ChurchSafety

Today's youth worker needs to be more aware than ever of the risks involved in ministry. To help prepare them, use these simple tips to help keep your youth leaders and students safe.

Give out your sexual misconduct policy. Each new volunteer should be given a sexual misconduct policy. This policy could include definitions of sexual abuse, standards of conduct, your church's guidelines for screening and training workers, and procedures to follow if an incident is reported.

Be open. Don't be afraid to talk about the dangers of becoming too close to a youth. Create an atmosphere of trust between your leaders, so they know they can go to anyone on your leadership team if they're struggling with an issue involving a student.

Train your volunteers. Train all staff and volunteers at least once a year in recognizing signs of abuse; also review your policies and procedures.

Provide accountability. Arrange for at least two adult supervisors with minors during church-sponsored activities. It's also a good idea to agree that a supervisor should never be alone with a youth. If a student needs a ride home, ask another leader to ride with you.

Do regular room sweeps. Have church leaders randomly visit classrooms and areas of church buildings that are isolated from view. You might also suggest to the facilities director that all the doors in the church should include a window.

Be gender exclusive. In other words, male leaders should spend most of their time with the male students and female leaders should spend the majority of their time with female students.

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