Nichols Hills UMC is a Safe Sanctuary Church.
Are our children safe? Are our volunteers safe?

Seem like strange questions to be asking in a church! Of course they are. This is God's house.

Many churches across the country have learned the hard way, scarring children and adults for life. There are churches where the unscrupulous go with the intention of harming a child falsely accusing a volunteer of child abuse in order to bring suit against the church and its workers.

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church adopted a resolution aimed at reducing the risk of child sexual abuse in the church. Social Principles of the United Methodist Church state "children must be protected from economic, physical, and sexual exploitation and abuse."

To protect our children AND the volunteers who guide them, we have a policy on Reducing the Risk of Child Abuse and guidelines to support it in all areas of ministry with children and youth.

Our Purpose

Our purpose for this policy and accompanying procedures is to demonstrate our absolute and unwavering commitment to the physical safety and spiritual growth of all our children and youth.

Statement of Covenant

As a Christian community of faith, we pledge to conduct God's ministry in ways that assure the safety and spiritual growth of our children and youth as well as workers with children and youth. We will:

follow reasonable safety measures in the selection and recruitment of paid and volunteer workers implement prudent operational procedures in all programs and events train our workers with children and youth regarding policies and methods including first aid and discipline implement a clearly defined procedure for reporting suspected incidents of abuse, conforming to the requirements of state law and for responding to media inquiries if an incident occurs. What does this mean for us?

It means a few changes. Our paid staff has had background and reference checks run before their hiring. The biggest change will be in recruitment and placement of volunteers.

Background checks will be done on all volunteers seeking to work with children and youth along with the application and interview process. After all paperwork is compiled and reviewed, "cleared" volunteers become certified to work with our children and youth. All information is kept confidential. Training on our policy and procedures completes the certification.

A hassle? Maybe, but if it protects our kids and us, its worth it!