Thursday, April 18th, 2019
Imagine this scenario: You are the children’s ministry director and it’s Thursday morning before a very busy church weekend. You check your volunteer schedule and realize that one of your volunteers, Margaret, who is scheduled to work the church nursery on Sunday, hasn’t received her Safe Gatherings approval. Margaret started her application two weeks ago […]
Read More >>Thursday, April 18th, 2019
When most of us think of the teenage years, we envision a carefree time filled with friends and lots of laughter. But for many of today’s teens, those carefree, laughter-filled days are replaced with an overwhelming sense of sadness. The reality is that teen depression and anxiety are on the rise. Even more disturbing is […]
Read More >>Thursday, April 18th, 2019
Safe Gatherings has exciting news to share that is designed to make life easier for all admins! Our new Applicant Status Report allows you to view all pending and approved applicants on one screen. For pending applicants, you will see what is completed and what remains to be done. For your approved applicants, you will […]
Read More >>Monday, January 28th, 2019
You already know that Safe Gatherings sends out monthly reminders about individuals in your organization that have approvals expiring at the end of the month. But you may not know that as an account administrator, you can run the expiration report for individuals anytime, for any period of time. Just click on the Expiration Report […]
Read More >>Monday, January 28th, 2019
In a busy church or faith-based organization, it’s important to ensure all employees and volunteers are on the same page. Nothing can accomplish this faster than a good, solid onboarding process. Onboarding allows all of your employees and volunteers to become familiar with the official rules and functions of your organization. Consider it some of […]
Read More >>Monday, January 28th, 2019
Gail is an 82-year-old volunteer at your church. She’s always been upbeat and independent. Her husband recently died, and she now lives with her adult son. As a member of the church staff who has known Gail for years, you start to notice changes in her. Her attendance at church events has gone down and […]
Read More >>Monday, January 28th, 2019
It can be an uncomfortable topic to talk about, but with the rise in media attention about sex trafficking in recent years, it’s important for church leaders to make their staff and volunteers aware of the seriousness of this issue. Sex trafficking is the practice of illegally transporting people from one location to another for […]
Read More >>Monday, December 17th, 2018
In its newsletter last week, the Northern Illinois Conference recognized its member churches who met the criteria to receive window clings from Safe Gatherings. The window clings represent those churches and organizations who were strongly committed to the Safe Gatherings program. To view the newsletter article, click here.
Read More >>Thursday, November 29th, 2018
Recently, the Rio Texas UMC Conference recognized its member churches who were given window clings from Safe Gatherings to honor their participation in the program. As a valuable partner, Rio Texas is committed to protecting the vulnerable, and we thank them for these efforts. To view the newsletter, click here.
Read More >>Friday, October 19th, 2018
You run into Janice in the lobby on Sunday. She says she has started a Safe Gatherings application and wants to know whether she will be approved soon. Later, you check your reports and don’t see her on the approved or expired report. Where do you find her? Answer: Look at the pending report on […]
Read More >>Friday, October 19th, 2018
If you work or volunteer at a large organization where volunteers are lining up at the door to serve, congratulations, and this article is probably not for you. But if you are like most churches and faith-based organizations, you know that volunteers can be hard to come by. Coupled with that, it can be extremely […]
Read More >>Friday, October 19th, 2018
You work in the office part-time at your church in the evenings and often there are youth events happening after regular hours. Your work area is in a position to see the assistant youth pastor’s office. Sometimes, he is with young people alone. On more than one occasion, you’ve seen him “counseling” with a youth […]
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