How congregations become targets for child abuse

By Teresa Huizar, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, May 27, 2025

A recent Washington Post investigation uncovered how a Virginia youth minister allegedly used his position to groom and abuse young boys for decades.  Churches failed to act, allowing him to move from congregation to congregation and continue preying on new victims, despite repeated allegations.

This isn't an isolated incident. It's part of a systemic problem that persists because too many faith communities still lack clear, consistent policies to protect children, and abusers continue to take advantage of that.

Media scrutiny and institutional reforms have focused primarily on ordained clergy, especially priests or head ministers. To effectively prevent abuse, churches must also account for others with significant access to children. Youth ministers — whether paid staff or volunteers — often spend unsupervised time with kids and receive far less oversight.

Many youth ministers are chosen for their charisma and passion for working with kids, not for their background in child education or safety. One survey of 30,000 churches found that 40% don't perform adequate background checks on youth ministers, volunteers, and staff.

Across denominations, churches routinely place unvetted adults in positions of influence over children, creating opportunities for grooming and abuse.

The Post investigation highlights how abusers take advantage of these loopholes. The youth minister built trust with families, gaining access to children under the guise of mentorship and spiritual guidance. Interactions escalated over time. Casual conversations turned into intrusive questions about sexual habits. Routine meetings became overnight trips, private "Coke dates" in parked cars — and, eventually, sexual abuse.

It's a familiar pattern. Child sexual abuse is almost always preceded by grooming behavior. In a study of over 1,000 victims, an overwhelming 99% were groomed beforehand. Perpetrators employed an average of 14 tactics per case — from gift-giving and casual touching to isolating children and normalizing sexual conversations.

Seeking to talk about sexual experiences and desires with children is a major red flag. Research shows that such conversations are six times more common in instances of child sexual abuse. Yet in many churches, wanting to discuss sexual desires or "sexual sin" with youth ironically may be viewed as a positive qualification for someone as youth minister.

Churches need to be more proactive to prevent abuse. Comprehensive background checks, fingerprinting, and reference verification should be non-negotiable for anyone with access to children. 

Once a youth minister begins working with kids, all planned activities should include more than one adult. Minimizing one-on-one adult-child interactions is one of the most effective ways to prevent abuse. Unavoidable situations may arise — like a parent running late to pick up their kid — but routine activities should always be observable, interruptible, and supervised by multiple adults.

Churches must also require that staff and volunteers report suspected abuse directly to law enforcement. In the past, some faith leaders have attempted to handle these concerns internally. But clergy are experts in theology, not child abuse. Involving trained professionals immediately avoids any conflicts of interest that can influence internal responses.

Education and training make a measurable difference. In Texas, after educators completed a child protection program from Darkness to Light, reports of previously unrecognized abuse rose by 82%. 

Unfortunately, predators often remain in positions of trust even after allegations surface. Many exploit the Christian ethic of forgiveness to persuade religious institutions that they're reformed and deserve a second chance. And predators don't stop because one door closes. They move to the next church, the next job, the next unsuspecting community.

That's why churches can't rely on informal safeguards alone. Every religious institution should implement clear, confidential, and legally compliant channels for reporting potentially inappropriate behavior. When an employee or volunteer leaves amid allegations, churches should respond to reference checks as candidly as the law allows.

Families have an equally vital role to play. Many parents balk at the thought of discussing sex with their teenagers or preteens. That's understandable. But parents need to be comfortable talking honestly with their children about sex and personal safety. Fortunately, resources exist to help parents navigate these conversations.

Predators take advantage of silence. If children aren't taught to feel comfortable asking questions about sexual topics at home, they'll seek answers elsewhere — possibly from adults with bad intentions who know how to manipulate a child's curiosity. If a child is uncomfortable talking to their parents about their body or relationships, it becomes that much harder to ask for help when they need it. 

Youth ministers are an important part of many churches, and most serve children with care and integrity. But religious institutions must close the loopholes that abusers exploit. That will ensure religious spaces can remain places of refuge, rather than hunting grounds for predators.