The conference was called “Protecting Our Children,” and indeed that phrase was verbalized repeatedly throughout the one-day seminar held in the Upstate on Feb. 9 and in Columbia on Feb. 10.
“It’s all about the kids,” insisted Angie Buza, children’s minister at Fellowship of Praise Church in Santee. “You can’t protect these children enough.”
“This is about the safety of our children,” echoed Roger Orman, director of the communications and mission development team at the state convention. “We have to remember, it’s all about them.”
The conference addressed the issues of sexual harassment and sexual abuse or misconduct in ministry settings, dealing with sex offenders who want to be part of a church, legal requirements regarding mandatory reporting, screening of volunteers, and related topics.
More than 150 pastors, children and youth ministers, and other church staff from about 94 churches around the state – and some from North Carolina – attended the conferences.
Kathleen Turpin, vice president of human resources for Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, which provides insurance products specifically for churches and denominational agencies, led a session on preventing sexual harassment and abuse in ministry settings. She began by discussing the five main legal trends affecting churches in 2012.
On one of those – church safety and security – she said many churches focus too much on unlikely scenarios, such as shooters, and not enough on more likely ones, such as medical emergencies.
A second trend is in the area of “personal injury claims,” which can include invasion of privacy and copyright infringement. A third trend is among youth ministries, as “attempts to be relevant and attractive to youth” result in injuries and other losses.
Turpin discussed guidelines for preventing sexual harassment – defined strictly as an employer-employee issue – and recommended procedures for addressing allegations or incidents of sexual harassment. She urged participants to develop clear, concise policies, and to be thorough in documentation.
Three staff members from East Lake Community Church, Irmo, attended: Erik Ely, executive pastor; Jan van Amerongen, children’s pastor; and Matt Guy, high school pastor.
“Pastors have big hearts, and they may teach and preach well, but they may not be good at managing staff, and this is where this kind of training is good to have,” explained Ely, whose background is in retail management.
The current trend of dealing with registered sex offenders, which Turpin referenced, was explored in greater detail by Robert Grant, director of the church retirement, insurance and administration office at the state convention.
He said the state convention has created a handbook on recommended policies and procedures for churches dealing with registered sex offenders who wish to be involved in church. The handbook is available by written request.
Orman led an overview of South Carolina’s mandatory reporting law. Essentially, he said, any minister is required, by law, to report suspected child neglect or abuse. The only exception is when a minister receives such information in the specific setting of confession.
However, he said, “If I’m going to err [on reporting], I’m going to err on the side of what is best and safest for the children. It is sad that we’re to this point, but this is about the safety of our children.”
Buza wholeheartedly agreed. Her church requires background screening of all volunteers, including teenagers, and an eight-week waiting period before any volunteer is allowed to teach children.
“They have four weeks to observe a teacher, and then I have four weeks to observe them,” she explained. “So when I finally let them teach, there’s trust and knowledge there.”
Many participants had questions about who to screen, how thoroughly, how often, and even how to persuade some potential volunteers of the need for screening.
“Sometimes people are offended that you want to run a background check, that’s true,” acknowledged Turpin. “But think about it from the perspective of a parent: If you were a parent, wouldn’t you be relieved to know the adults and youth taking care of your children were screened? Wouldn’t you be grateful to be part of a church taking their mandate to protect children seriously?”
As Buza explained, “It’s needed even in small churches. You can say, ‘Well, we know everybody and their kids.’ But you won’t know everybody when you start growing!”
And as churches – rural, suburban, and urban – grow and reach their communities, prevention of wrongdoing, and protection of children will be ongoing issues. – SCBC