The safety of children and youth in congregational settings has come to the forefront of the nation’s attention in recent years. Stories about abuse, church cover-ups, massive lawsuits, congregational disillusionment, and - most importantly - the lives of young victims themselves, have become all-too-common in today’s scandal-laced society.Yet, despite all of this attention, many church leaders admit that their congregation does not thoroughly evaluate the background or references of those who work with children and youth. A new Barna study commissioned by GuideOne Insurance among more than 600 pastors explores this element of child and youth safety in Protestant congregations, as well as other things churches do - and don’t do - to protect attenders.
The rest of this article doesn't make for light-hearted reading certainly but, like most of what George Barna writes about nowadays, it's quite important reading. Let's pray it prompts many more pastors to take the credentials issue much more seriously.
