Mission, Vision & Core Values
Mission, Vision & Core Values
Our purpose is to transform the culture of Black churches so that every child is protected, every survivor is believed, and every congregation reflects the heart of God through safety, accountability, and healing.
WHAT GUIDES US
Our purpose is to transform the culture of Black churches so that every child is protected, every survivor is believed, and every congregation reflects the heart of God through safety, accountability, and healing.
Shield & Eden equips Black churches with evidence-based, survivor-informed, and theologically responsible training, resources, and frameworks to prevent child sexual abuse, protect children, support survivors, and cultivate cultures of safety, accountability, and healing.
A future where every Black church is the safest place a child can belong; where survivors of every gender are believed, supported, and empowered to heal; and where faith, justice, and accountability are inseparable.
WHAT WE STAND ON
Six commitments that shape every framework, training, and resource we build.
We are committed to evidence that reflects the full breadth of human experience. Our work is grounded in empirical research, continually informed by emerging scholarship, and intentionally inclusive of Black, Indigenous, and other historically underrepresented voices whose contributions have too often been overlooked. We believe stronger research leads to stronger protection, wiser prevention, and more effective healing.
We listen to survivors, honor their lived experience, and allow their wisdom to shape how we educate, equip, and respond.
We teach Scripture with integrity, rejecting interpretations that enable abuse and embracing theology that protects children, honors survivors, and reflects the heart of God.
We believe protection requires accountability. Accountability includes transparent leadership, meaningful institutional responsibility, and justice for victims through appropriate legal action. We reject secrecy, image management, and the misuse of forgiveness to avoid consequences, believing that true repentance is demonstrated through truth, responsibility, and actions that protect others.
We honor the Black church as one of our community’s most enduring institutions—a place of refuge, spiritual formation, collective care, and courageous organizing when the world offered few safe spaces for Black people. We serve the Black church with humility and historical awareness, building solutions that celebrate its strengths while equipping it to confront abuse with wisdom, integrity, and courage.
We believe healing is possible. We create spaces where survivors are believed, supported, and empowered to heal at their own pace. While churches play an essential role in providing spiritual care and community, we recognize that trauma recovery is a clinical process that should be led by licensed mental health professionals. We encourage churches to partner with qualified clinicians, respect survivors’ autonomy, and never pressure forgiveness, reconciliation, or restoration of relationships as a measure of healing.
SEE THESE VALUES IN ACTION.
Our purpose, mission, and values take shape in a concrete, evidence-based framework and a clear theory of change.