Protecting the Flock
Church leadership in the modern era brings with it many challenges that couldn’t have been imagined by the founding fathers of our faith. Budget meetings, social media, buildings governed by fire codes, hiring and leading staff in alignment with state laws, following complicated tax laws, and much more can lead a pastor to feel like the church becomes far more like a corporation than an ekklesia. Yet, these things are necessary and unavoidable.
Often this feeling of being a cog in a necessary corporate wheel can lead to a desire on behalf of a pastor, church leadership, or church members to reject anything else that could seem like the yet another musing of a corporation or modern institution.
One of those areas is church security and abuse prevention, especially in children’s and youth ministries. Recent data shows that less than 40% of Missionary Church congregations run background checks on children and youth volunteers, a key indicator of whether or not a church has any sort of policy or procedure to train or vet volunteers in the area of abuse prevention. Even fewer churches have a security team or intentional plan for keeping people safe while they are on church grounds.
And already some of you are (rightfully) thinking, “Oh great. Yet another thing I’m not doing that I’m going to have to do.” Or maybe even, “Once again, the ways of the world and corporate thinking are finding their way into the church.”
It would be natural to even spiritualize why a church doesn’t bother itself with security or abuse prevention. Shouldn’t we just pray and rely on God for protection? Don’t we want to trust our people, rely on relationship, and not risk offending them with hoops to jump through? Isn’t this acting out of fear rather than faith? But with inerrant Scripture being our guide, it is important to consider the biblical case for why this is an area that shouldn’t be overlooked.
When rebuilding Jerusalem's walls, Nehemiah and his people faced constant threats. Nehemiah did not rely on prayer and faith alone but took proactive measures. The Scripture states, "We prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night" (Nehemiah 4:9). This example shows that prayer and preparation are not mutually exclusive.
The prophet Ezekiel writes about himself as a watchman, whose traditional role was to act as a vigilant protector for a community, city, or property. Speaking on behalf of our Lord, Ezekiel goes so far as to say, “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’”
Those are strong words, words that serve as a serious warning that church leaders should consider.
Other Old Testament examples include the Levites guarding the Tabernacle and Temple (Numbers 3:28, 2 Kings 11:7-11) while Proverbs 22:3 and 27:12 say, “the prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” In the New Testament, examples that may often be assumed only as metaphor for spiritual application should apply to the physical protection of our people, too. The Apostle Paul warns elders in Acts 20:28–29 about "fierce wolves" entering the flock and gives responsibility to church leaders to protect their people, while Jesus himself spoke about protecting children when He said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea" (Matthew 18:6). This extreme metaphor shows the seriousness with which Jesus views any action that would harm a child's faith or innocence. It underscores the need to protect children from spiritual, physical, and emotional harm.
Several times over the past few years, our Ministry Leadership Council prayerfully discussed what we in the Missionary Church are doing or should do to help our churches and leaders in this area. In response, our national office has recently taken up this charge to provide resources and training to our churches across the country. Last month we hosted our first webinar with leading experts in the area of abuse prevention within the church. Along with that, we have compiled a host of step-by-step resources that churches can use to implement and have partnered with Ministry Defender, a company led by a Missionary Church credentialed minister and former pastor, to provide affordable background checks, web-based staff and volunteer training and onboarding, and consulting. While the average Missionary Church would be able to train and background check their volunteers for an investment of only $325, we have raised funds to provide the first 10 background checks and up to 25 volunteer training sessions online free of charge for the first 20 churches that need financial assistance.
All of these resources, including a video of the webinar training, can be found at www.mcusa.org/safety.
Finally, later this month on October 21 at 1pm Eastern Time, we will host a second, free one-hour webinar training, following up on abuse prevention and beginning to discuss church security. This is especially pertinent in light of the tragic events in Michigan last week. I not only invite you and your church leaders to join us for this but strongly encourage you to. You can RSVP for this event and get the Zoom link on the day of the event at www.mcusa.org/safety.
We do not do this out of fear nor out of naiveté that policies and procedures alone are the answer. Ultimately, we know that on this side of eternity we deal with the effects of a fallen world that only Jesus can conquer. Yet we also take our responsibility seriously to be “wise as serpents and shrewd as doves” as we steward and shepherd the precious flocks under our leadership.
Let’s be the watchmen on the wall, not only spiritually, but in every way. Let’s protect our flocks from the wolves. And let’s do it boldly in the confidence of knowing that no weapon formed against us will prosper because when God is for us, who can stand against?!
