Why Does Christian Youth Ministry Attract Predators?

You may wonder why Christian youth ministry attracts sex offenders who abuse children and adolescents.

You may have heard the term “pedophilia” which means being sexually attracted to pre-pubertal children. Or “ephebophilia” (eh-feeb-o-fill-ee-yuh) which means being sexually attracted to adolescents.

As you read further and your understanding widens…you may be surprised to find you already had an idea of the answer. Because it is no secret that…

Sexually abusive youth ministers are…

At the same levels of emotional and sexual development as those they molest.

And as you recognize this simple fact… you understand that is why some ministers in Christian youth ministry are strictly interested in pre-teen children…who have no signs of sexual development…(these are the pedophiles)…and why some ministers prefer children with obvious sexual development…but who are not yet emotionally and socially experienced adults…(these are ephebophiles).

And as your understanding increases you may find your head shaking in wonder at this paradox…

pedophiles and ephebophiles are very good at staying within sexual boundaries!

As you will recognize immediately…a pedophile or an ephebophile can have easy…ongoing…even daily…access to children and youths. And because ‘ministry’ is so loosely defined they can have private access to minors in a variety of activities…such as camping trips…counseling and spiritual direction.

The pediatrician or the juvenile judge has access strictly by appointment and usually no privacy with the victims. Kids are simply widely available in ministry.

And ministers have authority…prestige…credibility…and respect which makes grooming their victims that much easier. Kids are often afraid of doctors and judges. Usually…they are not afraid of a minister…especially if their parents like and admire the minister.

So you can see that someone with such highly specialized sexual preferences as pedophiles and ephebophiles have would be drawn to nearly limitless opportunities for potential ‘friends’ in Christian youth ministry.

It’s a paradox because you already understand that abusive ministers are crossing generational boundaries inappropriately…by being emotionally invested in…socializing with…and sexually abusing children and youths.

But it is the exquisite sense of boundaries that pedophiles and ephebophiles have that increases the extent of sexual abuse...while good boundaries are supposed to protect the parties involved.

But good boundaries that define ministry as

...are not the same boundaries that define pedophilia and ephebophilia. Here’s why…

Pedophiles who are fixated on prepubescent children will have nothing to do with a child when puberty shows its typical signs of sexual maturing…deeper voice…body hair…and so forth.

The child may be very attached to this caring…kind abuser. But as development begins…the pedophile terminates the relationship abruptly. The child ceases to have meaning for the abuser.

This can result in serious emotional abuse for the child…because he or she no longer has any redeeming qualities for the abuser who originally was so caring. The child learns…without any preparation…about emotional betrayal and abandonment…having done nothing except start growing up.

You can probably agree that prepubertal children abandoned by a seemingly caring adult would be having an experience they are not ready for.

As adolescents…when a girlfriend or a boyfriend ends a relationship…they will learn about such things…but it will be a the context of their adolescent support group that they will learn how to process things like heartbreak and get beyond them.

If you want to deepen your understanding of the effects of sexual abuse you can go from this

Christian youth ministry page to the adolescent sexual abuse page .

The pedophile has no boundary problem ‘just saying no’ when the victim begins to mature.

Ephebophiles…fixated on adolescents…are semi-adult in their sexual interest. They too are interested in physical traits…but not in a meaningful emotional and social context…that mature sexual relationships have.

You can see the obvious…that a minister…involved romantically and sexually with a youth…has many professional and social ties and obligations that cannot involve the victim. The entire context of the relationship is sexual and secretive.

Once the youth begins to have more adult experiences…the ephebophile will lose interest and seek newer younger partners.

By now you can see that fixated pedophiles and ephebophiles are themselves emotional children and adolescents. Abusers in Christian youth ministry never have to grow up…but their victims do…and…as you can imagine…the going can be rough.

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