Protecting our Little Ones

The Child Safeguarding Policy Guide
for Churches and Ministries
Basyle Tchividjian and Shira Berkovits
(New Growth Press)
ISBN: 978-1945270055
August 2017/320 pages/$29.99

Churches have always sought to be a safe haven for children and families, but many today are dealing with the tragic reality of child sexual abuse.

This handbook, authored and edited by a multidisciplinary team of child abuse experts, is designed for use by a group that will be formulating policies and procedures to protect children and deal with possible child abuse in their ministry, school, and/or church. Working through this book will assist churches and ministries to assess their current child abuse polices and then guide them through each step they need to take to address the safety of children under their care. It will cover vitally important topics including:

—Protecting the children in a Christian environment from child abuse
—The warning signs of child abuse
—Crafting and implement a child protection policy
—Responding to abuse allegations
—Caring for victims of child abuse
—The legal implications and requirements for churches and Christian ministries

Written by a GRACE team with multi-disciplinary knowledge, headed by Boz Tchividjian, a lawyer and former child abuse prosecutor, this handbook will be an invaluable resource to Christians who are seeking to educate themselves and others about child abuse and how to best protect the little ones under their care.


Read an excerpt.


MORE ABOUT GRACE

GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) is a nonprofit organization made up of highly trained, experienced multidisciplinary professionals who seek to educate and empower the Christian community to identify, confront, and respond to the sin of child abuse. Find out more about GRACE at www.netgrace.org.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Boz Tchividjian founded GRACE in 2003. He is a former assistant state attorney, who served as chief prosecutor in the Sexual Crimes Division, where he gained experience in cases involving sexual abuse, and later served as the attorney for the Child Advocacy Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. Boz has also spoken extensively on the subject of child abuse at various events including the conferences sponsored by the American Association of Christian Counselors and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). Boz currently serves as a law professor at Liberty University School of Law.

Shira M. Berkovits is founder and CEO of Sacred Spaces, a cross-denominational initiative to create systemic solutions to abuse in communal institutions. In this capacity she has worked with faith communities around the world to develop policies and training to prevent and respond to institutional abuse. She is a psychologist and attorney, and has completed postdoctoral fellowships in child trauma and rehabilitative alternatives to incarceration. Prior to founding Sacred Spaces, Dr. Berkovits worked on issues of youth advocacy, child protection, and criminal justice reform.


MY THOUGHTS

The thought of a sexual predator targeting children is heinous; the idea that someone would use a church ministry to gain access to a child is beyond repugnant. Sadly, this is a heartbreaking reality and a critically important issue that churches must address in today's world. This book provides an excellent resource for churches to use when developing polices and guidelines. Highly practical and including specific action plans, this book is a must-read for any pastor, preschool or children's minister, or anyone who oversees programs for children in churches and Christian ministries. Don't delay taking steps to protect the little ones within your care. Get your copy of The Child Safeguarding Policy Guide for Churches and Ministries today!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from New Growth Press and Litfuse Publicity Group for a blog tour. I was not required to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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