{"id":28899,"date":"2012-02-07T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T13:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.churchvolunteercentral.com\/?post_type=cvdaily&p=19963"},"modified":"2012-02-07T06:00:38","modified_gmt":"2012-02-07T13:00:38","slug":"abuse-hits-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/sunday-school\/abuse-hits-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Abuse Hits Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

“A volunteer from the church was arrested today for sexual assault on a 14-year old girl.”<\/p>\n

It took me a minute to process my husband’s words. Unfortunately, a few minutes later I was reading the newspaper article about the incident and the circumstances that led to his arrest. While the alleged abuse did not happen on church property or during a church function, it is apparent that the relationship between the accused and the victim’s family began at church.<\/p>\n

This situation reaffirms the fact that abuse can–and does–happen everywhere!<\/strong> Our pastor spoke at church on Sunday, giving the church family the opportunity to process the situation together. I can only imagine that this was one of the hardest things he’s had to do in a while.<\/p>\n

It got me thinking, how do churches know what to do in this sort of a situation? A few months back, I shared about the Darkness to Light<\/a> child sexual abuse prevention organization. They have great information and training that show churches how to respond and what can be done to prevent possible abuse.<\/p>\n

Here are the seven steps<\/strong> they give that will minimize the risk and help us protect the kids in our homes and ministries:<\/p>\n

* Learn the Facts
\n* Minimize Opportunity
\n* Talk About It
\n* Stay Alert
\n* Make a Plan
\n* Act on Suspicions
\n* Get Involved<\/p>\n

This is a great place to start. Working work through these steps will help reduce the risk of this sort of abuse ever happening in our own churches. It takes a concerted, united effort to do this. But we can’t make any more excuses.<\/p>\n

Does your screening process need updating? Call us today at 1-800-267-9040 and let us help you protect the children in your church.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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