Welcome

Michigan UMC Conference is committed to providing safe places of worship and fellowship to everyone they serve and has partnered with Safe Gatherings to promote and implement this belief. Below, we have put together information and resources we hope you will find helpful. It’s our shared goal that 100% of the churches in the Conference will complete the Safe Gatherings designation and become approved through this program. It’s our deepest desire that church members and visitors feel comfortable and confident trusting your team with their loved ones. This designation is an additional formal layer of protection for everyone from children to adults, and church staff to volunteers. We believe we are all called to protect the vulnerable in our world and encourage all Safe Gatherings organizations to do the same by leveraging these resources.

How it Works

Quick and easy online application.
Visit www.safegatherings.com and click the red “New User” button to get started.

Is your church not yet signed up? No problem—our “New User” system will guide you through sending an account activation form to the appropriate church representative.

Clergy members: Please note that Clergy should not register with their local church. All Clergy will register under the Michigan Clergy (Lansing, MI) account.

Church staff and volunteers: Register directly with your local church.

Online abuse prevention training.
Applicant will have access to the training course once their application has been submitted. Course is about one and one-half hours in length and covers best practices, how to recognize signs of abuse, and how to handle reporting.

Background check processed.
County, State and Federal Checks processed along with our standard national criminal search, and review of the National Sex Offender Registry. If needed, applicants can add a driving record check during registration.

Components

Service	Included
Background	✓
Safe Gatherings Abuse Prevention Training	✓
Online Management System	✓
Driving Records	Optional

Approval is valid for 3 years

A great compliment to the Safe Gatherings program is our library of online courses offered through CongregationU. As a partner of Safe Gatherings, you will receive a 20% discount on an unlimited package through CongregationU. Contact us to take advantage of this offer!

How Do I Get Started?

Resources

Through Safe Gatherings’ parent company, Validity Screening Solutions, we can offer additional resources to complement your Safe Gatherings approval package. These services would be run by Validity Screening Solutions, outside of the Safe Gatherings approval process.

Explore Resources Supporting the Michigan Conference’s Protection Policy & Sexual Ethics HERE.

If you are interested in learning about Social Media Screening, Drug Testing, or other complementary services, please contact Validity Screening Solutions HERE.