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SBC Abuse Response Helpline

If this is a life-threatening emergency or you are reporting a crime, please immediately call 911 in the United States, Canada, and all five U.S. territories or your local emergency number. If you are reporting child abuse or maltreatment, please immediately contact local law enforcement and/or your state agency for child and family services. Search your state, territory, or tribal laws related to child abuse prevention and reporting regulations here (childwelfare.gov).

Click any of the options below to report abuse by someone in or affiliated with an SBC church or entity or to request assistance with responding to or preventing abuse.
All options are toll-free and active to receive reports and requests worldwide 24/7 for follow up by a call taker within 24 business hours.

Call*

833-611-4357
833-611-HELP

Email

sbchelpline@ecap.net

Chat

Form

Coming Soon!

*Calls are recorded for quality assurance and training purposes.

About the Helpline

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ECAP operates the Southern Baptist Convention’s Abuse Response Helpline to delivers gospel-focused abuse support for survivors and ministry leaders through a collaborative partnership. Call takers are trained to triage calls and provide assistance to survivors and ministry leaders.

Helpline call takers are equipped to assist survivors and ministry leaders with the following:

Reporting abuse to the appropriate authorities and to the SBC Credentials Committee

Pairing callers with a professional response coach provided by SBC EC through ECAP

Referrals to qualified trauma-informed, Christian counselors

Guidance on abuse prevention measures

The goal of the Helpline is to provide timely response support that honors the Lord in that it protects human life, responds with care, compassion, and in judicial due process, and helps ministries maintain our gospel witness before a watching world. 

ECAP is honored to provide this ministry service to the Southern Baptist Convention in collaboration with the following like-minded ministries and partners:

Call Taker crisis trauma training provided by Christian Trauma Healing Network.

Call Taker abuse allegation training provided by Telios Teaches.

Program quality assurance provided by Gospel Care Collective.

Legal counsel and support from Wagenmaker & Oberly.

Meet the Team

Scott | Program Manager

Scott has advocated for rights and services for crime victims on the local, state, and national levels for the past 30 years as a civil attorney, victim advocate, executive administrator and public policy professional. His efforts include advocating for legislative and public policy reforms for crime victims. His experience includes directing a rape crisis center, managing a prosecutor based domestic violence program, and managing two statewide crime victim compensation agencies. He has also been involved in several faith and victim services programs on the state and national level.

Daniel

Daniel graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida International University and is now an MDiv student at The Master’s Seminary. Daniel serves Faith Church (Hallandale Beach, FL) as a Pastoral Assistant and Worship Leader, and is passionate about Gospel advancement through church planting.

Tanya

Tanya received her bachelor’s degree in Christian Counseling from Judson College at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She currently serves as a receptionist and administrative assistant at a Christian Classical school and a per diem House Staff member at House of Hope, a Christian nonprofit residential program for teen girls offering intensive counseling while living and attending school on campus.

Call Taker Training

Call takers will first be screened per ECAP screening standards to include reference checks, background checks, interview, ID verification, and will agree to both ECAP’s statement of faith and code of conduct. 

They will receive four types of training: (1) General Operations Training, (2) Basic Abuse Awareness Training, (3) Christian Crisis Trauma Care Training, (4) Handling Allegations & Incidents Training.

General Operations 

Call Takers will be equipped to handle necessary technology and operations tasks such as phone calls, chats, documentation, report writing, and collecting case information. They will also learn when and how to collaborate as needed with the SBC, resources available for prevention, and a basic knowledge of the ECAP standards.

Basic Abuse Awareness 

To include understanding the problem of abuse, indicators of abuse, common grooming behaviors, and definitions of abuse. 

Christian Crisis Trauma Care

To include proper greeting and response, trauma-informed understanding, how to receive a disclosure of abuse, active listening, how to handle difficult or inappropriate callers, and crisis intervention. All trauma / care related calls will be monitored by professional counselors to ensure the highest level of care and response. 

 

Handling Abuse Allegations & Incidents

To include principles of handling abuse allegations, basic victimology, mandatory and permissive abuse reporting, resources and agencies involved in abuse prevention and response as well as best practices in care and response. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can call the Response Helpline? Is it only for churches?

