Are background checks necessary for church officials?

background checks. While anyone who works with children should face such screening processes, past times have allowed individuals who work within the church a certain level of trust. This trust has seemingly backfired when it comes to circumstances like those in Wagram. Darryl Todd, a 32 year old pastor is facing three counts of statutory rape charges involving a 14 year old girl. Following this news, Director of Missionary for the Columbus Baptist Association Warren Hill stated all churches should do background checks. “Unfortunately, it should be required this day and age” he said, “I recommend that all our churches give background checks whether it’s pastors or volunteers”. With budgets being a factor in what churches can and can’t afford, as has been mentioned previously in the MYB blog, people’s safety isn’t the part of the budget they should be cutting corners on. While a background check may not have prevented Todd this time, it would certainly help prevent it from happening again. When it comes to our children’s safety, money shouldn’t be an issue – this is something that we clearly still need to learn.]]>