“But that’s wrong,” said Barber. “Abuse happens in rural churches too. It’s important to help churches like that see that they do need to take these precautions.”
The SBC’s 2-year-old abuse reform implementation task force hopes to have new training material for churches, including policy guidelines, ready to hand out at this year’s annual meeting in Indianapolis in June.
Some states have asked churches about their sex abuse prevention policies in the past but this is the first time those questions have been included in the national Annual Church Profile.
SBC membership declined while worship and group attendance continues to rise, according to data from 2023. Graphic courtesy of Lifeway Research
Bruce Frank, a North Carolina pastor running for SBC president, said that more data will be needed before leaders know whether the convention is making progress on reform. But Frank, who served on a previous task force set up to aid in investigating abuse, said background checks are a crucial part of making churches safer.
“For anybody who works with children and students, a background church is the basic, base-level safety requirement,” he said. “It’s a lot easier and quicker than it’s ever been before. We want everybody to take advantage of that for the safety and security of their ministries.”
SBC leaders have long encouraged churches to check volunteers and staff backgrounds, and the denomination passed a series of reforms in 2022 aimed at addressing sexual abuse. But those reforms, including a ministry check website to list abusive pastors and leaders, have largely stalled. No names have been added to the ministry check website and there is no permanent funding plan for abuse reforms. A new nonprofit established to oversee reforms has received little support for funding.
This article originally appeared here.
