SafeChurch is a one-year commitment, where 3-4 churches each send a team of 3-10 congregants to 6 trainings throughout the year. This core team will gain a depth of knowledge about preventing child abuse, including red flags, dealing with known offenders, dealing with questions of forgiveness and trauma, updating policies, and much much more. They will return to their congregations as the go-to resource in the church. This effort is congregant-led, so anyone in your church can be the one to get it started!
Benefits to the church include:
Clarifying your church’s theological framework and stance on child sexual abuse.
Speaking and acting proactively to bring child sexual abuse out of the shadows, to make it clear with your congregation that you understand and care about protecting children, and that your congregation is a place where people are informed about red flags and ready to act.
Moving beyond static policies and training to shifting culture to inspire and equip adults to protect children from sexual harm in church and in the community.
Connecting with other people of faith who share the vision to take leadership and end the conditions that allow one in four girls and one in six boys to be sexually abused.
Engaging survivors as sources of wisdom and leaders.
Providing a core group of deeply educated adults who can help you address cases of child sexual abuse as they arise.
Contact Laurie Jean at Prevention@SARAcville.org to join, or to learn more!