Q: Should we allow a registered sex offender to attend our church?

A: You should proceed carefully if faced with this situation. While the desire to minister to this individual is valid, you must give primary consideration to the protection of all members, especially children.

Here are some ways to prepare for this situation before it arises:

You should consult legal counsel before working with sex offenders. Your attorney can help you understand privacy issues and legal requirements in your state.

Download These Resources


Additional Resource From the Safety Library:
Balancing Welcome with Wisdom: Sex Offenders at Church

At some point, you may learn that a registered sex offender attends your church—or wants to.

Across the country, convicted sex offenders are being released from prison into communities. Studies indicate that offenders need both treatment and support from others to help them manage feelings that led them to commit sex crimes. Churches can play a substantial role in helping offenders return to society, rebuild relationships, overcome old behaviors, and deepen their faith commitment.

What will you do when a sex offender seeks help from your ministry?

Be Prepared
Contemplate how you’ll handle this situation before it arises. While a registered sex offender may request permission to attend church, it may also be that an offender’s background is discovered after years of attendance. Your church should act now to:

Educate Yourself
Understand the differences. The term “sex offender” covers a wide range of individuals, from the teenager convicted of having sex with his underage girlfriend to the individual who molested dozens of youngsters. Each type of offender presents a different level of risk for committing new offenses.

Research local laws regarding sex offenders. Many cities bar offenders from living within a certain distance of churches, playgrounds, and other places where children gather.

Consult legal counsel before working with sex offenders. Your attorney can help you understand privacy issues and legal requirements in your state, as well as ensure that your policies provide adequate protection for your church.

Develop Procedures
Create a set of procedures that offer accountability for the sex offender and protection for all members, especially children and people with disabilities. Having these procedures in place will:

Establish a covenant with the offender.
Ask the person to commit to a covenant designed to prevent opportunities for further offense. The covenant should:

Assign an accountability partner.

Consider ongoing counseling.
To ensure appropriate guidance for the sex offender, and to help your church assess risks, establish regular counseling sessions for the offender:

Communicate with church members.

Restrict contact with children.
Your church should already have a policy requiring criminal background checks for youth ministry workers and prohibiting anyone with a history of sex offenses from interacting with the congregation’s children/teens.

Don’t navigate alone.
Seek help in assessing the risk that a sex offender will re-offend. Collaborate with local agencies and professionals experienced in helping offenders re-enter the community. Probation officers, social workers, psychologists, counselors, and police officers generally welcome a church’s involvement.

Assess Each Situation Individually
Customize your approach to individual situations. Meeting with sex offenders and working with their probation officers and social workers, your pastor and church leaders will get a better sense of whether to allow a particular offender to participate, and to what extent.

*Important information: Brotherhood Mutual is pleased to provide Legal Assist as a complimentary resource. The services we offer through Legal Assist are intended to provide general legal information to our current and prospective policyholders.

The information we provide is intended to be helpful, but it does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice from a licensed attorney in your area. Accordingly, no attorney/client relationship is created through this process, and no legal advice will be provided. We strongly encourage you to regularly consult with a local attorney as part of your risk management program.

 

Back to Legal Q&A