‘Prevention and Redemption’: Evangelical Council on Abuse Prevention to Hold Inaugural National Conference

FAITH NEWS SERVICE – Jacksonville, FLA – The Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP) — a new organization aimed at helping evangelical organizations and ministries prevent and respond to abuse — will hold its inaugural national conference on June 17, 2021 at Nashville First Baptist Church.

The conference theme is “Prevention and Redemption,” and will equip attendees to effectively prevent abuse in the organizations they serve and be agents of redemption when abuse has occurred. Both prevention and redemption “demonstrate the heart of God in his care for his people,” according to the ECAP website.

“My hope is that people will leave this conference reminded anew that all people — including the vulnerable and weak for whom God cares so deeply — bear the image of God,” said Jeff Dalrymple, Executive Director of ECAP. “Caring for children in our churches and ministries is a weighty stewardship, one that should motivate us to do all we can to protect and care for these image bearers.”

The conference will feature keynote speakers, such as Dr. Crawford Loritts, Valerie Bell, Julius Kim, and more. There is also a full slate of breakout sessions addressing a wide variety of practical issues that will be of help to anyone interested in preventing abuse. Attendees can hear from lawyers, authors, pastors, professors, and child safety professionals.

“The work that ECAP is doing is ground-breaking and extremely important for churches and other ministries,“ said Sally Wagenmaker, an attorney serving as general counsel for ECAP and one of the breakout speakers at the conference. “Ministries will benefit tremendously through this upcoming national conference.”

While the conference is happening in Nashville, those who are unable to attend can register for the livestream option. Further details and information on the conference — in addition to general information about ECAP, its child safety standards, and other resources — can be found at ecap.net.

ABOUT ECAP:
The Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention was formed as a national organization in June 2019 in response to a growing awareness of the problem of sexual abuse within evangelical churches and ministries. ECAP seeks to offer a proactive, comprehensive solution for protecting children and the vulnerable from abuse within evangelical ministries.

ECAP will offer accreditation to ministries that commit to operate according to recently released standards for addressing and preventing abuse of children in their care.