Original Blog Post on Internal Sovereign Grace Ministry Connect Website

Note: Please see previous post for explanation of below

Circa 2010

I noticed that there were some previous blog posts on “chops” regarding the topic of background checks. This is an important issue and good place to start this week’s security post. 

Many states require background checks for anyone who will be working with children. It is important for your church to have an application process for selecting and vetting individuals to work in children’s ministry. These laws normally always apply to both employees of the church, as well as, volunteers. Part of the application process should include a questionnaire regarding past criminal history. You want to be sensitive and provide an environment for this questionnaire to be private and confidential. Many people are ashamed of their sinful past. Even if they have turned from their sins, many still do not want to open up the door to the past issues of their former life. You want to respect there privacy; however, you also need to stress the importance of them being open and honest when it comes to the legal ramification of a criminal past. The Lord may have forgiven them; however, the many legal systems have not. Regardless of forgiveness and change some convicted crimes legally require disclosure.

The application and questionnaire should just be a starting point. As mentioned before many states require a background check to be conducted by both the state and the FBI to allow someone to work with children. This may sound like it is a big and confusing task. Do not be alarmed! It is easier than you think.

Some states will allow the person wishing to be checked to initiate the process on their own by going to the local or state police station. The police station will finger print them on the spot. Most of the time there is a preprinted card with a background questionnaire on the back of the form. This form is then sent into the state and for a small fee, normally paid by the person submitting the application. The state will return a full background check to the person noted on the form. Please be aware of an important detail related to how this normally works. Fingerprint background checks only investigate if a person has been convicted of a crime in the past. It will not give you a detail report of every incident they have been involved in. A fingerprint based background check also does not involve interviewing and questioning an applicant, their friends, relatives, or co-workers. This is simply a check to identify prior convictions of a crime. It is also critical to note that some jurisdictions only require a state level fingerprint background check. This means that if a person has committed a crime in another state it may not show up on the check. If your church is going to require a fingerprint background check than make sure that it also includes the National FBI check as well.

You might be tempted to think that this is a little overkill. In my opinion and professional judgment when it comes to protecting the children of our church, nothing is overkill. Would you be comfortable with a convicted felon watching your child?

We all want to protect our children; however, we should also want to protect those members of our church that do have a criminal past. Some members may still be on probation. The terms of their probation may limit them from certain activities. For example, many states restrict convicted felons from ever working with children. As a church we want to ensure that we do not have a member of our congregation volunteering to serve in a position that ultimately is causing them to break the law? We want to serve and protect them as well.

Many people have already posted other suggestions for companies that will conduct detailed background checks for you. All of these are great ideas. A fingerprint background check in just a start. Your goal should be to strive for your church to conduct full checks of all volunteering and employees working at your church, especially with children!!

Please feel free to comment on my posts, as well as, ask any security related question that your church is seeking answers to.

Helpful Link:

www.nsopw.gov

This site is the official national database for registered sex offenders. It is free to use and should be a start for all your searches. 

Church Abuse - Security - Sovereign Grace Ministry - SGM

I am not really sure where to start this blog post. For the last three years I have dedicated my spare time to post helpful information related to church safety and security. I have spoken with countless numbers of people trying to help them increase the safety and security of their places of worship. Now… My church of almost 30 years and “former” church parent ministry is plagued with their own “apparent” scandal related to both sexual abuse and abuse of pastoral authority. I have purposefully been quite related to the events that have been occurring. For months I have been asked to comment on the issue. I have decided that I cannot run a website dedicated to church safety and security and NOT talk about a major issue that is unfolding right in front of my eyes.

How and why did we get to this point! By no means am I attempting to say that I have had all of the answers. Many of the claims and allegations against both Sovereign Grace Ministry (SGM) and Covenant Life Church (CLC) stem back 25 years… From a Safety and Security prospective I can honestly state that I have first hand observed Covenant Life Church make many positive changes over the last 5 years towards their policies and procedures related to safety and security. The question will remain was it too little too late?

