Statement from Deacons Regarding Child Protection Policies

With sadness but in the interest of transparency and telling the truth, we feel compelled to respond to false allegations that Northside Baptist Church does not protect children. While the source of these false allegations has been spreading them for several months, we have not publicly commented to date for two major reasons: (1) there has been a court process in place that only concluded last week and (2) out of concern for the wellbeing of our accuser.

The truth is that there has not been a reported incident, event, or complaint of abuse or neglect of any child at our church. Even our accuser has stated that.

We recognize that abuse of children in churches is a real thing that has caused many people pain. It has also caused many to rightly distrust churches. That history is one of the reasons that the safety and wellbeing of children is a top priority of Northside Baptist Church.

In truth, our church has had robust child protection policies in place for many years, and we periodically update them to follow best practices. All events where children or youth are present require supervision by at least two unrelated adults. All volunteers must complete background checks. Private communication between adult volunteers and children in the church is prohibited. Our policies have been developed in consultation with professionals in the areas of child protection and church safety.

Another truth is the source of these false allegations is a person who has been banned from our church campus because of their volatile and potentially dangerous behavior. Simply put, we made the difficult decision to exclude them from our campus because of safety concerns they posed, including to children and youth in our church. In our opinion, banning this person from our campus led them to lash out in retaliation, without regard to the falsity of their claims and the damage they cause.

Despite being told by the church that they could not be on the church campus, this person came back. They were not arrested then but were told by the Clinton Police Department (CPD) that they were not to return. They then came back twice and were arrested by CPD both times. Last Thursday, they were convicted of two charges of trespassing. They were fined, ordered to complete 1 year of probation, and again told not to return to the church campus. An off duty CPD employee is on our campus every week to provide security and to ensure compliance with the trespass notice.

We invite any person who has questions to visit our church website, which details our child protection policies; to contact our staff with questions; or to speak to someone you know who attends our church or has children involved in our programs.

--This statement was adopted on August 30, 2026, by the unanimous vote of the women and men who serve as Deacons of Northside Baptist Church and is approved by Senior Pastor, Rev. Courtney Stamey.