Sexual abuse is a “serious and real problem” alongside the “explosion of child pornography,” said Jeff Iorg, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee (EC), in a speech to EC delegates. Reminding attendees that Southern Baptists remain a “force for good,” Iorg stressed the importance of sex abuse prevention and appropriate responses by the SBC churches.
Iorg made the remarks Monday (Feb. 17) during a plenary session held at the Hilton BNA Nashville Airport Terminal in Nashville, Tennessee, as reported by Baptist Press.
Iorg highlighted that thousands of Southern Baptist churches are already implementing safety measures. “The executive committee is taking measured, intentional, proactive steps toward establishing sexual abuse prevention and response as a ministry responsibility,” Iorg said. “Part of defining the nature of this response is understanding the scope of the problem among Southern Baptists.”
A SBC hotline to report sexual abuse has been active since May 2022. Iorg confirmed that 67% of calls to the hotline have involved abuse allegations, while one-third were inquiries for information or unrelated to abuse. Among the allegations, 68% involved the SBC denomination, and 32% related to allegations outside the church. Of the 458 reported allegations, 41% were adult-to-adult incidents, and 59% were adult-to-child incidents.
Iorg noted that half of this data came from the first four months of the hotline’s operation, accounting for a “backlog of concerns.” The data from January 2023 to December 2024 showed that, on average, four people requested information, and nine individuals reported alleged abuse each month. This included two non-SBC incidents on average. Iorg added that two to three cases involved alleged adult-to-adult contact, and four to five were adult-to-minor incidents.
Iorg confirmed that seven SBC churches were labelled “not in friendly cooperation” with the denomination and “were removed from the SBC based on their responses to the Credentials Committee.”
He also posed a question to SBC delegates: “What does this hotline data mean?” He shared two conclusions, acknowledging the data did not fully capture the scale of the issue, including the “explosion of child pornography.”
“First, sexual abuse is a serious and real problem,” Iorg said. “When it happens, it is devastating for the survivors, the church, the community, and every person involved. One case is too many.” He continued, “Survivor stories are particularly gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. Every church must make every reasonable effort to prevent sexual abuse and respond proactively when it happens.”
“We are committed to these standards at the executive committee: No tolerance for abuse and every church a safe place for the vulnerable,” he added.
Iorg cautioned churches that are taking proactive steps to protect the vulnerable that “the predatory nature of offenders means we must be ever vigilant.” He urged that Southern Baptist churches need to work together to take these protective measures.
Iorg acknowledged that although abuse allegations are not frequently recorded within the context of SBC churches, this data only reflects reported cases. “We have widely publicized this issue for the past five years and encourage people to come forward with information and allegations,” Iorg said.
“We now have verified third-party data from which we can draw information and develop strategies,” he added.
He rejected the “false narrative” that Southern Baptist churches are dangerous for children, protecting predators, or uncaring toward survivors. “While we fully acknowledge reported incidents of sexual abuse, we also reject the false narrative: Southern Baptist churches are dangerous places for children, that Southern Baptist churches are protecting predators and that Southern Baptist churches are uncaring in their response to survivors,” Iorg stated.
Despite the data showing a “continuing problem,” Iorg sought to put the issue in perspective. “There are 12 million Southern Baptists in 47,000 churches. If these reported incidents do, in fact, represent the established reality,” he said.
“Some may twist my words, accusing me of minimizing the problem,” Iorg continued. “That’s simply not true. We are responding to the problem now and creating an ongoing response framework for the future.”
Iorg emphasized that thousands of SBC churches have implemented prevention measures over the past five years, with only seven rare exceptions. “Southern Baptist churches, even those contacted by the Credentials Committee, are cooperating to prevent abuse and address these allegations,” he said.
“Sexual abuse, no matter how few incidents are reported among 47,000 churches, is an evil we want stopped,” Iorg added.
The EC is working with state convention partners and others to provide resources, support, and training to “strengthen churches in this battle.” In the rare event of a church refusing to cooperate, Iorg pointed out the option to distance such fellowships from the SBC.
Iorg outlined six response initiatives led by Jeff Dalrymple, the new director of SBC Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response:
1. An “Essentials: Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response Training curriculum” will be available free-of-charge to all SBC churches.
2. An advisory committee on sexual abuse and response strategies, composed of Baptist experts, will be appointed.
3. The SBC abuse prevention website operated by the EC will be enhanced.
4. The SBC hotline to report abuse issues will be improved.
5. The network of state convention abuse prevention and response leaders will be formalized.
6. A training event with dedicated exhibition space on the subject will be held at the SBC annual meeting in Dallas in June 2025, titled “Safeguarding the Next Generation.”
The SBC's abuse prevention website can be accessed here.
