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We can begin to prevent abuse by starting at an early age to teach our children respect for themselves and for one another; and by helping them learn what to do in situations that feel unsafe.
The following organizations have been successfully used by CRC congregations and ministries to help secure background checks.
These educational resources will help you begin talking with young adults about healthy sexuality.
What concrete steps can each congregation be doing to make your church a safer place? These ten guidelines offer a helpful place to start.
When a tragedy like the shooting at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, TX, occurs, it's normal for church members to wonder what they would do if a similar thing happened to their congregation. Let's talk.
I'm looking for a good abuse prevention video to show to staff and volunteers who work with youth.
A “partnership with” model of power is not about being nice, nor does it come about overnight. We start with safe spaces where we can talk about the construction of gender roles, power differentials, and the changing social values.
There are a variety of good practices out there for screening volunteers and staff, I'd love to hear some of your practices, and reviews of screening companies.
Based in Seattle, the Faith Trust Institute is a faith-based organization that provides written and video resources for the prevention of sexual assault, domestic violence, and church leader misconduct.
Last month, over 90 people gathered at an Inter-classis Safe Church Conference, an event that Classis Huron, has been holding for 20 years. This event was very well organized with many learning materials!
It's important to remember that social media is simply a communication tool and, like all tools, must be used in appropriate ways. As leaders it is up to us to create and maintain appropriate boundaries. Here are some guidelines.
Does your church have a system or policy in place for children's programs that begin mid-service? How do you handle this situation?
As important as annual Safe Church training is for staff and volunteers, it can be a challenge to make it engaging. One church had an idea that worked really well: Safe Church Jeopardy!
Safe Church encourages churches that are working with ex-offenders to develop a covenant of conduct with the individual. Included are sample policies and a discussion about the importance of this process.
The recent resignation of Pastor John Ortberg is yet another reminder that our churches have a great deal of work to do in the area of abuse prevention.
Safe Church Ministry shares a customizable Social Media Policy from Protect Young Eyes, an organization helping families, schools, and churches create safer digital environments.
Safe Church highlights resources for Youth Ministry, Social Media, and Online Streaming.
A 2020 update on the ongoing development of the Code of Conduct for Ministry Leaders in the Christian Reformed Church.
This article includes an update of the actions that have taken place in response to the adoptions made at Synod 2019 regarding the Abuse of Power Report.
As we connect online in the midst of a global quarantine, are we being safe? Are we keeping our children safe? This article offers resources to respond to these very important questions.
View the video recording and the highlights of Safe Church's August 26th webinar with Boz Tchividjian, founder of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment).
https://network.crcna.org/safe-church/sample-safe-church-policiesSafe church policies help protect the most vulnerable among us, especially our children from the devastating effects of abuse.
As a supplement to the Safe Church Policy Toolkit, we are providing these sample policies as examples of what other churches use as their abuse prevention policies.