When I started this website 3 years ago, I was approached by two individuals from SGM and asked to contribute information about church safety and security on their internal church leadership website. Their passion and desire was to get this information out to their family of churches so positive change could be made in the best interest of their church membership. I decided that my first post should be related to children’s ministry and the importance of conducting background checks. (Original Blog Post will be posted in a separate securityatchurch.com post). I received immediate positive feedback from the content of the message from the two individuals who were in favor of the content being shared. Unfortunately, an individual in SGM leadership felt that the content of my post should not be viewed as the opinion of SGM. He did not want SGM churches to view my suggestions as coming with the authority of the parent ministry. My blog post was removed and my invitation to post future content related to church safety and security was revoked! This decision was not the desire of the two individuals who originally asked me to contribute. In fact to this day they are both still huge supporters of my efforts and securityatchurch.com! (Note: One of the individuals no longer works for SGM).

I am including the original SGM Blog Post in my next post for you to read and decide for yourself… Maybe the SGM leadership should have had their local churches view this information as the opinion of the parent ministry! What is your local church or church parent ministry doing to actively protect you and your local church? If they ever have the unfortunate situation to have the national press and local legal system evaluating them, will the outcome show an active desire to help the church be a safe place or a hidden effort to prevent resources and information from being shared and spread?

Company Donates Security System To Church

From: News on 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -
A Tulsa church is getting some much needed extra security features. all for free.

It comes after a shocking number of burglaries where thieves have taken just about everything they can get their hands on—even paper plates and toilet paper.

Crews with a Tulsa company called Security by Black installed a few things to make Lakeview Heights Baptist Church more burglar-proof.

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NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

Breaking News: Carl Chinn's Evil Invades Sanctuary Hits Amazon

The book "Evil Invades Sanctuary" by Carl Chinn (author of our regular "Think About It Series") is now available from Amazon.

From Amazon: Many consider the need for security in churches and faith-based organizations, but little gets done until somebody gets hurt. Evil Invades Sanctuary is not a how-to church security book; it is a literary journey confirming the need for security in faith-based organizations. It tells the stories of those involved in deadly force incidents in such a way to help others (both law enforcement and civilian security operators) understand what goes on inside such a scene. Evil has invaded sanctuary, and will do so again.

The book is available for only $12.00

If you are reading this website then you should also be reading this book!! Amazon states that it is "Out of Stock"; however once an order is placed through Amazon, Carl will be notified and will send you a copy of the book directly. Amazon regularly does this with new books to estimate the proper number of stock for their warehouse.

Link to Book on Amazon

Shooting at Church Run Christian School

From: News-Press.Com

Crying children hid under their desks, cowering from the sound of bullets crackling in the air Monday morning.

Fort Myers’ first homicide of 2013 was being committed on Barden Street in the Dunbar neighborhood, and just yards away from the Apostolic Revival Center and Christian School.

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Breaking News: Four dead in hostage-taking in Aurora, Colorado

From: Reuters

Four people were dead including the gunman following a hostage-taking on Saturday in Aurora, Colorado, the same town where a gunman shot dead 12 people and wounded 58 more at a movie theater last July, KUSA television reported.

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Note: This hostage situation did not take place at a place of worship; however, given recent events I felt that it was still important to report. 

100,000 Page Views... Milestone!

I wanted to take a moment and say thank you for supporting this website. This week SecurityatChurch.com received its first 100,000 page views. Many websites attract that much traffic in a month or a single day; however, a website geared specifically toward church safety and security carries a much more limited audience. 

Thank you again for your support of this project! Please continue to pass on this website to others that may benefit from it. Please also feel free to email with questions, concerns or suggestions to improve the information on this website. 

Security Changes Coming to Church Hall Where 3 Were Shot

From: The Daily Journal

VINELAND — Police are looking for a “lone shooter” who injured two women and a man with gunfire when a Christmas party inside a rented church hall turned violent early Wednesday morning.

Representatives of St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Church, which owns the West Wheat Road social hall, said the event was a private party that wasn’t attended by its parishioners. New security measures will go into effect there next week, they said.

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