Statistics

Safe from
Harm

A Church
Policy

The
Memory
Debate

Helping
Survivors

Inspirations

How as a church can we formulate a policy?

Here is a simple step by step process for your church to have its own child protection policy, no matter where in the world your church is based.

1. Download the information provided. This is the child protection policy used by our church.
2. The church Minister should set up a committee to read through the document and alter it to suit local needs and demands.
3. The revised document should be given to the church leaders (plural) who should send a copy to the local child protection government agency ( in UK to the County Child Care Co-Ordinator) and a Christian agency dealing with child protection ( in UK the PCCA). All three should be asked to amend the document as they believe necessary with an explanation why.
4. These amendments should then be discussed by the committee and a final document produced.
5. The leadership formally adopt the amended document.
6. Before the document is presented to anyone the Church leaders should be prepared (trained) to handle any difficult counselling issues that may arise. It could be the case that some adults in their congregation were abused as children and painful memories may well be stirred up.
7. The leadership present the document to the church's children's workers, emphasising the need for their co-operation in the implementation of the policy. It should be clearly explained that the policy protects them as well as the children.
8. The leadership present the document to the church membership, with particular emphasis on the role of the whole community to protect children.
9. The children's workers should review the policy and the guidelines regularly to ensure that the working practices of the children's workers are as high as can be expected. It is easy to implement the document and then not to refer to it again, this only serves to give a false sense of security.
10. The leadership should help and encourage other churches to implement a policy. If you have any suggestions that will improve our policy please let us know. It is only by working together in unity that by God's grace we can overcome our common enemy.