It is important that all Nazarene ministries craft and implement policies and procedures addressing the risk of child sexual abuse. A sample policies & procedures form for Children’s Ministry is available on this website (pdf format) – click here to view.click here to view.
Sample policies & procedures (in Word.doc format) for Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, Schools, Day-Care Centers and Camps are available to MinistrySafe members. Click here to learn more. All MinistrySafe sample policies and forms are designed to work within a safety system including Sexual Abuse Awareness Training and the MinistrySafe screening documents/system.
POLICIES & PROCEDURES
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy form; policies and procedures should be tailored to an entity’s particular program, staff, facility, and licensure requirements (if any). The person(s) preparing an entity’s policies and procedures should seek legal advice and determine whether there are any state-specific regulations or statutes that impact an entity’s policies.
Sample Policies
Below is a sample of safety policies for Children’s Ministry. Before accessing the sample safety policies for Children’s Ministry, please review the following terms of access and indicate your acknowledgment and agreement by clicking the check boxes below.
Policies & Procedures are what you DO; not what you SAY you do.
When creating policies and procedures, I acknowledge that simply getting a form (even a very good one) is not very meaningful if it does not fit the ministry/programming at my particular ministry; I acknowledge that my policies must be tailored to my needs.
Policies & Procedures must fit particular ministries/programming.
It is important to note that there are unique provisions in the sample policies that are specific to the age group that participates in “Children’s Ministry”. A change in age or programming very well may change the provisions necessary for policies and procedures. MinistrySafe members have access to sample policies for Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, Schools and Camps. The sample documents available to members are in WORD form and are downloadable and easily modified to accommodate unique program, facilities and program participants.
Sexual Abuse Awareness Training is critical.
Child protection policies are most effective when the staff and volunteers are trained to understand WHY they are being asked to follow the policies. Sexual Abuse Awareness Training provides information to staff and volunteers that allows them to understand sexual abuser characteristics, the grooming process and signs of abuse in a child; with this information, staff and volunteers recognize that each of the policy provisions is based on a principle of safety which allows them to comply with the policies and encourage others to do so.
Policies & Procedures need to be occasionally reviewed and revised.
Policies & Procedures should not be rigid and unchangeable. Ministries should regularly review policies for correct application and usability. This is an opportunity to continue to evaluate weaknesses in the safety system for added protection, or removing/reshaping provisions that are unworkable.
The purpose of this information is to raise abuse awareness and provide a resource for developing appropriate guidelines and procedures for protecting minors and preventing sexual misconduct in the church.
As relevant laws vary, districts and local churches are responsible for ensuring compliance with the specific legal requirements for their locality and situation. Nazarene Safe™ resources are made available as a starting point only. The resources Nazarene Safe™ provides are not warranted to comply with the legal requirements of any particular state or locale and are not intended to be used "as is" without appropriate adaptations to ensure material compliance with applicable law. Local churches should consult their insurance carrier and legal counsel for guidance when developing and implementing a safety plan.
