Author: Hannah Bolick

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Careful Grace: Integrating Offenders and Violent Criminals into Church

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One of the most frequent questions we receive from churches and ministry leaders is about integrating offenders into church. They wonder “Should we do it,” and “What are best practices as we carefully consider protection and stewardship.”

We as pastors and ministry leaders know first hand that God is in the business of changing lives. No one, not even the worst of society’s criminals and offenders, is too far from the grace of God and the gospel. We know that the Lord can work in anyone’s life to bring redemption and salvation.

Fortify Initiative equips church leaders to protect, even as they build

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SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. – The Scripture verse printed on the front of a resource from the Fortify Initiative may not seem the most obvious choice for an effort focused on protecting the vulnerable. One might expect a verse about children or sheep.

But the verse for Fortify is Nehemiah 4:17-18, which says that the men rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls carried their building materials in one hand and a weapon in the other. Verse 18 says, “Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building. …”

Practical virtual trainings help churches strengthen abuse prevention

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Abuse prevention in ministry can feel overwhelming, but free online webinars offered by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Virtual Training Institute and MinistrySafe break complex safeguarding concepts into clear, actionable steps church leaders can implement today. The SBC Virtual Training Institute offers ministry leaders free, practical training designed to strengthen churches in safety, care, and responsible leadership.

Advising on Whether to Limit Liability or Care for Victims

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While abuse of a child by an adult is terrible, it’s usually straightforward to evaluate what is happening. But what about sexual misconduct between children? Is it always abuse? No. Is it always illegal? No. And what should we do about it? The impact on children’s lives is not measured by whether the actions are abuse or a crime—so we must take it seriously.[1]

As we evaluate how to respond, it may help to use as an example several common situations. We’ll take the perspective of behavior that is discovered by a church or ministry, but parents will also have to evaluate situations they uncover.

‘Don’t Leave Here and Do Nothing’: SBC Panel Calls Churches to Act on Child Exploitation

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State and federal officials, survivors, and ministry leaders gathered at the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting to move Southern Baptist churches from awareness to action on child abuse, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking.

She was going to church the entire time it was happening.

That was the disclosure Olivia Littleton, senior director of Survivor Services for One More Child, made to a room full of Southern Baptist pastors and ministry leaders at the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting. A survivor of sexual exploitation herself, Littleton made the point with quiet precision: the children the Church is trying to protect may already be sitting in its pews.

‘When the Cute Factor Fades’: SBC Confronts a Gap in Disability Ministry That Leaves Vulnerable Adults at Risk

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It starts, Shawn Thornton said, with what a father once described to him as the “cute factor.”

When a child with disabilities is 5, 7 or 8 years old, people in the church light up around them. They talk to them. They engage. There is something about a small child with a disability that draws the Church toward them. But as that child grows, the hormones kick in and the body changes, and the behavioral complexity of adolescence sets in. The cute factor, Thornton said, was gone. And with it, too often, goes the ministry.

“The church just misses that opportunity to pick up right there and provide a supportive, healthy community,” said Thornton, president and CEO of Joni and Friends, who opened the Stand Up Lunch in prayer at the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting.

SBC Executive Committee Launches ‘The Fortify Initiative’ to Equip Local Churches in Abuse Prevention and Response

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ORLANDO, Fla.— Jeff Dalrymple, Director of Abuse Prevention & Response at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee, announced today the official launch of The Fortify Initiative during the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders meeting here. “The Fortify Initiative is a turnkey, ‘ready-to-assemble’ abuse prevention and response training model designed to equip local SBC

Special Grace – Standing for the Vulnerable

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I will never forget my first conversation with Tom Stolle. I know exactly where I was – driving through West Los Angeles in February 2023. I had to pull over as tears streamed down my face.

At the time, I was serving with the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP) and speaking with Tom by phone for the first time. We had been introduced by Keith Myer from BCM/D. I knew that Tom and I shared something deeply personal: we both have children with autism. His son, Jimmy, was in his 20s; my daughter, Kassie, was 16.

Access Control Is an Act of Love (Part 2)

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Every church I have ever worked with says the same thing when the subject of access control comes up.

“We want people to feel welcome.”

And they mean it. The open door is not just a policy — it is a theology. The church exists to receive people, to gather them, to make room. Putting a lock on a door feels like a contradiction of everything the building is supposed to represent.

But here is what I have learned after years of working inside churches of every size and context: the open door, without structure behind it, does not protect the people inside. It just makes it harder to know who is there.

NOTE: The information contained here is general in nature and is not intended to be legal advice. The Southern Baptist Convention encourages each church to consult with legal counsel when implementing local policies and practices.