When Broadway Christian Church became aware that a member of itscongregation was a convicted sex offender in 2000, it made a decisionto implement a policy that would allow the church to welcome convictedsex offenders without endangering children and youth.

As part of the policy, Broadway Christian Church checks the names ofits congregants and visitors against the Boone County Sex OffenderRegistration list.

Currently, two convicted sex offenders are members of the church.The church has provided information about the men to its members andvisitors, along with photographs and a copy of the church'syouth-protection policy. None of the men's crimes involved members ofBroadway Christian Church, said associate minister Kim Ryan.

A growing number of churches are implementing policies designed toprotect children from sexual abuse by clergy and adult congregants.Since the Catholic priest sex scandals, some insurance companies thatunderwrite coverage for churches are requiring such policies.

Broadway Christian sought guidance from a number of sources,including FaithTrust Institute, an organization founded in 1977 inSeattle to train religious leaders on how to handle sexual and domesticviolence in their congregations.

"I'm a pastor, and I was concerned that our church wasn't addressingthose issues 30 years ago," said the institute's founder, MarieFortune. "It can happen in any of our congregations. What we need isclergy and laypersons who are active on these issues."

Broadway Christian Church also sought help from parole and probationofficers, who helped church leaders understand the behavior of sexoffenders and how it could be monitored in a way that would keepchildren safe.

"In terms of developing a policy that would be safe for our childrenand inclusive of convicted sex offenders," Ryan said, "the parole andprobation officers were invaluable to us."

Broadway Christian's policy restricts convicted sex offenders tocertain areas of the church so that their contact with youth isminimal. In addition, all staff and volunteers of the church go throughbackground checks. The policy also outlines other risk preventionsteps, such as minimizing one-on-one contact between children andadults. When the children of congregants reach the seventh grade, theyattend an overnight seminar called "God's Gift of Sexuality."

"One of the sessions covers if someone is sexually inappropriate orabusive with you, how should you deal with that and who should youtell," Ryan said.

First Presbyterian Church is in the process of implementing asimilar policy, said associate minister Anne Bouchard. The church'sinsurance provider, GuideOne, recommended it, Bouchard said, but didnot require it. GuideOne insures approximately 40,000 churchesthroughout the nation, 16 in Columbia.

Eric Spacek, GuideOne's senior church risk manager, said the companyis encouraging all of its church clients to consider youth-protectionpolicies. "It's a basic safeguard for churches," Spacek said. "It's amatter of stewardship and shepherding the congregation."

First Presbyterian employs a multi-tiered screening process.Congregants volunteering for events where two or more adults will bepresent must complete a application form, be interviewed by a childprotection policy committee and complete child safety training.

Volunteers participating in an overnight event, in one-on-oneactivities with a child or any activity that requires taking a minoroff the church campus, also have to provide two personal references,submit to a criminal records check and present a valid Missouridriver's license and Motor Vehicle Report. The church requires all ofits employees to take child abuse prevention training.

Unlike Broadway Christian, First Presbyterian Church has not decidedwhether it will welcome sex offenders into the congregation. The churchdoes not compare its list of members to the county's sex offender list.

"I guess right now we can't be 100 percent sure (if there are sexoffenders in our congregation)," Bouchard said. "That's something thatwill need to be addressed in the next couple of months. We thought ourprimary need was to get a basic policy in place for educating andscreening people who were presently working with our kids, and we knowthere are things we need to work on."

Bouchard said that in the 24 years she has been a member of FirstPresbyterian she is not aware of any reported cases of child abusewithin the church.

"We want to be proactive in this, we hope we never have an incidentin our church," Bouchard said. "We don't want to be reactive, we wantto make sure we're taking the right steps to make sure that nothingever does happen."

In June 2002, as the result of "a crisis without precedent in ourtimes," the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released aCharter for the Protection of Children and Young People. It requiresthat every Catholic church in the country has a child-protection policyimplemented through the local diocese.

The Diocese of Jefferson City requires training in preventing childabuse for all clergy and volunteers, said Ron Vessell, interimchancellor of the diocese. An educational program, "Virtus TeachingTouching Safety,"is aimed at children and youth, and adult parishionersare encouraged to participate in a program called "Protecting God'sChildren."

Vessell said 457 adults in Columbia have completed the program. TheCatholic Church has audited the Diocese of Jefferson City three timessince 2002, he said, and has always found it in compliance with thecharter.

"Right now, I don't think there's anything better in the wholecountry," said the Rev. Steve Kuhlmann, O.P., of Sacred Heart CatholicChurch. "That's why so many dioceses are using it. Is it perfect?Probably not. Is anything perfect? No."