SOMERSET, Pa. – Jimmy and Clara Hinton don’t want others to miss what they didn’t see for years: their father and husband, a respected pastor for years in his rural community, was keeping his flock in the dark while he molested young children.
Today, the elders at Somerset Church of Christ have moved intentionally to protect children. Empty classrooms are locked. Adults working with children operate in teams of two or more. On Sundays, monitors conduct random building sweeps and each Sunday School room has a walkie-talkie in case of an emergency.
Protecting Children Top Priority
Church policy also protects children from potentially unwanted physical touch like a hug. “None of us can walk up to a kid, pull a kid in and initiate that physical contact,” says Pastor Jimmy, who has served as the pastor at Church of Christ since his father left in 2009.
He thinks that’s important because abusers often groom children to become used to them initiating.
If a registered sex offender wants to come to church, the elders will alert the congregation and provide a separate service to avoid contact with children.
Elder Bob Martin acknowledges that while controversial, the policy puts the safety of children first. “When someone is aware of that in their congregation and fails to notify them,” he said, “I think they have to answer to God for that and I don’t want to stand before Him and explain why I did not protect one of his children.”
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Wow. All that just to say watch your kids more closely. Which, for some reason I can’t figure out, doesn’t work when registrants are around.
Pretty sure that all child-abuse in churches comes from people in leadership,if you have a regular offender in your church simply just wants to be with his family worship God I don’t see any reason to need to separate a laymember registrant. If I was at a church and anyone besides the leadership or board were notified of my status I would probably leave.
“If a registered sex offender wants to come to church, the elders will alert the congregation and provide a separate service to avoid contact with children.”
Isn’t church supposed to be about trust and fellowship? Yes? Then what’s the point of attending a church service knowing damn well you’re not welcome?
Grin and bear it? No thanks! Better things to do with my time to be “accepted” by a congregation of two-faced hypocrites.
Churches provide such good environments for sexual abuse to happen, because sex, if discussed at all ,is disclosed as a sin unless through marriage. You are also taught to not question your elders. These two things make it unlikely that children will talk about what was done to them. Empowering children to speak up may be more effective than treating them all like helpless victims.
Sounds like there’s some holding people bond to there past. Not very liberating. Defiently not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I defiantly wouldnt support this work of the devil!!!! I wouldnt attend