Ask a Pastor: How Should a Church Handle Repentant Criminals?

Question

How should a church handle repentant criminals (including sex offenders) wanting to join a congregation? I understand that we need to show grace, but also need to strongly protect the vulnerable in the congregation. Any thoughts on navigating this?

Answer

One of the most interesting stories in the Bible is the record of the thief on the cross found in Luke 23:39-43 where a man is saved who finds himself dying by crucifixion because of his own sin. He was a criminal in the worst way. It teaches us of the transforming power of the gospel – that through the power of God – a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl can be transformed.  The Lord can take one who is completely lost in their sins – one who is living in sin – one who had lived a life of immorality - one who had blasphemed the Lord Jesus even while he was hanging on the cross – and transform him by his grace.  The Lord can take one who before was a blasphemer, one who was a persecutor, one who was a violent man and transform him to become the lover of the very truth that he initially despised. We should never undermine the transforming power of the gospel! Therefore, it is possible that one, regardless of their previous life, can become a full member of the church of Christ through the power of the gospel.

Yet the greater concern of this question is a concern for the vulnerable in the congregation. The reality is that there may be individuals worshipping in our congregations whose sins are unknown to us. They may have come that morning for the first time, and we know nothing about their past. They may be members of our congregation who have committed various sexual offenses, but they have never been exposed. In fact, statistics have proven that most occurrences of abuse are not by strangers, but someone known to the victim. How can proper protection be provided for our children and young people? Most of our churches, also for insurance reasons, require police background checks for anyone involved in teaching or caring for children and youth. In addition, most churches have developed a ‘safe church’ policy where certain guidelines must be followed when children and youth are involved.  If someone’s background is known to involve sexual offenses, proper supervision can be provided by members and/or elders of the congregation. If that person is a Christian, he will not be defensive about such supervision but understand that even though he may be forgiven for his previous sins, there are still consequences for them. Overall, we must remember that our churches are public places, in some ways like any other public place, and parents are ultimately responsible for the protection and care of their children. For instance, if a child needs to leave the worship service to go to the washroom, they should always be accompanied by one of the parents or an older sibling. As a body of Christ, we must all be watchful for one another that no harm comes to any of us.