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Trinity is a “Safe
Sanctuary” congregation. Practically
speaking this affects the youth ministry in the following ways…
-
All volunteer staff are screened and must
pass a criminal background check and attend specialize training before
they serve.
- Two non-related adults shall be present in
any church-sponsored ministry where feasible.
- Volunteers and staff cannot give rides to
students unless there are two (counting the driver) non-related adults
present in the vehicle.
- Students
may not transport non-related students to ministry events unless they have
gained permission from Tony and their parents
- All workers must be at least five years older than the youth they
supervise. In instances where
this is not feasible, the worker shall be paired with an adult who meets
criteria.
- Open door counseling. Whenever possible
counseling must be in an area with another adult present.
When privacy is a concern counseling shall be conducted in a
room/office with a visible window and with another adult in view of the
room.
- Corporal punishment of any kind
will never be appropriate.
These are just a few
of the ways our policy is affecting us.
As you can imagine this is really stretching us in our ministry,
but we believe it is in the best interest of everyone involved.
This is how you can help…
- Don’t ask us to give you child a ride home
from an event…in most instances we can’t.
- Go ahead and volunteer to be screened and
take our training. We need to
increase the number of adults in our database who can assist us in our ministries.
- Sunday school is especially an issue.
We have willing teachers, but we need parents to volunteer to
“sit in” with each of our classes or volunteers to co-teach.
- Lastly, spread the good news regarding our
policies. Not all churches are taking these issues a seriously as
we are and that is a testament to our commitment to your children.
If you would like a full
copy of our Child Protection Policy please contact Tony at the Youth
Ministries office.
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