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.

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.

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 ...

Addresses the most critical legal and moral problem facing the church today -- and shows church leaders how to implement an effective prevention program to reduce this risk [of child sexual abuse].

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.