Agape Freedom Community

By: Rev. Jeric Yurkanin

I am going to say this in a very clear and direct way, because the indirect way is not working anymore.

The American church spends years preaching about grown men over 18 watching porn.

But it almost never preaches about the real epidemic happening inside its own buildings:

child molestation grooming rape decades of cover-ups

This is not “rare.”

This is not “shocking.”

This is not “unthinkable.”

And here is the part people avoid because it feels uncomfortable:

👉 Churches buy sexual-abuse insurance now.

Insurance companies only care about data.

They are not emotional.

They are not spiritual.

They are not “anti-Christian.”

They look at numbers.

And the numbers say:

Child sexual abuse in churches is EXPECTED.

If a church buys sexual-abuse insurance, it means:

They know abuse happens. They know it happens often enough to plan for it. They know one lawsuit could bankrupt them. They prepared financially before preparing spiritually.

This is reality.

We need to stop pretending.

Meanwhile, churches focus on the wrong topic.

Every week the sermons attack:

porn modesty purity rings “lust” LGBTQ+ people anything except the thing actually destroying lives

There is a huge disconnect between what churches talk about and what is hurting people.

This is not a theory.

This is research.

Dr. Anna Salter, a leading expert on sexual predators, has been warning us for years:

👉 “Predators don’t just go where the children are.

They go where the adults are trusting,

the rules are weak,

and the accountability is low.”

That is exactly what the American church looks like:

adults assume everyone is “safe” low training zero oversight leaders treated like they can’t be questioned forgiveness used as a weapon silence expected reputation protected more than children victims told “don’t cause problems” or “just forgive”

So when predators walk right through the doors,

why is anyone surprised?

This is not a “bad apple” problem.

This is:

a system problem a culture problem a leadership problem a Gospel problem

Because Jesus never protected institutions.

Jesus never silenced victims.

Jesus never defended religious leaders who harmed people.

But many churches today do the opposite:

They will spend thousands of dollars on sexual-abuse insurance

before:

teaching adults about grooming warning parents about signs reporting offenders to police immediately protecting kids without hesitation

Insurance is not “wisdom.”

It is confession.

Confession that:

the church knows it happens the church knows it has been happening and the church expects it to continue happening unless the system changes

If the American church wants credibility again,

it needs to stop policing consenting adults

and start confronting the harm happening to children.

Protect children.

Tell the truth.

Stop hiding behind insurance and silence.

This is what Jesus would do.

He defended the vulnerable every time.

— Rev. Jeric Yurkanin

Agape Freedom Church

Leaving religion. Finding Jesus. Protecting the vulnerable.