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Most people who volunteer their help at church have good intentions. However, some churches have gotten into some pretty nasty situations because of volunteers who have served less than honorably as janitors, nursery workers, organists, secretaries, treasurers—even pastors.

Short of doing background checks on anyone who wants to help out at church, thereby discouraging others from volunteering, how should a church make sure it doesn't open the door to embezzlement, child molestation, rape, psychosis, alcoholism, drug abuse, or other offensive behavior?

Guidelines for Volunteers
Churches from British Columbia, Canada, to Florida are answering that question by formulating guidelines for church volunteers. For example, United Methodists are heeding their 1996 General Conference's resolutions to develop and implement policies to keep their churches safe from abuse.

The 120-member congregation of the Reformed Church of Telkwa, B.C., is also working on that. "We are presently developing a policy and guidelines handbook," says the church's pastor, Jim Klazinga. He says the church council, made up of elders and deacons, oversees who may work in various programs in church. And church policy says that volunteers must be members "in good standing" of the church.

That kind of policy, which is common in many churches, may no longer be sufficient, say leaders at Simpson United Methodist Church, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. So that church recently adopted specific guidelines for child protection. Other churches might be wise to do the same. In brief, those guidelines say:

1. All adults and young people must be screened before working with minors at church. The details of a screening process have prompted much debate in United Methodist circles. Too much detail creates a mountain of work for church leaders, and too little makes screening ineffective.

Charles Johnson, director of the South Carolina Conference Council of Ministries, says the council is in the process of implementing guidelines, which include the recommendation to "establish a volunteer screening group of about five members of the church to conduct the interview and reference checks."

Can your church afford to do this? Can you afford not to?

Gulf Breeze UMC in Florida certainly approves of the process. Bob Bailey, pastor of the 3,100-member church, says the church screens anyone who wants to work with children or young people. "Our administrator takes care of that," Bailey says. "He basically uses human resource guidelines—background checks, etc."

In addition, Simpson UMC requires that all child-care workers go through training seminars on state and church guidelines that show how to recognize and report child abuse.

For example, they're taught to be wary of physical signs of molestation, such as lacerations and bruises or discomfort while sitting; for behavioral signs such as nightmares, withdrawal from activities or friends, or hostile behavior toward adults; or verbal cues, such as "I don't like to be alone with—" or "He does things to me when we're alone."

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