Why Another Blog?
- Education
At ECAP, we believe that one of the best ways to prevent abuse is by increasing awareness about the various issues surrounding abuse. The Child Molestation Research & Prevention Institute estimates that 95% of child molestation can be prevented through education. Abuse is an extremely complex issue that many people in ministry have not examined thoroughly. But we believe that it is the duty of every Christian ministry that works with children to be educated on the subject. As we seek to protect the most vulnerable image-bearers, we must know the risks involved. In order to be best equipped to care for children, Christian ministries need to know the patterns of abusers and how to prevent them from having access to children.
Moreover, we desire to harness and promote a Christian worldview on the subject of Abuse Prevention and Response in the voice of our blog. There are already many resources out there that do this well. It is our goal for ECAP to become a leader in providing Christian resources on this difficult but critical subject.
- Expertise
If we are going to accomplish our mission of ending abuse in Christian ministries forever, we are going to need the insights of the best experts and the most experienced practitioners in the areas of working with Children and abuse prevention.
We also believe that abuse prevention is a communal effort–no single person or organization has perfected the best theories or practices on abuse prevention in every situation.
We want to amplify voices from different perspectives on child care and abuse prevention: pastoral, legal, medical, to name just a few of the areas of expertise we plan to highlight. We will also include resources related to specific issues, such as legal and counseling issues, as well as resources for ministry administrators and survivors of abuse.
We hope that by giving a number of different expert opinions, our readers will be better equipped to recognize potential risks and put policies and procedures in place to protect children.
- Practical Guidance
We also hope that our articles would be practical–for the everyday pastor, school administrator, parent, daycare worker, or church volunteer. We recognize that not everyone has the resources to spend years reading up on the latest developments in abuse prevention practices. Each article posted by ECAP is meant to be for those people on the ground working with kids daily and weekly.
We recognize that it will be the volunteers, the ministry leaders, and the school administrators that will be on the front lines doing the work of caring for children and protecting them from abuse. We hope to equip ministry workers with the resources and knowledge they need to put an end to abuse in Christian ministries.
As we launch this blog, we pray that it would be edifying to our readers, pleasing to the Lord, and that it would cause untold numbers of children to be saved from abuse–and that as a result, our ministries would be safe places for the gospel to go forward and take root in the hearts of children.
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”
–Psalm 68:5
“Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
–Psalm 82:3-4
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