Why Your Church Needs an Abuse Prevention Policy

Though I have spent my whole life in churches, I had never heard of an abuse prevention policy until perhaps 15 or 20 years ago. At that time they were still a rarity. Today, though, they are very nearly a necessity. A succession of scandals in churches across a host of different settings and denominations has proven that evil people will prey upon churches. Christians have often been too trusting and naive, and many people have suffered as a result.

It has been a few years since I was a full-time pastor at my church, but when I was, we were just transitioning from a church plant to a “grownup” church. One of the tasks I initiated and oversaw was creating an abuse prevention policy. That involved finding a template (which a bigger and more mature church was glad to give us), adapting it to our congregation, teaching the church how and why we were instituting it, and then implementing it across our programs. I learned a lot from that process and, based on both that experience and subsequent reading, I want to lay out what a good policy accomplishes. I’ll also suggest some resources you may find helpful as you draft your own.

A Good Policy Protects the Vulnerable from Harm

The key purpose of an abuse prevention policy is to protect the vulnerable from those who may wish to bring them harm. A related purpose is to protect the vulnerable from those who may inadvertently bring them harm, thus distinguishing between someone who deliberately hits a child, for example, and someone who mistakenly knocks one over. In most cases, vulnerable people include children and those with special needs, though some churches may broaden it to better encompass the scope of their ministries. To meet these purposes, a policy may need to account for factors such as:

How many adults must be present with vulnerable persons at all times.
Whether related people may serve together.
Ratios between children and childcare workers.
Check-in and check-out procedures.
Visibility procedures, such as classroom or office doors always remaining open.
Diaper-changing and toileting procedures.
Criminal background checks.
Age limitations (such as the age at which someone may care for infants), gender limitations (such as whether boys or men can work with vulnerable people), and membership limitations (such as whether non-members of a church can volunteer for those programs).

The policy carefully assesses risks and proactively implements measures designed to mitigate them.

A Good Policy Protects the Innocent from False Accusations

Though the primary purpose of an abuse prevention policy is to protect those who are vulnerable, it should also protect those who may be falsely accused of having done wrong. These could be malicious false charges from one individual who wishes to harm another, or they could be mistaken false charges from someone who misunderstood or misinterpreted a situation. Just as a church expresses its love for the vulnerable by protecting them through a good policy, it expresses its love for those who work with them in the same way.

In many cases, the same measures will accomplish both purposes. For example, always having two adults present protects children from abusers (since an individual is unlikely to abuse a child in view of another adult) and protects workers from false charges (since another adult would be able to testify, for example, that a child was not struck by a childcare worker, but instead fell and hit his head). The increased focus on preventing abuse within churches may make some potential workers concerned about serving vulnerable people, so a good policy is designed to protect them and give them confidence.

A Good Policy Is Overseen

Everything in this world tends toward chaos rather than order, and policies are no exception. This means that any policy needs to be owned and overseen lest it become stale and fall into disuse. It may be best if an abuse prevention policy is overseen by an abuse prevention committee made up of members of the church whose task it is to know the policy, ensure that it is being followed, and make changes to it when necessary. Depending on the particulars of the church, the committee may be able to make changes unilaterally or it may need the approval of the elders or members. Either way, someone needs to own and oversee the policy on behalf of the rest of the congregation.

I would generally suggest that a group of members oversee the policy, but remain in close contact with ministry leaders and pastors. This committee may be wise to meet on a regular basis—perhaps annually or semiannually—and to ensure that those who are bound by the policy routinely read, review, and agree to it as well.

A Good Policy Is Living

Churches change over time, and thus it stands to reason that policies sometimes need to change as well. What may have been effective in a small church may no longer be tenable in a large one, what may have suited one building may not suit another, and what may have kept five children safe may not protect 50. For this reason, an abuse prevention policy should be a living document (unlike, for example, a statement of faith, which may remain unchanged indefinitely). The committee that oversees the policy should be in regular communication with ministry leaders, pastors, insurers, and others who may be able to make useful suggestions. While the core commitments may remain unchanged, it may be necessary to add or remove specific policies on a regular basis.

A Good Policy Describes Procedure

It is important that an abuse prevention policy lay out specific measures and procedures that will guard against abuse. However, it ought to go further to describe the procedures that will be taken if and when there is an incident or accusation. It will lay out who will be notified of any incident, who will be responsible to make decisions, and who will take specific actions. It will spell out the circumstances in which police or other authorities will be notified and will specify who will notify them. It clearly describes legal obligations such as mandatory reporting. In other words, an abuse prevention policy does not stop with actions designed to prevent abuse, but extends to actions that will be taken in the event of accusations of abuse.

Conclusion and Resources

We should not put all of our trust in policies, of course, but must also routinely pray for God’s protection upon vulnerable people and those who care for them. But even as we admit that evil people may find ways to circumvent even the best policy, it is still wise for a church to create one, implement it, and carefully oversee it out of love for the very people it is designed to protect. And if it has been well-designed and carefully maintained, it truly will serve its purpose.

Even just a few years ago, there were relatively few resources available to help those who wished to create an abuse prevention policy. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. Almost every major denomination has provided resources to its churches, and these are usually available to the public. In addition to whatever your denomination provides, here are some other books and sites you may find helpful: