As the senior pastor at First United Church of Christ in Lancaster, Bill Worley saw the Safe Church program as a chance to grapple with how the congregation could put children "at the center of our church's life."

Worley also hoped that his church, a predominantly older one welcoming an increasing number of families with young children, could "address what seems (in general) like an increasing number of sex offender violations, and to be able to discuss (sex abuse) in a helpful and effective manner."

One exercise was particularly eye-opening, he said. Asked to play the role of a predator, he and other First United leaders walked around the church building, seeking spaces where a child could be hidden from sight and abused.

He said he has had a few people in his church come forward and reveal that they are sex abuse survivors. He listened to their stories, he said, because he felt like what they needed was to share them.

Linda Crockett, director of education and consultation at the Samaritan Counseling Center, said the Safe Church program is really about "changing the culture in a congregation."

Worley believes this change will take years, not weeks or months.

In a multigenerational church, each group will respond differently to the subject, he said.

"I don't think that there is any question that there is a difference in the way that different generations articulate their understanding and their expression of human sexuality."

But parents of young children and infants, he said, do realize the importance of having conversations about safety at an earlier age — and of making sure children have the "absolute freedom" to speak up and know that they won't be demonized or laughed at if they raise the topic.

"I don't expect that the Safe Church (program) will quickly alter the culture of a congregation," he said. "It will in the long haul."