On Guard: Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse at Church

New Growth

$17.49 

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About: On the Guard.

“Jimmy" joined the church a year ago. Before long, he volunteered to teach a Sunday School class and got to know eight-year-old “Peter.” Things started innocently. A hug at the end of class. Gifts for Peter. Lots of extra attention. And then it happened. Jimmy took advantage of Peter.

In recent years, the issue of sexual abuse has shifted to the forefront of our collective mind. Many churches are poised for action but unsure of what action to take.

In On Guard, Deepak Reju examines why child predators target churches and offers eleven straightforward strategies to protect children from abuse and to help young victims recover if it does happen. While On Guard does provide practical help for building a child protection policy, it provides much more. Full of pastoral wisdom, On Guard recognizes that the church’s response to abuse must be more comprehensive—in line with her calling—than a simple legal policy or clinical analysis. On Guard moves church staff and leaders beyond fearful awareness to prayerful preparedness with an actionable plan.

Church, be on guard! Child abuse can happen anywhere, and we need a plan for how to prevent and respond to it. What’s yours? 

On Guard is:

  • Actionable: On Guard moves church staff and leaders beyond fearful awareness to prayerful preparedness with a practical plan. Outlines eight strategies for preventing child abuse at church and three for responding to this terrible evil if it
  • should happen. 
  • Holistic: On Guard is full of pastoral wisdom, recognizing that the church’s response to abuse must be more comprehensive—in line with her calling—than a simple legal policy or clinical analysis. 
  • Child Protection Policy: Equips church staff to build the child protection policy that’s right for an individual congregation and provides sample material.
  • Sensitive: Presents difficult material clearly, but is not unnecessarily.

Endorsements

Deepak Reju writes with conviction and compassion about the sobering reality of child abuse and the challenge of protecting children in this fallen world. Highlighting both the responsibility and privilege of our stewardship, Deepak’s straightforward, thorough, and well-researched insights will instill in any parent or church leader a healthy fear and God-dependent confidence while providing us with practical steps and effective strategies for fulfilling the calling and responsibility we have as God’s stewards. We earnestly encourage church leaders to embrace Deepak’s concern and apply his counsel for the protection and the joy of the next generation. 
-Pastor David and Sally Michael. Founders, Children Desiring God
If I could mandate that at least one leader from every church had to read a single book, I don’t think there are too many I would choose ahead of On Guard: Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse at Church. Too many times the purpose and witness of the church has been tarnished by her failure to offer safety and protection to children. This book offers assistance where so many churches have failed.
-Tim Challies
, Pastor, author, and blogger at Challies.com
Child sexual abuse in the church is a scandal, and yet many of us in church are woefully ill-equipped to identify danger signs, understand our legal responsibilities, or respond in an appropriate pastoral manner to the victims. In this timely book, Deepak Reju addresses all of these areas of concern, offering helpful advice to pastors, elders, and Christians in general on what the reality of this evil requires of them in terms of organization, wisdom, and action. Whether your church is just starting to formulate a child protection policy or seeking to protect the children in its care more effectively, this book will be a very useful resource in addressing the challenges in keeping children safe and giving comfort and care to the victims of abuse.
-Carl R Trueman 
, Pastor, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, Ambler, PA; Paul Woolley Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia 
Deepak has given the church a fine gift. He has written a very practical plan for churches so we can better love and protect our children and teens. It won't overburden a church with endless regulations, but it will give church leadership what they must know, and it will lay out what church leadership must teach its members and ministry staff. This book will, guaranteed, make you and your church wiser.
-Ed Welch ,
Author and CCEF Faculty

About the Author

Deepak Reju, MDiv, PhD, serves as the pastor of biblical counseling and families at Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC) in Washington, DC, as well as president for the board of directors of the Biblical Counseling Coalition. He is the author of several books and articles, including Great Kings of the Bible: How Jesus Is Greater than Saul, David and Solomon, The Pastor and Counseling, and On Guard: Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse at Church. Deepak and his wife Sarah have been married since 2001 and have five children.