Atkins, a father of two, said the importance of protecting the church's children by screening their caregivers came up in a deacons' meeting.

"A lot of our new people that come in that are visiting our church drop their children off unaware of who's watching their children," Atkins said. "It's important not to give just the parents peace of mind, but give us the peace of mind knowing in our church that those children are protected because we've done background checks on everybody that's watching our children and the visitors' children."

The world of background checks is not geared towards churches, Johnson said. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) tells a commercial company exactly what to do when hiring, but makes no mention of volunteers - which form much of a typical church's childcare staff, he added.

"The unfortunate truth is that a lot of churches can sit out there and do nothing because the law right now requires exactly that: nothing," Johnson said. "Churches have gone too long, they've waited for insurance companies to tell them how to protect their kids."

Churches often struggle with adding the new expense of background checks to their budgets, Johnson said. Since it is a new issue, churches also find it hard to set policies determining on whom to run the checks.

"How do I run a background check on Fred who's been a member for 40 years?," Johnson repeated an often-asked question. "What we try to teach people is that you don't decide. You can't decide who to trust and who not to trust."

"I don't do a background [check] on Fred because I think he's felon," Johnson continued. "I do a background check on Fred who's been here for 40 years because that's our policy."

To help churches, 3D Church Check offers their services at a rate 20 percent lower than their commercially-focused, parent company, Johnson said. Some Baptist associations contract with the company and can offer the screenings to their churches at an even lower rate.

Marion Baptist Association began conducting background screenings more than three years ago, said director of missions, Pete Menendez. In the last year or so they have become "more intense" and began offering the service to churches within the association.

"I think it's been very effective," Menendez said. "It's really difficult today to look at somebody and say that person is an abuser. They have such different ways of disguising themselves and I think even though most of the folks that we ask to volunteer or we hire are good decent people, there are those few that do find their way into our churches and in particularly in our children's area."

Knowing the people who care for his own three children have been screened gives Menendez "peace of mind," he said.

The theme for the 3D Church Check division comes from 1 Peter 5:8, Johnson said.

"It is absolutely inexcusable to say that you believe that the devil prowls like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, and still put your children in the hands of someone who has not been properly screened," Johnson said. "That we believe that and literally throw strangers into rooms with our kids is unconscionable."

Unfortunately, it is the churches that have experienced a negative incident that pay the most attention to background checks, Johnson said.

"When I see this information, it can be an eye opener," Johnson said of the criminal records he examines every day. "What we want is for churches to get their eyes opened before something bad happens."

Many people simply say, "We need to do something," but without offering solutions, Johnson said.

We're here to tell you what the something is. We're here to actually pick that ball up," Johnson said. "We're here to tell them, 'Here's what you do. Here's why you do it, and it's time to get movin.'"