The Southern Baptist Convention’s abuse prevention task force released a new report with plans to further handle and prevent sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches.
The report outlined the SBC’s plans to create a nonprofit organization independent of the convention to aid the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force in its efforts to prevent and deal with abuse in its churches.
This new nonprofit will work alongside ARITF’s ministry check website, which “will provide leaders with the ability to search for information about individuals who have been convicted, found liable or confessed to abuse,” according to the website.
Explaining the founding of this new nonprofit, Josh Wester, chairman of ARITF, said in the report, “Churches overwhelmingly want to get it right when it comes to sexual abuse, but they need help, and our convention promised help was on the way. The reality is this problem is too big for any group of volunteers.”
Additionally, this new nonprofit will serve as an additional resource for the SBC to utilize in its fight against sexual abuse. Keeping the nonprofit independent of the convention is intended to create credibility for survivors of sexual abuse.
Aside from announcing the new nonprofit, Wester also announced three new objectives that ARITF will strive to complete. The first is expanding the Ministry ToolKit. The ToolKit serves as a resource for churches to educate leaders and congregations on sexual abuse and abuse prevention. With this new objective, the SBC plans to expand the video-based curriculum and implementation of the ToolKit.
Secondly, ARITF plans to launch certain categories on the Ministry Check website. Specifically those that list criminal convictions and civil judgments of church leaders and members, with regard to abuse.
Lastly, the SBC and ARITF are striving to find a permanent home within the convention for abuse prevention. ARITF is currently being funded by two of the convention’s mission boards. The hope is that this home can be found in the newly founded nonprofit.
The hope is for this report and these reforms to have broad-reaching effects. With a convention containing over 50,000 churches, roughly 1,551 in Arkansas alone, addressing the abuse that happens or could happen in Southern Baptist churches can seem daunting. Yet the SBC maintains committed to its goal of eradicating abuse within its churches.
Wester reiterated this commitment near the end of his report.
“Once again, the ARITF is unwavering in our resolve to see meaningful abuse reform within the Southern Baptist Convention,” Wester said. “Now is the time to move from words to actions, by coming together to relentlessly pursue a day when we can say we are an abuse-free family of churches.”
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