As Baptist state conventions gather for their annual meetings, many are considering investigations of the ways sexual abuse claims have been handled in the past and ways the process could be improved for the future.

Arkansas and California have passed initiatives related to the handling of sexual abuse claims, while Mississippi and Missouri voted down proposals.

Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC) President Wes Fowler gave his state convention a two-week notice to prepare for what he plans to present Nov. 16 at the group’s annual meeting. In a letter posted Oct. 31, Fowler said he intends “to recommend a task force specifically focused on (1) evaluating how the KBC currently responds to sexual abuse allegations, and (2) recommending best practices for the KBC moving forward.”

He added that he is “not aware of any accusation of the KBC mishandling a sexual abuse allegation.”

Fowler said he will recommend a 10-person task force be created from messengers across Kentucky who are “diverse and those familiar with sexual abuse” to report their findings and recommendations at the 2022 KBC annual meeting.

Messengers to the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Nashville voted for the formation a task force to oversee a third-party investigation into the SBC Executive Committee’s handling of sex abuse claims and to make recommendations for future processes.

Fowler’s letter can be read here.