ARE YOUR YOUTH SAFE 
AND PROTECTED?
There isn’t a month that goes by that I do not hear on the news, read in a local paper or hear from a friend in ministry that a student or child had been touched inappropriately or molested by a church leader or ministry volunteer. I don't know about you, but my heart goes out to that young person and their family...for they will have much to deal with in the upcoming days.
A few years ago I heard an interview of a convicted child molester who got involved as a volunteer youth leader before he was found out. He said that he decided to volunteer at a church because many churches do not have anything in place that would keep him from volunteering, thus he could fulfill his sexual desires with the youth there.
Sad but true, this volunteer’s thinking is still very true today! The above statement is an indictment against the church as a whole for our lack of concern, care and protection for our children and youth. Even with all that has gone on with the Catholic Church sex scandals of the late 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s, I have come to realize that still today, churches are an easy prey for those desiring to fulfill their sinful desires on the innocent ones we ought to protect.
The sad part of this church-wide epidemic is that many, if not most of these incidents could have been avoided through some careful, thoughtful and preventative attention by the church's leadership.
It is time that we as the Body of Christ rise up and take responsibility for protecting our children and youth by setting up safety nets to guard against such disastrous events!
This seminar that I have put together is designed to get churches of all sizes to think and act on building a safe ministry for all attenders, young and old. What I have come to realize is that the larger churches are processing this better than the “church in the country” is. Sadly, all churches are falling prey to these predators; weather in the city or in a corn-field, hardly a month goes by without hearing of another church, family and child impacted by someone they “trusted.”
Thought the prevelence of child molestation is running high, there are many other areas of ministry that need to be looked at closely so that in all areas of programming, the church will be above-board for the wholistic safety and protection of all generations that participate in the ministry. The seminar that I have designed will not only look at keeping sexual predators out of your ministry, but it will look at the ministry as a whole for greater protection and care for your congregants. Interaction is imporant in the presentation and I have designed this to cause you and your team to think through the overall safety and protection of your church-wide ministry.
In over 20 years of ministry, I believe I have personally seen and heard the good, bad and very ugly. I have learned some things the hard way, and also through researching what a ministry ought to do; what works and what doesn’t in order to bring about a safe, or safer ministry in the local church.
Consider contacting me to gather more info on how I can assist you in:
• Evaluating the safety (children/youth or church as a whole) within your current church ministry.
• Training your leaders and volunteers in children and youth ministry safety.
• Mentoring you in integrating better policy and safety measures in your church-wide ministry.
• Mentoring you in integrating better policy and safety measures in your children and youth ministries.
• Holding a “Are Your Youth Safe And Protected” seminar for your church or ministry team.
• Hosting a “Are Your Youth Safe And Protected” seminar for your community where you invite other area churches to participate.
My passion in doing this is for the safety of the children, youth and the Body of Christ as a whole. The fees for providing these services and seminars are designed for any church with any type of budget. Please, let us not allow the dollar to get in the way of educating and providing safety and security for our churches...for I am committed to that!
I look forward to hearing from you!
Click here to get to the "Are Your Youth Safe And Protected" seminar notes and downloads
This page was last modified on Saturday, October 24, 2009