
By RaeAnn Slaybaugh
With a combined 25 years of experience working with Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) and its church clients, Risk Management Vice President Andrew Shockey and Underwriting Human Services Product Manager Michael Nester know background checks. First and foremost, they know that not enough houses of worship are conducting them — and why.
Additionally, among the churches that are doing background checks, Shockey and Nester are familiar with the screening loopholes offenders can use to take advantage of these trust-fueled organizations.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Better yet, church leaders don’t have to go at it alone to do better.

From the in-the-trenches perspective of PHLY’s Risk Management Vice President Andrew Shockey, background checks should be considered a standard of care in today’s churches. And it already seems to be, for some positions — for clergy members with access to the church’s funds, or for volunteers who will work with children, for example.
Encouragingly, this even appears to be the case for volunteers who might only serve in the children’s ministry for a short while. Case in point: vacation Bible school.
“So, yes, there are churches doing background checks right and well,” Shockey acknowledges. “Overall, I see the Church moving in that direction. We’re just looking to speak to a good many that need to do a little bit better.”
Michael Nester, PHLY’s Underwriting Human Services Product Manager, agrees.
“Some churches list it on the applications we receive,” he points out. “In fact, I like to think that maybe more churches are doing it.

“At any rate, the practice of screening volunteers who work with children definitely needs to happen,” he adds. “It’s something that we hope to see even more of.”
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION
To understand how church leaders can elevate their background check process, it’s important to first understand where and why they’re falling short. As Shockey explains, it comes down to a handful of common factors.
COST
Not surprisingly, the expense of background checks can be a hindrance for many churches. In fact, it appears to be the primary barrier to their regular, consistent implementation.
“The Church is still under tremendous financial pressure from COVID,” Shockey says. “It’s still recovering from that.”
TOO MUCH TRUST
“In talking to churches around the country, I still hear that they’re not conducting background checks at the level they ought to be because, ‘We’ve known these people forever’ or ‘We grew up together,’” Shockey says.
While he acknowledges that this mindset is understandable, he also emphasizes that it shouldn’t be the end of the conversation: “This kind of thinking comes from a good place, but churches need to understand the risk and do background checks, anyway.”
TIME, ENERGY, EXPERTISE
Obviously, a background check needs to be read and processed when it comes back. But who should be doing that work? What does it entail? And if a red flag does pop up, what’s next?
“When the results don’t say ‘Clear’, it requires time and resources,” Shockey points out. “Unfortunately, both are so limited in a church of any size.”
GLOSSING OVER THE FINE PRINT
As Shockey and Nester have made clear, simply conducting a background check isn’t enough, despite the best intentions. When working with any third-party background checks provider, it’s also important to read the contract.
“What they charge is indicative of the effort they’re going to exert to locate records,” Shockey advises. “The fine print answers the question: What am I asking them to do in exchange for my payment? Usually, the more effort, the higher the cost.”
For instance, conducting a background check on a senior or executive pastor should involve multiple sources — perhaps including a credit check since he or she will be involved in financial decisions at the church. This might be more expensive than a background check done for a week-long VBS volunteer.
[W]e’re just trying to help churches know what’s actually law before they find out the hard way. I can’t think of a state that’s really ‘stuck’ — they all seem to have a forward motion to their legislative environment on this topic, for all the right reasons. Protecting innocent children is typically a bipartisan issue, thank goodness.
— Andrew Shockey
ELUSIVE DATA

Unfortunately, even if a background check is done correctly, offenders can move from state to state — and the data that might show up in one state might not show up in another.
“In the Church, there have been many painful examples of something like this,” Shockey says, citing Ban the Box legislation as a driver. Simply put, after a certain number of years, a state might require that a certain offense be eliminated from a background check.
“Though it’s a sensitive issue for people on both sides of the argument, the concept — that someone can integrate into society once they’ve paid their debt — is grounded in a lot of very good reasons,” Shockey says. “While I think it’s well-intentioned, I’m also saying that the criminal element always looks to exploit areas of trust. And those are certainly prevalent in churches.”
“Whereas all are welcome into the Church, who’s allowed to serve as a youth leader or parent volunteers, is a very different question,” he adds.
“The point is this: even when a church has obtained a ‘clear’ background check on an individual, it doesn’t necessarily mean nothing of concern has ever happened,” Shockey concludes. “While I don’t want to cause alarm for church leaders — as there are reasonable solutions — a background check is a minimum standard of care and must be conducted.”
But it’s far from the only thing that needs to be done.
LEADING THE WAY, TOGETHER
To this end, comprehensive sexual abuse prevention training is among the most effective things a church can do that might not be required by law. Fortunately, PHLY has made this training and related resources readily available, thanks to a decades-long partnership with MinistrySafe, a Complete Child Safety System designed to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse.
“As a significant carrier for churches in this country, it’s something that has been very positive,” Shockey says. “Ours is a very mutually beneficial relationship; year after year, more and more PHLY church clients have received the MinistrySafe training.”
Moreover, both PHLY and MinistrySafe are forward-looking and proactive in their efforts to protect children, each committed to remaining current with state-by-state legislation.
“No matter who’s aware of it first, we just start working: What is the legislation? What’s its intention? Who is potentially included?” Shockey explains. “Over the years, we’re working together to first understand new legislation as best as we can and, second, to communicate it.”
This takes the form of in-person and virtual seminars, including a webinar in the state of California, where new legislation specific to sexual abuse prevention was recently passed.
“Again, we’re just trying to help churches know what’s actually law before they find out the hard way,” Shockey says. “I can’t think of a state that’s really ‘stuck’ — they all seem to have a forward motion to their legislative environment on this topic, for all the right reasons. Protecting innocent children is typically a bipartisan issue, thank goodness.”
Moving forward, Shockey says he sees the potential for even greater collaboration to benefit houses of worship, especially as it relates to MinistrySafe as a source of background check information.
“They’ve grown, too, holistically,” Shockey says. “Serving as a source of background check information flows right into the additional prevention resources that MinistrySafe has offered for years.”
DON’T GET COMPLACENT
For Shockey, the most significant piece of guidance he hopes church leaders will take away is this: it’s just a background check.
“Even if it’s ‘clear,’ let’s not take comfort in that,” he urges. “Take advantage of the other reasonable resources available — including outstanding training pertaining to the hiring environment and specific to background checks.
“The church is desperate for volunteers, no matter where they are and what denomination,” Shockey adds. “I would just ask that skillful screening training from MinistrySafe is part of the process, even if a position is an immediate need. It’s very good content that can be absorbed — and hopefully, implemented — by the Church.”