Anyone can call and access the Abuse Response Helpline. The Helpline is designed to serve Southern Baptist churches, entities, and other Baptist partners, but is open to any to call. Ministry leaders, survivors, volunteers, members, students, and any other person may call the helpline for assistance or to report abuse.

What if a caller does not speak English or is hearing impaired?

ECAP will utilize a third party for real-time translation services that can accommodate most spoken languages and American Sign Language. Chat and email functions can also be utilized in these cases.

What happens when a call is referred to a Christian counselor?

If requested and appropriate, the caller will be guided to a list of qualified trauma-informed Christian counselors who are equipped to serve their needs.

How are mandatory reporter calls processed and how do we ensure the authorities are notified?

Each and every call will be screened and triaged to ensure that the appropriate authorities are notified by the individual closest to the situation. This may include reporting to law enforcement and/or DCPS. Call takers are trained to guide callers to report abuse and will report abuse when no one else is willing.

Does a call to the Response Helpline satisfy Mandatory Reporting requirements?

No, calls to the Response Helpline do not satisfy mandatory reporting requirements. Call takers can advise on the mandatory reporting requirements in a caller’s state and are trained to guide callers to report abuse to the appropriate authorities.

How do you ensure the quality of call handling and call taker interactions?

Gospel Care Collective is providing program quality assurance by reviewing call, chat, and email transcripts between call takers and individuals who contact the helpline.

What training do call takers receive?

They will receive four types of training: General Operations Training, Basic Abuse Awareness Training, Christian Crisis Trauma Care Training, and Handling Allegations & Incidents Training. Read more about call taker training here.

What information will I need when I call to make a report of abuse?

Basic information that will be requested includes:
• Where the abuse took place. This would include the physical location, jurisdiction, and any related ministry context.

• Name of the alleged offender

• Any known victims/survivors into order ensure safety and coordination with local authorities

*Even if you don’t have all of this information, please contact the helpline and our call takers can help you to navigate making a report.

What do we mean by "qualified" counselor?

A qualified counselor is an individual that has demonstrated both didactic and “hands-on” training under the supervision of an expert counselor. Each qualified counselor must meet the standard requirements which include formal counseling education, receiving a bachelors or masters degree or certification from a counseling association. The education must include teaching in codes of conduct and ethics, understanding and treating abuse and mandatory reporting, trauma, and best practices surrounding the care of survivors and traumatic incidents. Each qualified counselor must complete background and reference screening and have completed 500 hours of supervised experience and 3 years of counseling experience.

What happens when a survivor contacts the Response Helpline?

Call takers are trained to provide trauma informed care and to provide referrals to qualified Christian counselors.

They will assist in callers in making a report to the appropriate authorities if one has not yet been made.

What happens when an offender contact the Response Helpline?

Call takers will be trained to evaluate each situation to identify any victims and ministries involved and work to ensure that the appropriate authorities are notified. Counseling services will also be extended to offenders in order to provide gospel-centered counseling.

What happens when someone who is not associated with an SBC church or entity contacts the Response Helpline?

If the call is about an abused child or vulnerable adult, the call taker will assist the caller with reporting the abuse and provide recommendations for response resources.

Is my report of abuse confidential?

Information may be shared with appropriate state authorities and any relevant SBC convention or local association for the purpose of resolving any allegation or incident.

May my report of abuse be anonymous?

The report can be anonymous in that ECAP will not reveal the reporter’s information to any third party, including the SBC, without the consent of the caller or unless a court order requires the release of the reporter’s name and contact information.

How long should I expect to wait to hear from a call taker after contacting the Response Helpline?

All contacts to the Response Helpline will receive a follow up within 24 business hours.

What is the SBC Credentials Committee?

The Credentials Committee is a standing committee, elected by the Southern Baptist Convention, and tasked with forming an opinion about whether a church should be deemed to be in “friendly cooperation” with the Convention according to the standards provided in Article III of the SBC Constitution.

What is trauma-informed care?

Trauma-Informed Care understands and considers the pervasive nature of trauma and promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatize. Our approach is Christ-centered, viewing this work through the lens of Scripture and the hope of the gospel. We seek to reflect the compassion of Christ, provide safety and grace, and point people to the ultimate healing and restoration found in Him.

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