Churches are organizations that rely on many people to work and volunteer for the ministry that takes place. Many churches implement background checks and use employee and volunteer screening processes to protect guests, members, staff, and property. However, many places of worship don’t have continuous monitoring in place.
Because churches have children’s ministries with adults taking care of the young ones, it’s critical to have a process to keep kids safe. In fact, according to a Twitter poll, an unsafe children’s area is the 3rd reason people choose not to return to church.
Another measure of safety for churches to implement is continuous monitoring. Along with background screening, it is another layer of protection that happens in real-time. This alerts your safety team of any potential threats from the people serving at your church.
What is Continuous Monitoring?
Continuous Monitoring is different from standard background screenings because it is not bound by a typical re-screening timeline of 12, 24, or 36 months. It eliminates potentially dangerous gaps in screening schedules through ongoing monitoring. It alerts churches when there is a reportable change in employee or volunteer criminal record history.
Certainly, re-screening is better than not doing anything after an initial background check. However, there is no guarantee that someone won’t commit an offense while on staff or volunteering for your church. If they commit a crime, and continuous monitoring is not in place, it could be months or even years later that the church learns about it. This could potentially expose your people to great risk.
Above all, keep your church safe without waiting for an annual recheck. Continuous monitoring provides real-time alerts of any risks associated with an employee or volunteer, reducing potential threats to your organization. You can remove dangerous people or situations before it’s too late.
Why It’s Important
Consider what could happen among your children’s ministry, for example. Let’s say one of your volunteers was screened prior to being able to serve in the ministry. That’s great! However, during the course of their first year, there is an assault on the volunteer’s record that could easily go unnoticed without continuous background screening. That person could potentially continue serving with children without anybody knowing the wiser until the annual re-screen.
It’s important to stay in the know regarding your church staff and volunteers to protect everyone involved. It also assures your church’s reputation is intact, so people continue to attend and feel safe. Another important aspect is that it encourages volunteer accountability and deters harmful criminals from attempting to infiltrate the organization.
How Does Continuous Monitoring Work?
- It provides real-time alerts to churches whenever there’s a reportable change in a staff or volunteer’s criminal record history.
- No more waiting for scheduled re-screens to discover any new offenses by those who work closely with your children.
- Receive verification of any potential new or adverse information in real-time.
- A compiled, updated consumer report is created and issued to your church with any reportable findings.
The real-time nature of Protect My Ministry’s Continuous Monitoring is the most robust monitoring system on the market. It includes:
- Approximately 100,000 new records added daily
- Updated records every 60 seconds
- Nationwide federal court coverage
- Sex offender data from 50 states
- Traffic court moving violation data
- Customizable search criteria
Protect Your Church
The work your church does is simply too important to be threatened by criminals and sex offenders.
Stay updated with Continuous Monitoring from Protect My Ministry and make informed decisions about your staff and volunteers. This way, you create a space that’s safe and secure for children, staff, church members, visitors, and property. Sign up today to safeguard your church.