764 and online predators: The Church must enter this war on our kids

By Wendy Yurgo, Op-ed contributor Monday, March 16, 2026

Federal authorities are still bringing cases tied to the online exploitation network known as 764, and the warnings from law enforcement are becoming more urgent.

The FBI has reported increasing activity connected to these groups and investigations now span hundreds of subjects across the country. Congressional leaders have also begun pressing for answers about how law enforcement is tracking and dismantling these networks as reports of exploitation continue to rise.

The threat has not slowed.

If anything, it appears to be growing. And there is another community that cannot look away.

It is the Church.

Christian families are raising children in the most technologically connected generation in history. Churches faithfully teach about purity, character, and moral responsibility. Youth pastors devote enormous time and care to mentoring young people. Parents trust the church to help reinforce the values they are teaching at home.

Yet the digital environments shaping those same children have evolved faster than many faith communities have recognized.

Online grooming does not begin in dark corners of the internet the way many people still imagine. It begins inside the same digital spaces where children play games, talk with friends, and form social connections. Predators rely on anonymity and familiarity. They build trust slowly, often posing as other children, and they target young people who have no reason to assume the person on the other side of the screen is lying.

Children often cannot imagine the deception.

When my daughter and I talked about this recently, she struggled to understand why anyone would pretend to be a child online. She looked at me for a moment, trying to make sense of it.

“Mom, why would anyone do that?”

That moment captured something many parents are beginning to realize. Children assume authenticity. When someone online says they are twelve years old, they believe them.

Their innocence is predictable.

And predictable innocence can be exploited.

For generations the Church has taught the importance of guarding the heart and pursuing purity in relationships and personal conduct. Those teachings remain essential. But the world our children inhabit has changed.

In a digital age, purity must extend to technology as well.

Teaching young people to guard their hearts must now include teaching them to guard their digital lives.

Anyone who spends time around a youth group today can see how quickly things have shifted. Many students arrive with phones already in their hands. Conversations move easily from the room they are standing in to the digital spaces on their screens, often continuing long after the gathering ends.

The boundary between church life and online life has largely disappeared.

That reality changes the mission field.

The same devices that allow young people to stay connected with friends also open doors to messaging platforms, gaming environments, and online communities where predators are actively operating. If the Church is discipling the next generation, it must also prepare them to navigate the environments shaping their daily lives.

That raises important questions for faith communities.

Are churches themselves equipped to understand the digital spaces that influence the young people in their care and to help parents navigate them?

Are youth leaders prepared to recognize the warning signs of manipulation and grooming that often begin through ordinary online conversations?

And are we teaching young people how to practice wisdom and discernment not only in the physical world but in the digital one as well?

For this generation the line between online and offline life is almost nonexistent. Conversations that begin at school, on a sports team, or in youth group frequently continue through messaging apps, gaming platforms, and social networks long after everyone has gone home.

Discipleship must extend into those spaces.

For decades the Church has been a place where families turn for guidance, protection, and community. Parents trust pastors and youth leaders to help reinforce the values they are teaching their children.

In this moment that trust carries a new responsibility.

Digital awareness is no longer optional.

It is part of protecting the flock.

Children cannot be expected to recognize dangers their own minds cannot easily imagine. They need guidance. They need conversations. They need adults who understand the environments they are navigating.

For Christian families that guidance should not come only from the home.

It should come from the Church as well.

The digital world is now part of the world where childhood unfolds. Faith communities that take seriously the responsibility of shepherding the next generation must recognize that reality.

Protecting children has always been part of the Church’s mission.

Today that mission reaches into the digital spaces where they live, learn, and form relationships.

The predators are not passive.

The Church cannot be either.