When Your Church set out to remake the training kit Reducing the Risk: Keeping Your Ministry Safe from Child Sexual Abuse, we gathered a group of experts from a variety of professions—counseling, risk management, litigation, and insurance claims. Our goal: glean the best advice on how to help faith communities protect children and their ministries from any occurrences of child sexual abuse.

The experts we consulted are Dr. Ronald Ercoli, staff psychologist at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois; Roger Duffield, manager of risk services for Christian Brothers Services, the administrator of a self-insured fund of 1,200 Catholic organizations including schools, colleges, daycare centers, religious orders and congregations; Peter Persuitti, managing director of the religious practice group for Arthur J. Gallagher, the leading risk management broker for this sector; Steve Henne, the director of claims management for National Catholic Risk Retention Group; and Dr. Michael Bland, a private-practice professional counselor who specializes in helping victims of sexual abuse.

How can leaders identify sex offenders before inadvertently recruiting them to serve in their ministry?

Ercoli: There is no particular profile we can point to and say this is what a sex offender looks like and as soon as they walk through a door, we'll know it. They come in every age, size, background, experience, and socio-economic status.

Henne: One case I recently had involved a gentleman who worked as a daycare worker for about three years. The daycare had done a little bit of a background check but not a detailed check. About five years ago the daycare moved the room that the kids were in to a back area where they could not be observed. It was not convenient to walk by or drop in to make sure that nothing inappropriate was going on. That's when the abuse took place. From my experience, I still have a hard time believing this guy was a perpetrator or a pedophile, because he just didn't show any signs prior to that. But he pled guilty and he's sitting in jail for life because of that incident.

Ercoli: We live in a broken and fallen world. The reality is anybody has the potential to move down a pathway that is not healthy, that does not respect the boundaries of other individuals.

Why is the Church vulnerable to sex offenders?

Bland: Most offenders know their victims. It is not strangers abusing children. So if the offender is looking for an easy-access, child-friendly, community environment where good works are rewarded and interaction with children is encouraged, we're talking about the church in any denomination.

The offenders first "groom" the children. They essentially want the children to trust them, saying, Maybe you could bend the rules with me a little bit, or, We could go off by ourselves, or, I'll give you rewards or gifts or presents without your parents knowing.

Henne: I have a friend who told me about a leader in his church who was being criminally prosecuted for child sexual abuse. My friend reflected on the situation, saying, "We loved this guy. He was so great we followed him from one church to the other church because we thought he gave such great sermons." His comment showed me how these individuals aren't wallflowers. They're people that ingratiate themselves to everybody within the community. It was all part of the grooming process.

Duffield: Church leaders need to know it can happen in their ministries. And what's important is that they can do something about it. We see fewer claims against clergy misconduct than we did in the past, and more now directed toward staff and volunteers. And these claims usually stem from somebody being allowed to serve in children's ministry without going through the normal screening process.

How can you tell if a child is being abused?

Bland: The number one thing to look for within children and adolescents is behavior change. They may become withdrawn or disruptive in the classroom or within a ministry activity.

Ercoli: In our church, volunteers may voice their concern over a child who seems to always be coming in with bruises, or used to be very happy and outgoing and now they're quiet, and now they're fearful of certain people within the ministry: I don't want to be near that person. Can I go be a part of this group? You may see a host of different things—more acting out behavior, getting promiscuous, or cutting themselves. They're trying to say, Something's wrong—I don't know how to handle this. Help me. See my signs.

What can churches do to ward off predators?

Bland: Predators need to know that child sexual abuse will not be tolerated in our faith communities. If we have that as a principle of our own faith, then we're able to be vigilant about protecting children and youth.

Persuitti: Many denominations have done great work in educating their faith communities on how to prevent child sexual abuse. One Catholic diocesan member-owned insurance company has invested significantly in a comprehensive awareness and online training program called Virtus, and a training program called Protecting God's Children. An Episcopal church-owned insurance company has developed Safeguarding God's Children. And churches within the United Methodist Church are promoting the child protection program, Safe Sanctuary. In fact, each of the denominations we work with have committed resources for training and creating awareness in their faith communities on the topic of preventing child sexual abuse. Technology has tremendous potential to bring these programs to every corner of the earth.

Bland: Child sexual abuse is not denominational—it is a public health issue. It requires looking to leaders for a solution for keeping children safe, reaching out to victims and survivors, and identifying offenders. And thanks be to the Church in taking a leadership role in this cry.

Marian V. Liautaud is editor and Lindsey Reardon is editorial coordinator for Your Church Media Group. For more information on Reducing the Risk 3rd Edition: Keeping Your Ministry Safe from Child Sexual Abuse, visit reducingtherisk.com.