5 Ways Christians Can Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect

by Tony Kummer | Prevent Child Abuse | Print Print | Email

Child abuse and neglect is a disgrace to our nation. Even worse – many Christians are unaware of the issue. I believe that churches should be leading the way.

Sunday, April 29, 2007 was designated as National Blue Sunday. This was a day set aside for churches to pray for the victims of child abuse. As believers it should break our hearts when children suffer. We must recognize that God values children. The Bible says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” (Psalm 127:3) Kids matter to God. We must affirm that little ones are God’s gift to us. Christians should be the first ones to stand against child abuse. We must defend children and work for real change.

The love of Christ compels us to think biblically about child abuse and neglect. Our world is broken. Humanity has rejected God’s rule. Many people live only to please themselves. In such a world of sin children often become the victims. The same evil that causes child abuse lives within our hearts. Without God’s grace we might be the abusers. The only cure for the sin and evil of this world is the Gospel. Jesus alone has the power to change hearts. At his final appearing Christ will restore all things. The world will be made right and children will no longer suffer at the hands of their own parents.

As Christians we should feel great sadness about child abuse. But we should also look for ways to help. How then can you respond to child abuse? Here are some ideas:

5 Ways Christians Can Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect

  1. Educate yourself. Find information to equip yourself to recognize and prevent child abuse. Find statistics, read real stories, learn about local case law and read articles about child abuse. Find resources.
  2. Be aware of at-risk kids. Become involved in the lives of children. If something seems wrong – question the parent and make a report to our local Child Protective Service.
  3. Become foster or adoptive parents. There is a great need for families willing to open their homes to kids in crisis. Getting involved means opening your home.
  4. Train your own children. We must model and teach our children what it means to be a godly parent. Teach your boys to cherish and protect women. Encourage your girls to develop their God-given maternal nature.
  5. Pray. I place this last because its importance cannot be overstated. There are times when a child’s only defender is God. Remember to prayer for the little ones. You can pray for children that you know. Pray for the children that live on your street. When you see a parent being harsh in the grocery store – ask God to convert that parent. “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

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Tony Kummer October 26, 2007 at 11:59 pm

Thanks for everyone’s honest input, but I think it’s getting a little heated. I am going to close comments on this post.

Uncle Steve Severance October 26, 2007 at 9:54 pm

I’ve found that the person that has to resort to personal attacks and insults, or looses his/her temper, typically looses the debate. And yes, that’s based on my faith so you don’t have to accept it.

Michael,
While I disagree with much of what you said in your last post you did make two REALLY good points. I’d like to underscore them to my fellow Children’s ministry workers here.

As Christians we sometimes make statements that we are not prepared to back up with evidence. That is unnecessary. While it’s true that some of our arguments may be beyond our kids understanding we should try our best to give them reasons for their beliefs. Otherwise their belief is just based on faith and what if that faith is placed on the wrong thing. So Michael gave us a good reminder to make sure that we “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15

Michael’s other excellent point is that its wrong to tell your kids WHAT to think without teaching them HOW to think. Critical thinking skills are the only way they’ll be able to sort through all the messages that they’ll have to deal with in the teen and young adult years to find right and wrong. When I do Bible studies with kids I like to say, “I could tell you the answers but then what would happen when I’m not around? I’d rather teach you how to figure out the answers for yourself.”

Unfortunately I haven’t seen that very many schools, public or privet, really teach HOW to think, they just teach kids what to think which is based on the beliefs of the institution. Christians are in a unique place to teach our kids HOW to think because we don’t have to fear truth.

By the way, if you intentionally teach a Christian world view you will end up giving evidence and also teaching the kids how to think. If you leave world view up to chance they’ll likely just absorb their parents actions without really having the tools to examine it and that leads either to legalism or to a denial of the faith.

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