Child Protection Policy Information

In order to provide a caring and secure environment for children and youth in all phases of church life, the Church of the Good Shepherd continues to monitor and enforce the following child protection policies (briefly summarized):

• Prior to becoming involved in children or youth ministries, a volunteer must be established in the church community.



• All staff and volunteer workers will cooperate with a confidential screening for past child abuse convictions or expunges and other criminal convictions.



• Regular training on child safety and protection issues will be required for all who work with children or youth.



• Whenever children or youth are involved, every effort will be made to have two adults with them at all times.



• All discipline will be gentle, loving and firm.



• Classrooms or child care rooms may be visited at any time without prior notice.
  
  You may download a complete copy of our Child Protection Policy and Procedures.

Annual Training & Review for Volunteers:

Training review information is available online for persons working with children or youth, to read at your convenience, however, annual review must be completed by Labor Day of each year. We require that a record be kept to make sure all of our workers are in compliance. This is important for the protection and safety of our children and church.

  First step.  Please read through "Creating Safe Sanctuaries" (a PDF document), a child protection presentation. Note there is a video that goes with the presentation in the church library.

  Step 2.     Please read and complete the Child Abuse Knowledge Inventory and check your answers.

  Step 3.     Please read and review the church's Child Protection Policy and Procedures.

  Step 4.     Please fill in the form below and press submit. This information will be kept on file.

Who is the Greatest? Mark 9:33-37

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he [Jesus] was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

THANK YOU!
Sponsored by Children Youth Ministries
Church of the Good Shepherd

Additional Information

If you are interested in further information, please see the following:

• Child protection guidelnes as recommended by the Virginia Conference Children's Section.

• Child protection checklist as recommended by the Virginia Conference Children's Section.

• An excerpt from the Book of Resolutions , taken from the Virginia Conference website.

• All God's Children checklist from the Bishop's Initiative on children and poverty.

• Visit www.vaumc.org and click on "ministries" and then "children's ministries" then "child protection."