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One in eight background checks conducted on volunteers or prospective employees through LifeWay Christian Resources found a criminal history that might have kept an individual from working or volunteering at a church, the Southern Baptist Convention publishing house reported in August.

Last year, LifeWay negotiated a discount for screening services for churches with Backgroundchecks.com, a ten-year-old company with 4,500 clients. Since then, according to officials, about 450 churches have requested more than 5,000 background checks on volunteers and prospective employees.