Abuse Reporting Protocol

“Abuse comes from the Latin abutor, which means to misuse. In a general sense the word can be used to denote misuse of a thing, as in abuse of privilege, substance abuse, or prosecutorial abuse. In this report the word is used in its more technical sense, referring to persistent maltreatment that causes lasting damage. In this sense, abuse is a misuse of power. Misuse of power can take several forms (physical, verbal, positional, etc.), but the essence of abuse is that it is a misuse of power which wounds another person physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.” (P. 2306-2307, Report of the Ad Interim Committee on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault)

At the Forty-Ninth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, an ad-interim committee made up of qualified professionals presented a report on the problem of abuse in the church. It was officially titled “Report of the Ad Interim Committee on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault to the Forty-Ninth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America”.

All PCA elders were urged to “assiduously study this report and consider its advice when shepherding the flock of God.” Further, all Sessions are to “consider using this report to inform their congregational members so that they will be better able to protect, identify and respond well to abuse when it arises.” This report will guide much of our protocol, along with professional consultation from trauma-informed therapists.

We at The Redemption Church condemn all forms of abuse. We want to make sure that we are a place where people can experience the protection and safety of Christ and the kind of culture He creates. However, we recognize that human beings are flawed and can be susceptible to engaging in abuse. We take that very seriously as a church. This is why we have created this abuse reporting protocol.

When you submit this report, please know that it goes directly to the TRC Session with approved female consultants (Polly Sung, deaconess; Beth Chung, a trauma-informed licensed therapist), who are committed to managing your information in a sensitive and confidential way. The three levels of reporting are:

  1. TRC Session

    If you are reporting another TRC member, we ask that you report it to the TRC Session + female consultants using the button below. If they fail to follow through, please report directly to the stated clerk of the presbytery.

  2. Stated clerk of the Chicago Metro Presbytery

    If any of the TRC Session are the ones being abusive, please directly contact the stated clerk of the Chicago Metro Presbytery at chicagometropres@gmail.com.

  3. PCA Administrative Committee

    Should the Metro Presbytery stated clerk handle his duties in an unsatisfactory manner, you can directly contact the PCA Administrative Committee at ac@pcanet.org.

Some possible outcomes of the report are:

  1. Support emotionally and therapeutically.

  2. Support physically (i.e. get you out of dangerous situation).

  3. Support legally by holding your hand through the legal process (please note that church leadership are not trained legal specialists but we can connect you to people who are).