Free Videos From Protect My Ministry
September 30th, 2010 // 3:34 pm @
Free Information From Protect My Ministry on church background checks, child safety training, and ministry automation is available at our website ProtectMyMinistry.com
Category : Articles
Fact vs. Myth part 1
September 16th, 2010 // 8:27 pm @
Top mistakes churches make regarding their volunteer background checks-
Protect My Ministry reaches out to hundreds of churches every week and in that process we hear stories from churches of every denomination, tradition, and philosophy. The most common truth about volunteer background screening we encounter is this: churches often do not know exactly what they are getting when they do a background check on their volunteers.
Over the next few months, Protect My Ministry will take time to reveal several misconceptions churches have about background checks and what we do to address these issues. Here are a few of the most common myths regarding background checks followed by the facts:
Myth # 1 – “Background checks are all the same, so why does it matter who we use?”
Fact – There are several ways to do background checks and there are hundreds of background screening companies out there for a reason; and they are not all created equally. Here are a few questions you should be asking: Am I getting felony as well as misdemeanors or just felonies? What exactly is being searched for when I run this background check? Doesn’t a national search mean I am getting all 50 states? The answers to these questions are extremely important as you develop your child safety procedures.
Myth #2 – “I am getting my checks for free from the police station (or a member of our church is a police officer and runs them for us), so I’m covered.”
Fact – While the price may be right, chances are you don’t realize what is being checked and what is not. Most people just assume everything is. The truth is many police checks are checking only the state you are in and does not include criminal information outside of your state. The only exception to that is if they are checking the NCIC (the FBI database) and if you are getting that for free the person doing that for you is almost certainly doing it illegally.
For more information please visit www.protectmyministry.com
For some of our recommendations on how to screen volunteers, click here.
Category : Articles
Church Security Alliance Recommends Child Safety Training
August 27th, 2010 // 8:50 pm @
Child safety training is a simple church security measure almost any church can easily implement. The benefits to training children’s ministry staff and volunteers in child abuse recognition and reporting are numerous.
It is an unfortunate fact in our society that children are abused sexually, emotionally and physically. Church volunteers often have contact with these children in Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, or children’s ministry events through community outreach programs where children are brought into the church.
Having an opportunity to stop child abuse can have a huge positive impact on a child who endures it repeatedly, but only when a church ministry team has had the proper training to recognize the warning signs for child abuse.
Church Security Alliance co-founder Glen Evans states, “A comprehensive child safety training program for church employees and volunteers is becoming as necessary as church background checks. Churches can no longer afford to ignore this most elementary, and easily implemented security step. Recent news reports highlight the fact we cannot ignore this issue any longer.”
A church child safety training program should incorporate several elements. First, the program should be comprehensive and complete. The church volunteer should be able to define child abuse, recognize behaviors that identify potential abusers, and know how to report suspected abuse to authorities.
Second, a church safety program should be able to document that training has occurred and the person attending the training has an understanding of the material presented.
Evans states, “Protect My Ministry has the best solution we have seen. It allows everybody within a ministry to watch several short videos, take a quiz, and documents a ministry’s efforts to train their staff effectively.”
ProtectMyMinistry.com has recently integrated a training program into its church security and risk managment solution, Ministry Mobilizer. Many churches have good intentions for training their ministry team, but high turn over, busy schedules, and lack of time make this type of training easy to miss or squeeze out.
Protect My Ministry provides a program where a children’s church or nursery volunteer can log on to the site, watch 7 videos within 55 minutes, and take a quiz from any computer with an internet connection. The program is very affordable and also assists a church or ministry with background checks and child ministry organization.
The best part of Protect My Ministry’s child safety program is that it is a solution for any sized church. Many churches lack the resources, expertise and money to hold a yearly training. Protect My Ministry provides an easy solution for this problem, and delivers a quality program your church can be proud to offer.
Category : Articles
Break the Silence…
August 13th, 2010 // 5:06 pm @
A father was arrested for molesting his two daughters and two pastors were also arrested on suspicion of failing to report the accusations to authorities, according to Phoenix Police
The father was booked with one count of sexual abuse, two counts of child molestation, and eleven counts of sexual conduct with a minor on July 9, according to Phoenix police spokesman James Holmes. The police are not releasing the father’s name to protect the identities of the victims.
His then 16-year-old daughter told a neighbor that she had been molested by her father for several years. The neighbor then confronted the father and he apparently admitted his involvement. The father also confessed that he knew what he was doing was wrong.
After this confrontation the Phoenix police were brought in and the girl was with the neighbor when she talked to officers, according to Holmes. The girl told officers of at least one instance of sexual intercourse and many instances of sexual contact over almost 5 years; she also informed police of the molestation of her older sister who moved out when she turned 18.
According to police, the father confessed to sexually abusing both victims after questioning and was arrested immediately.
The older daughter, now 19, told her two pastors about the alleged abuse in 2008 but they did not report the accusations to police, according to Holmes. Under Arizona law, and nearly every state has similar laws, the pastors had the duty to report to Child Protective Services and/or law enforcement.
Instead, the pastors met with the older daughter and the father. At that meeting, according to the police, the father confessed to sneaking into his daughter’s room to touch her. The pastors suggested the girl forgive her father, because he was repentant, Holmes added.
The pastors were arrested on one count each of failure to report sexual abuse.
For information on child safety training and screening your volunteers click here.
Category : Articles
Church Volunteer Arrested
EDMONDS — A volunteer magician and puppeteer who worked with the children’s ministry at Westgate Chapel in Edmonds is being accused of fondling a young parishioner during Sunday school and sneaking his camera up the skirts of unsuspecting girls and women.
On Tuesday morning Terry Jensen, 55, of Edmonds was charged with first-degree child molestation and two counts of attempted voyeurism. This is not the first time Jensen has faced such charges.
According to court papers filed this morning, in 2006 an 8-year-old girl reported that Jensen fondled her three times during Sunday school. At that time Jensen allegedly apologized to the girl, her mother, and the church’s leadership team according to Snohomish County deputy prosecutor, Adam Cornell. The report stated that Jensen “got down on one knee” and asked the girl for another chance.
Jensen was confronted again with allegations of sexual impropriety with parishioners this past January. Prosecutors allege that Jensen used a small camera to take pictures up the skirts of women and girls at church and on business trips. Jensen allegedly told Westgate Chapel officials he used the church’s camera to take pictures underneath the skirts of some of the teenage puppet workers behind the stage, Cornell wrote.
Edmonds police have seized two of Jensen’s computers but were unable to find any images related to the allegations against him. Jensen allegedly destroyed a third computer and threw it in the garbage. Investigators have been unable to locate that computer according to Cornell.
For more information on screening volunteers at your church click here.
Category : Articles