Course Overview
This course empowers faith communities to recognize and respond to cases of sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Included are discussions detailing the impact of child abuse on a victim’s sense of spirituality and offering concrete suggestions for working with medical and mental health professionals to assist a child in coping with maltreatment. The course also discusses ideal child protection policies for a faith-based institution, including handling a situation in which a convicted sex offender seeks to join a congregation. A review of various child abuse case scenarios and a discussion on appropriate and inappropriate responses allows for real-life problem-solving and feedback.
NEW! Keeping Faith: Advanced Workshop (1-Day)
This course is designed for faith and child protection leaders who have completed Zero Abuse Project’s two day Keeping Faith course. Attendees receive instruction on preventing abuse in vulnerable populations including children with disabilities and sexual and gender minority youth. There is also an in-depth workshop on the sexual behaviors of youth and a detailed exploration of the cognitive distortions of adult sex offenders. Workshop includes discussion and interaction with case scenarios to assist the attendees in applying the information received to their respective professions.
Clergy, chaplains, youth ministers, faith leaders, counselors and other members of a faith community who may work with children or families impacted by child abuse.
Why this training is so important for every faith community
Percentage of sex offenders describe themselves as being "religious"
Percentage of 2864 church leaders knew of at least one convicted sex offender who was attending or was a member of their church (Christianity Today 2010)
I went online to every faith community in my area trying to find a place in which I felt safe to worship. None of them gave me any information about safety policies in their community so I just gave up trying.
Join the growing number of schools, youth-serving organizations, healthcare and faith organizations that have hosted this important education!
Agenda for Day 1
| 8:00 - 8:40 | Opening and Welcome, Introductions | Victor Vieth |
| 8:40 - 10:10 | When Faith Hurts - Part 1 (90 mins) | Victor Vieth |
| 10:10 - 10:20 | BREAK | Victor Vieth |
| 10:20 - 11:55 | When Faith Hurts - Part 2 (105 mins) | Victor Vieth |
| 11:55 - 12:00 | Discussion and Feedback | Victor Vieth, Facilitator |
| 12:00 - 1:00 | Lunch | |
| 1:00 - 1:20 | When Faith Hurts – Wrap Up and Discussion | Victor Vieth |
| 1:20 - 2:50 | When Child Abuse Hits Home: Corporal Punishment, the Law and the Faith Community (includes time for discussion and feedback) | Victor Vieth |
| 2:50 - 3:00 | BREAK | |
| 3:00 - 4:30 | Addressing Spiritual and Emotional Injuries | Pete Singer |
| 4:30 - 4:45 | Discussion and Feedback | Pete Singer, Facilitator |
Agenda for Day 2
| 8:00 - 9:45 | Implementing Personal Safety Training in Faith - Based Institutions (105 min) | Alison Feigh |
| 9:45 - 9:55 | BREAK | |
| 9:55 - 11:55 | Cyber Challenges: Policies, Planning and Prevention - On-line Safety for Communities of Faith (120 min) | Alison Feigh |
| 11:55 - 12:00 | Discussion and Feedback | Alison Feigh, Facilitator |
| 12:00 - 1:00 | Lunch | |
| 1:00 - 2:00 | Care In Action (60 min) | Pete Singer |
| 2:00 - 3:25 | Small group exercise-Responding to a crisis (10 min overview, 45 min breakout groups, 30 min sharing & discussion) | Victor Vieth, Facilitator |
| 3:25 - 3:35 | BREAK | |
| 3:35 - 4:45 | Small group exercise-Addressing spiritual injuries (10 min overview, 30 min breakout groups, 30 min sharing) | Victor Vieth, Facilitator |
| 4:45 - 5:00 | Discussion of small group exercises and closing | Victor Vieth, Alison Feigh, Pete Singer |
Keeping Faith Advanced Agenda
(Participants must have completed a one or two-day Keeping Faith Basic training to register)
| 8:00 - 8:30 | Welcome & Introductions | |
| 8:30 - 10:05 | Children with Sexual Behavior Problems | Victor Vieth |
| 10:05 - 10:15 | BREAK | |
| 10:15 - 11:30 | Meeting the Needs of Individuals with Disabilities: Prevention and Response | Alison Feigh |
| 11:30 - 12:30 | Lunch | |
| 12:30 - 2:00 | Understanding the Strategies and Spiritual Needs of Abusers | Robert Peters |
| 2:00 - 2:10 | BREAK | |
| 2:10 - 3:40 | Working with LGBTQIA+ Youth | Rachel Johson & Adam Schulz |
| 3:30 - 3:45 | BREAK | |
| 3:40 - 5:00 | Group Exercises |
