“Every Church Should Be a Safe Place for Children”

While vacationing in the Pawleys Island, South Carolina, area recently, news broke that Pawleys Island Community Church leadership knowingly allowed a registered sex offender to volunteer at the church’s Christian school and work around children. 

Parents’ anger evolved into widespread community outrage as details came out and were reported in the news media. When his sex offender’s status was discovered, a concerned church member called the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office to report registered sex offender Warren Perry was working as the school’s custodian and had interaction with children on a regular basis.

The Sheriff’s office investigation discovered that Perry was convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor in 2023 and was in violation of his parole. He was arrested and charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

In addition, pastor Don Williams was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice, unlawfully placing a child at risk or causing a child’s harm and criminal conspiracy. His wife Ginny, a church employee, was arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy and obstruction, and Nikki Howard, the church academy’s director, was arrested and charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or willfully abandoning the child, criminal conspiracy and obstruction. 

According to news reports, several class action lawsuits have been filed already, and parents have withdrawn their children from the academy. 

To say the church is in crisis is an understatement. As the investigation continues and more details surface, comments on social media have been brutal. Not only has this local congregation suffered a black eye, but also the Body of Christ at large suffers. 

As Paul wrote about the church in I Corinthians 12:26, “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it . . .” 

Right now, I’m hurting for parents and families who feel betrayed by leadership in whom they trusted. I’m hurting for children who were placed in danger. I’m hurting for faithful members of this church family who were blindsided by this situation and will have to work through the fall out. And I’m hurting for residents of this beautiful community, some of whom are possibly far from God, who are spiritually vulnerable. 

Unfortunately, Satan loves to disrupt the body of Christ and exploit a situation like this.

How should believers respond? 

First, pray for everyone involved: parents, children, families, church staff members who will have to step up and lead, and this hurting congregation. Pray for the Sheriff and his investigators and for those making decisions about legal matters. Pray for those arrested. Pray for South Carolina Baptist Convention leaders who are stepping in to help the church during this crisis.

Second, try to leave judgement to God. It’s easy for us to say this was a poor leadership decision that created a totally preventable situation. However, God is more qualified to make that call than we are.

Third, schedule sexual abuse and prevention awareness training on an annual basis in your church to be sure all volunteers are educated on how to protect children and how to identify predators.

Fourth, review your church’s current child protection policies and be sure you have safeguards in place. Every church should have written safety and security policies that are promoted and consistently enforced at all times. For example: 

*Have two adults over 18 in every classroom with children. If the two are married, have a third adult since spouses generally cannot be compelled to testify against one another in court. 

*Anyone volunteering to work with children or youth must be active church members for at least six months. 

*Every volunteer must undergo a criminal background check. Background checks should be repeated at least every three years. Find other ways to screen volunteers by checking social media posts and calling for references from previous churches.

*Have secure drop-off and pick-up procedures, whether using a tag or an armband or some sort of identifier. Whatever is used, this procedure ensures that whoever picks up the child has the authority to do so. 

*Keep classroom doors open and have a security person roaming the halls, if possible. Have clear sight lines where teaching can be observed. (https://ncbaptist.org/article/5-ways-to-guard-against-child-abuse-in-your-church/).

As Tony Wolfe, executive director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention said, “Every church should be a safe place for children to come and learn about the God who loves them.”

(David L. Chancey lives in Fayetteville, GA, and serves as transitional pastor of Griffin Church, Griffin, GA. Check out his other writings at www.davidchancey.com).