This seems like excellent advice to me and thought it would be worth a thread to collect best practices to do just this. As a pastor I would very much appreciate input on ways to accomplish this.
This ok with you Ms. Izzie?
We've done background checks, try to support young families in educating children on healthy approaches to sex, shadow individuals who make some uneasy, etc...
Can we help each other in this way?
Ms. Izzie wrote:I have an idea.
One man from every congregation represented on this forum (or those who only read) take it upon himself to do something about the issue of sexual abuse in his own congregation.
You don't have to believe it's happening in your own congregation, nor do you need to believe that it is a scourge among Anabaptists. You just be willing to make sure it doesn't happen in your congregation. Suggest steps consistently for however long it takes to ensure that in your congregation this issue is dealt with, and hopefully for most of you it would be preventative measures, instead of dealing with actual abuse cases.
It is hard to make progress on the issue of sexual abuse in a culture where women are told to be submissive, until men step up and protect women and children in their midst.
It's ok with me. If I would've said "and those who only read" instead of "or those who only read", it would have been better. I hope this thread will give ideas that when implemented will change congregations for the better.
At the very least a church should have a written policy in place to set up specific guidelines around the safety of your children and others while they are at church. And how to go about reporting instances if needed.
5 years ago or a little more, our congregation put a policy in place. The congregation had input into it. Our pastor got input from the local police department who were extremely helpful and very pleased to work with people who were doing something before there was an issue.
We review it periodically to make sure newcomers are aware of the policy. Having procedures in place I am confident would be a great help were there ever issues and perhaps talking about it can even help from there ever being issues.
appleman2006 wrote:At the very least a church should have a written policy in place to set up specific guidelines around the safety of your children and others while they are at church. And how to go about reporting instances if needed.
5 years ago or a little more, our congregation put a policy in place. The congregation had input into it. Our pastor got input from the local police department who were extremely helpful and very pleased to work with people who were doing something before there was an issue.
We review it periodically to make sure newcomers are aware of the policy. Having procedures in place I am confident would be a great help were there ever issues and perhaps talking about it can even help from there ever being issues.
I think we need to do something similar at our church. Would you be kind enough to message me a copy of your policy?
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Remember the prisoners, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily. -Heb. 13:3
appleman2006 wrote:At the very least a church should have a written policy in place to set up specific guidelines around the safety of your children and others while they are at church. And how to go about reporting instances if needed.
5 years ago or a little more, our congregation put a policy in place. The congregation had input into it. Our pastor got input from the local police department who were extremely helpful and very pleased to work with people who were doing something before there was an issue.
We review it periodically to make sure newcomers are aware of the policy. Having procedures in place I am confident would be a great help were there ever issues and perhaps talking about it can even help from there ever being issues.
I think we need to do something similar at our church. Would you be kind enough to message me a copy of your policy?
In your parts, EPMC has a rather long booklet, entitled “Child Protection and Safety Concerns “. KMF uses the exact same booklet with a sticker on the inside cover explaining KMF’s take on a few issues contained therein. I believe that Mid-Atlantic uses a similar one. Each church is also required to produce specific guidelines that fit their ministry and facilities.
We borrowed some of our facility based guidelines from some posted in a restroom up Appleman’s way. One of our men copied it, and it was better than anything we could come up with.
You should be able to get one from anyone in either EPMC or KMF.
