Children hold a special place with our Lord and need our protection while they are at any church functions. Whether they are a helpless infant, an impressionable kid, or an alienated teen, all deserve a safe place among us.
Start that protection by establishing staff policies that determine who can work with minors in your church, whether its paid employees or volunteers. Your Church Employee Handbook is an important place to set these standards in writing, so that everyone understands and follows them.
A sample policy covering Working with Minors might start with something like this:
Working with Minors
Before anyone is allowed to work or volunteer with minors at (CHURCH NAME), he or she must
complete our application form, be fingerprinted, and have a background check successfully run.
We do not allow anyone (whether staff or volunteer) to work with children if they have ever
engaged in any child neglect, molestation, exploitation, or abuse. Everyone is expected to follow the
Church’s guidelines for protecting the children and youth who attend (CHURCH NAME) or any
of its events or functions.
As your ministry grows, that policy can expand with added details like: restricted areas where photography is banned, restrictions on who can change diapers, avoiding pesticides and herbicides around children, sick child policies, pick-up and drop-off restrictions, as well as guidance on transporting or counseling minors.
Your employee handbook shouldn’t have procedures that are prone to change (pick-up times, particular events, and so on), but should have those policies that need to be consistent, no matter the location or event.
Need Help Crafting your Church Policies Concerning Minors?
See us at New Wind. We design church employee handbooks that cover this topic and all the other procedures and policies that are necessary for your church to thrive at ministering to toddlers, children, and youth.
Learn More: Church Employee Handbooks
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