Arizona Southern Baptist Convention

Spanish Portraits, February, 2008.

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Sexual abuse of children and youth is a threat to any church and preventing sexual abuse should be a high-priority issue for every church.

Establishing and enforcing policies can help churches protect children and teenagers from abuse, a leading expert recently said.

"We can talk about evangelizing the world, but if we lose the ones we have sitting in the pews, we’re defeating our own purpose," said Rachel Mitchell, sex crimes bureau chief for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Mitchell, who wasn't representing the county attorney's office, taught two workshops at the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention's Arizona Church Equipping Conference. Both "Creating a Safe Environment" workshops can be viewed at www.arizona.e-quip.net.

Part one of the workshop answers questions of how sex offenders operate within the church setting and what members can do to protect the church. The second part answers the question "What is the church's response to child abuse?"

"People who are not mature Christians often times equate the church with God. We know this is not true. Lots of times if they lose faith in the church, they will give up on God," said Mitchell, who is also a Southern Baptist.

Arizona law requires that church leaders report suspected cases of sexual or physical abuse or neglect. Limited reporting exemptions exist, depending on whether the information came during confidential spiritual counseling. However, if other people were present during counseling, reporting may still be required. Failure to report suspected abuse can result in a person being criminally charged and imprisoned if convicted.

The law also outlines exemptions for some types of sexual abuse reporting, depending on the age of the parties and conduct involved.

Leaders should only report information, not try to investigate the allegation themselves, stressed Mitchell.

"If you report to the pastor, it doesn't release you from contacting (police or child protection services)," Mitchell said. “People worry, 'What if this turns out not to be true, can I get sued?' Civil immunity is provided by law unless the person acted with malice -- knew it was false but did it anyway."

Mitchell recommends having a church policy. "If you don't have a church policy, you are completely unprepared," she said. "You need to recognize that sex offenders use the church."

Studies show that 93 percent of convicted sex offenders say they are religious. Sex offenders often molest with other children present, and sometimes with adults nearby. Ninety-five percent of the children know their offender.

Background checks can be a deterrent. However, a vast number of sex offenders don't have criminal backgrounds. "For people without a criminal background, you are putting them on notice that you aren't waiting for something to happen," she continued.

Mitchell recommends establishing "common sense boundaries" in church policies. "If a person violates the policy twice, it's someone you may need to pay huge attention to," she said.

About one-third of the victims will tell of an incident while they are still children; however, there may be a significant delay. Most victims don't tell everything at once, seeking to determine whether they are believed. One study revealed that 85 percent of the confirmed cases had no physical evidence.

"As Southern Baptists, we are very evangelical," Mitchell said. "I believe that Christ died for child molesters. I believe He can change their hearts. I don’t believe they (have asked) Him to as often as they claim they have."

The church's policy should outline how it will deal with a convicted sexual offender who attends worship, Mitchell said. For example, would that person be segregated from children or teenagers?

The state law, screening and training resources, books, and downloads are available at the ASBC website, www.azsobaptist.org. Some listed links, books and documents are not affiliated with the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention. The ASBC is not responsible for the content, advertising, products or other materials made available on or through any linked site.

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