The Monday Morning Debrief: Don’t let this happen to you
Vienna Presbyterian Church has been a well-known and well-respected church in the Northern VA area for the longest time. I remember as a teenager hearing about the great youth events they were doing and how many youth were meeting Christ at that time. I have a lot of respect for VPC and my good buddy, Barry Hill is now the Youth Director there.
Despite how well respected VPC was, they made a mistake with Barry’s predecessor. Barry’s predecessor, and a guy I met once when I was a Middle School Director, caused a world of hurt in the lives of many teenage girls, their families, the community and VPC. I can honestly say too that his actions caused a world of hurt in Barry’s life as he has successfully rebuild that program. But it has not been without its hard times and struggles.
Just yesterday, the Washington Post did a front page story (FRONT PAGE in one of the most respected Newspapers on the planet!!!) on it and the pain that this youth director caused. Read it here. It’s a great read and a great reminder that as a Church we can’t ignore those who hurt and that we MUST do our due diligence to know exactly who we are hiring, especially people who have direct ministry with students. It is also a great and important reminder to Youth Directors that you should NEVER come close to what this guy did.
TAKE A MINUTE and read the article and then feel free to come back and post a comment. As a church staffer, you always want the news to share about what great things you are doing. This is definitely NOT something that you want people talking about. Let’s learn from their mistakes and make sure our youth are being ministered to by the right people.
This is a great article to remind us of our responsibility as pastors, not just to students but to anyone. Putting yourself in compromising situations can cause harm even if nothing happens. The mere appearance can be damaging, let alone if accusations are founded upon truth. When it comes to students, who are admittedly more vulnerable, the people who are around them need to be questioned, held accountable, and mentored on a regular basis. The church seems to spend a good deal of time apologizing for mistakes made rather than taking precautions in the first place – an unfortunate pattern. It is very respectable that VPC chose to publicly acknowledge deal with this issue publicly, so that healing and trust can be brought back to the table.
– Kile