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 >>Wednesday, November 14th, 2018
Last week, Safe Gatherings mailed out window clings to organizations that are committed to protecting the vulnerable by screening and training those who work with vulnerable populations. The churches and organizations that received the window clings have met the criteria for our first recognition program, which is a certain number or percentage of active Safe […]
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 […]
Read More >>Friday, October 19th, 2018
“Why do I, a respected member of this organization, need training about protecting children? I’ve been working around kids for 15 years!” You have probably heard this in your church or organization many times. Or maybe you’ve said it a couple of times yourself. As a leader, you are trying to encourage best practices and […]
Read More >>Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Summer camp can represent the very best of summer for kids. Getting away from mom and dad (maybe for the first time), learning responsibility, navigating the challenges of bugs and scrapes, and most importantly, having fun in the sun! But summer camp can also be one of the biggest risks for the churches and other […]
Read More >>Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Imagine this scenario: The church where you work is expanding, and they are considering moving the children and youth ministry to other areas within the large facility. The good news is that the growing ministry will now have bigger classrooms, more space, and separate restroom areas. However, the new space is in a basement area […]
Read More >>Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instant Messenger … the social media options are endless and constantly evolving. Not only do children and teenagers have more access to technology than ever before, but also you can bet that many of your staff and volunteers spend a fair amount of time on social media. Social media can be positive […]
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