On Guard: Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse At Church

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 *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.Read less