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A new study of more than 700 churches shows that an "it-can't-happen-here" mindset, especially among smaller churches, may lead some to overlook—or even resist—implementing a child sexual abuse prevention program.

The study, commissioned by Your Church through NationalChristianPoll.com, shows only 48 percent of churches surveyed train children's and youth workers and volunteers on how to protect children from sexual abuse.

And criminal background checks, a basic step in a child protection program, occur prior to hiring employees in 65 percent of churches surveyed; the percentage shrinks at the volunteer level, with only 54 percent of churches performing checks on adult volunteers, and 35 percent on volunteers younger than 18, prior to allowing those groups to serve.

The main reason: "All of us know each other, so nothing bad would happen at our church."

This mindset prevailed in the survey's anecdotal responses, especially among respondents who said they belonged to a "small" church. Child safety experts say assumptions like this are not surprising, but they do underscore the need for education among church leaders.

"We all want to assume the best of those around us—the church is particularly inclined to do so," says Christian attorney Gregory Love. "Small and large churches alike need to lock arms and commit to create safe environments for young people."

So what exactly are churches doing to keep their ministries safe from the devastation of child sexual abuse? Survey results indicate a mixture of good news and bad news when it comes to how well churches are "locking arms" for child protection.

Although many churches are performing criminal background checks for staff and adult volunteers who will be working with minors, it's not clear how reliable these background checks are, especially if it's their only means of prevention.

"If a church is relying solely on an instant criminal database search for volunteers, this is not enough. This kind of cursory background check is inadequate and places members, children, and the ministry itself at risk," says Mike McCarty, internationally recognized violent crime prevention consultant, and founder of Safe Hiring Solutions, a background check provider.

A second point of concern: 40 percent of all churches are not using a comprehensive plan for screening, supervising, and training children's workers. This scattershot approach may indicate a lack of education and buy-in among church leaders for the critical need for a comprehensive approach to child protection. Additionally, only about half of all churches surveyed say they have a written policy for preventing child sexual abuse, which should include provisions for screening, supervising, training, and responding to allegations, according to ReducingtheRisk.com, a child protection training resource offered by Christianity Today International, publisher of Your Church.

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"We always advise that churches create written policies, but we also warn churches about failing to enforce the policies they create – policies are what you do … not what you say you do," says Love, who created MinistrySafe.com, an online child protection website with Kimberlee Norris, his wife and law partner.

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