CHICAGO (July 10, 2019)—The Evangelical Covenant Church is deeply concerned and grieved to learn of allegations of abuse against minors at Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ) and is partnering with other mission organizations to co-sponsor an independent investigation. Staff serving with the Serve Globally mission priority of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Japan, as well as all Serve Globally personnel, have been notified.
Several dozen instances of abuse were reported to have occurred at Christian Academy in Japan, or CAJ, between the 1960s and 1980s. CAJ is a school for missionary children but is not funded by nor is an entity of the Evangelical Covenant Church. The children of Evangelical Covenant Church global personnel (missionaries) attended the school during the time period, and the Covenant has reason to believe some of these students are among those who were sexually, physically and/or emotionally abused. The Evangelical Covenant Church does not know of any cases in which its own global personnel were alleged perpetrators.
The Evangelical Covenant Church is partnering with Resonate Global Mission, WorldVenture, Christian Academy in Japan, and TEAM in sponsoring an investigation into the allegations. The investigation is being spearheaded by Telios Law, an outside law firm based in Monument, Colo. According to Telios, at least 66 cases of alleged abuse have been reported.
The Evangelical Covenant Church and partnering organizations have, according to Telios, commissioned the investigation to:
- Seek truth with transparency;
- Make sure potential victims are addressed and treated justly;
- Hold accountable those who have offended;
- Hold accountable leaders who are culpable; and
- Provide information to the missions to improve their child safety process.
The Evangelical Covenant Church and other sponsoring organizations have agreed to participate in the investigation and will provide requested documents. The investigation will gather accounts from alumni and others who will have access to progress reports; however, names of survivors and witnesses will not be shared in the final report.
In addition to the final report, the Evangelical Covenant Church will receive a child safety report and progress reports from the investigation. Based on findings, the Evangelical Covenant Church will take action internally as necessary. The Covenant is committed to providing pastoral care for victims and their families.
To learn more about the investigation, go to CAJhistoricalinvestigation.info. If you know of any cases of abuse or have any questions, please reach out to the investigative team by calling 719-203-9591 or through teliosinvestigations.com/contact-us. For pastoral care and questions for the Covenant, e-mail Al Tizon, executive minister of Serve Globally, at Al.Tizon@covchurch.org.
