and procedures, reform is actually occurring within Christian churches towards safeguarding, using a case study of the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Australia. Through the use of interviews and document analysis, the book provides an insight into the attitudes and practices of “ordinary clergypersons” towards child sexual abuse and safeguarding to understand how safe ministry is understood and executed in everyday life in the Church, and to what extent it aligns with policy requirements and criminological best practice. It adopts organisational culture theory, the perspective used to explain how clerical culture enabled and concealed child sexual abuse in the Church to the present, in order to understand how clerical attitudes (cognition) and practice (conduct) today is being shaped by some of the same negative cultures. Underlying these cultures is misunderstandings of abuse causation, which are shown here to negatively shape clerical practice and, at times, compromise policy and procedural requirements. Providing an insight into the lived reality of safeguarding within churches, and highlighting the ongoing complexities of safe ministry, the book is a useful companion to students, academics, and practitioners of child protection and organisational studies, alongside clergy, church leaders, and those training for the ministry.

Child Safety Guidelines for Local Churches deals with the sensitive subject of child sexual abuse and what churches can do to protect children under their care while at the same time minimizing their own liability. Prevention and training are critical elements in developing a structure that ensures the safety of children while they are in God's house. Sadly, many churches are unprepared to combat the possibility of the unthinkable happening to one of their precious little ones. By not taking reasonable precautions, they not only endanger the welfare of their youngsters, but are subject to charges of gross negligence and significant financial judgments against their congregations. The author outlines numerous steps that any congregation can take to protect both the children and churches they serve.ROGER MCNAMARA is a veteran pastor, missionary, and church planter with more than forty-six years of experience in local church ministry in Latin America and the United States. He has started and worked in half a dozen churches over the past four decades, and now serves as the Church Planting Training Specialist for Baptist Mid-Missions. In this capacity, he works with churches and church planters throughout the United States and Canada teaching, training, and mentoring church leaders. He also serves in a number of leadership positions within the Baptist Mid-Missions' TEAM NORTH AMERICA as well as the registrar for the School of Church Planting. He has published two other books and several leadership training manuals.

Church leaders understand that managing the day-to-day operations of a church can be challenging because of limited resources, managing volunteer labor, and supporting the needs of the congregation. Smart Church Management: A Quality Approach to Church Administration, Third Edition is an updated guide for managing the resources of a church - which is people, time and money. This book provides tools and examples for decision making and problem-solving for church administration that is easy to understand and more importantly, quick to implement! This book also includes discussion questions to provoke thought and discussion for church teams. This book is ideal for ministry students, church boards, church leadership and church administrators.

This simply told, beautifully illustrated story from the authors of Rid of My Disgrace and Is It My Fault? helps two- to eight-year-olds understand why their bodies matter and distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate touch. God Made All of Me gently opens a conversation that every family needs to have.