Background checks

I doubt that many bivocational churches do background checks on volunteers or on pastoral candidates, but such checks are becoming increasingly important. We've all read the headlines in recent years about the number of people who have been victimized by persons in authority in churches. Such stories are tragic for many reasons, and a simple background check may have prevented at least some of these situations.

Last year LifeWay partnered with an agency to offer discounted background checks for churches that wanted such checks for volunteers and potential employees. Since that time about 450 churches have requested more than 5,000 background checks. Eighty of those checks found that the person had committed serious felony offenses, and over 600 people had some type of criminal history that may have prevented them from working in a church. I'm sure some churches make it very clear up front that they do background checks on anyone wanting to work in certain jobs in the church, and this probably prevents some from even applying. Persons wanting to harm other people are not going to stay around in a place that will investigate their past before allowing them access to those people. Unfortunately, they will continue seeking out other churches until they find one that does not do the background checks.

I believe, at a minimum, that every church should do background checks on every person who will work with persons eighteen years old and younger and anyone who will handle any aspect of church finance. The best case scenario is for churches to do such checks on every volunteer and employee of the church. I'm sure some long-term workers in the church will object to being checked, but hopefully they will agree to a background check when it is explained that every person, including the pastor, will undergo the same check and that the purpose of the background check is to ensure the safety of every person in the church.

When churches are seeking a new pastor or staff person a background check should be part of the search process, and any applicant who refuses to give permission for such a check should be eliminated as a candidate. Churches should be committed to provide a safe environment for every person, and background checks are one way to help ensure such an environment. These checks are relatively inexpensive, and if they prevent even one person from being harmed in the church they are well worth the expense.