Is the guide really free?

Yes. Sign in with Google or LinkedIn and the PDF opens right away. Signing in doesn’t set up an organization, start a trial, or charge anything.

Are churches exempt from background-check laws?

No. The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s rules for using background checks contain no exemption for churches — consent before the check, and specific notices before acting on it. Some state laws also reach church volunteers; Pennsylvania’s clearance law, for example, covers volunteers in youth programs sponsored by a public or private organization. Confirm how your state’s law applies with counsel.

What is the two-adult rule?

Two unrelated adults in every room with children — or an open door and a hall monitor. Two members of the same household don’t count as two. The guide covers it alongside secure check-in, bathroom policies and youth-ministry boundaries.

Can I share it with our elders or board?

Please do. Print it for your next leadership meeting or forward the PDF. The policy checklist and congregation letter in the appendices are written to be copied and adapted.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is general education. Screening and reporting requirements vary by state, by denomination and by what your insurer requires — confirm yours with your denomination, your insurance carrier and qualified counsel.

Free guide · 2026 edition · For pastors, children’s ministry & church boards

Let the Children Come

A screening and child-safety playbook for children’s ministry

What the law and your denomination expect, what a real background check covers, and how to build a children’s ministry every family can trust.

20 pages, written for pastors and ministry leaders
12 chapters and a 30-day rollout plan
A policy checklist and a congregation letter you can copy
Every statistic and legal requirement cited

Who this guide is for

Pastors, children’s and youth ministry directors, elders, deacons and church boards — and the volunteer coordinators who fill the nursery schedule every week. Whether your church has sixty members or six thousand, one service or five campuses, if volunteers in your church care for children who are not their own, this guide is written for you.

93%

of people who sexually assaulted a juvenile were known to the child — family or acquaintances. Only 7% were strangers.

Bureau of Justice Statistics

key components of preventing child sexual abuse in youth-serving organizations. Screening is only one of them.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

for a full, identity-verified background check on a volunteer — or $0 to the church if volunteers cover their own.

VolunteerBadge pricing

From the executive summary

Six things every church leader should know

1
The risk is a familiar face, not a stranger.
Harm to children overwhelmingly comes from adults they and their families already know and trust.
2
Churches are not exempt from the rules about how to screen.
When a church uses a background-check company, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies — consent before the check, and specific notices before turning anyone away because of it.
3
Your denomination and your insurer may already expect it.
Many denominations publish safeguarding policies — some mandatory — and the major church insurers publish screening recommendations and ask how you screen.
4
A real check is more than a name search.
National criminal records, all-50-state sex-offender registries, watchlists, an SSN trace, and identity verification.
5
Screening is one layer, not the whole plan.
A waiting period before serving, the two-adult rule, secure check-in, visible rooms and a clear reporting path do the rest.
6
You can put it in place in 30 days — lovingly.
Pastors and leaders go first, the congregation hears it as care rather than suspicion, and it can cost the church nothing.

What's inside

01
The short version
The whole case on one page — read it before your next leadership meeting.
02
Why children’s ministry needs a real safeguard
Weekly access, the youngest children, an open door — and the trusted-adult reality.
03
What the law requires — including for churches
Where churches stand, and what the FCRA asks of every church that screens.
04
Your denomination and your insurer
What denominational policies and church insurers expect of your screening.
05
What a real background check covers
The five components to insist on for anyone serving children.
06
Who in your church should be screened
Nursery, classrooms, youth, VBS, check-in, drivers, pastors and teen helpers.
07
Screening is the foundation, not the house
A waiting period, the two-adult rule, secure check-in, visible rooms and youth-ministry boundaries.
08
When a check isn’t clean — and when a registrant wants to attend
Fellowship vs. role, a fair review, and the adverse-action steps the law requires.
09
When someone raises a concern
A response plan every church should adopt before it needs one.
10
A 30-day rollout plan
Week by week — plus honest answers to the hard questions you’ll hear.
11
Paying for it, and telling the congregation
What it costs, and how to announce it with love, not suspicion.
12
VBS, youth ministry, small churches and shared buildings
What changes for your ministry — and for outside groups in your building.
A
Appendix A: Children’s ministry safeguarding policy checklist
Draft or audit your written policy.
B
Appendix B: Letter to the congregation
A warm, ready-to-send letter introducing screening.
C
Appendix C: Free tools, further reading and sources
Church workbooks, free training and every citation.

Get the free guide

Questions

Is the guide really free?: Yes. Sign in with Google or LinkedIn and the PDF opens right away. Signing in doesn’t set up an organization, start a trial, or charge anything.
Are churches exempt from background-check laws?: No. The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s rules for using background checks contain no exemption for churches — consent before the check, and specific notices before acting on it. Some state laws also reach church volunteers; Pennsylvania’s clearance law, for example, covers volunteers in youth programs sponsored by a public or private organization. Confirm how your state’s law applies with counsel.
What is the two-adult rule?: Two unrelated adults in every room with children — or an open door and a hall monitor. Two members of the same household don’t count as two. The guide covers it alongside secure check-in, bathroom policies and youth-ministry boundaries.
Can I share it with our elders or board?: Please do. Print it for your next leadership meeting or forward the PDF. The policy checklist and congregation letter in the appendices are written to be copied and adapted.
Is this legal advice?: No. It is general education. Screening and reporting requirements vary by state, by denomination and by what your insurer requires — confirm yours with your denomination, your insurance carrier and qualified counsel.

Keep going

VolunteerBadge is owned and operated by ScreenForge Labs, LLC, an FCRA-regulated Consumer Reporting Agency that has obtained its FCRA Certificate from the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA). This guide is general educational information and is not legal advice.