February 2008

Welcome to WWM Talk, the e-newsletter for Walk With Me coordinators and teachers. If you have any questions about information in this issue (or anything else), give us a call at 1-800-333-8300 or e-mail us.

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In This Issue

Protecting the kids you lead

This Valentine’s Day, show the kids and families in your community how much you love them by providing a safe place for them to grow in faith.

Teacher Talk

It’s a tough world for kids these days. The evening news is full of frightening accounts of domestic violence, gang activity, online predators, and clergy abuse charges. Your Walk With Me group needs to be a safe place where kids can connect with God, with each other, and with caring adults who seek the best for them. Consider these ways to make that happen.

Nip Bullying in the Bud
Help your group come up with clear guidelines for how to treat and talk to one another. Tell your kids that if anyone makes them feel uncomfortable you want to know about it.

Follow Your Church’s Safety Policy
Many churches have rules in place that limit one-to-one contact between kids and adults, or require more than one adult to be present when working with kids. These policies may seem inconvenient at times, but the effort is worthwhile to ensure the safety of kids. Guidelines also help parents and caregivers feel comfortable sending their kids to your program.

Be Prepared to Help
Sign up for church—or community—sponsored training workshops that focus on identifying symptoms of child abuse, developing awareness of abuse, reporting suspected child abuse, and understanding the dynamics of abuse. As an adult who cares, you may be the one who helps protect a kid from a dangerous situation.

Listen and Respond
If a child shares a story of abuse, listen compassionately without expressing fear, disgust, or disbelief. Offer support and let the child know you care. Reassure him that it was good that he told you and remind him that what happened was not his fault. Don’t frighten him by talking about police or medical exams; instead, simply let the kid know that other adults need to hear what happened in order to make things better.

If you hear a story of abuse or are concerned for a child’s safety, speak to the Sunday school director or a church leader immediately. Don’t doubt your instincts or second-guess the story you heard. The coordinator will help you minister to the kid and family, as well as take steps to protect the child by reporting the abuse.

Coordinator’s Corner

As the person who recruits, trains, and assigns children’s ministry volunteers, you have a significant role to play in protecting kids. Use the following tips to partner with parents, council members, and volunteers to make safety a priority in your church.

Abuse Prevention
Frequently review and update your church’s abuse prevention policies.

  • Outline processes for screening staff and volunteers, for reporting abuse, and for reducing the risks of one-to-one contact.
  • Look for ways to improve your meeting spaces and make them more visible (by adding new windows, doors etc.).
  • Provide teachers with a clear discipline policy that specifies appropriate and inappropriate methods of discipline.

Volunteer Training
Provide your volunteers, and all adults in your congregation, with annual training in abuse prevention by a qualified individual.

  • Contact your denominational office to learn about the training options they provide.
  • The Office of Abuse Prevention in the Christian Reformed Church offers on-site training along with resources and conferences.
  • The Reformed Church in America recommends many excellent tools for training and prevention.
  • Local training may be available through community centers, child protection agencies, counseling centers, the police department and schools.

Abuse Awareness
Help your kids learn that they are image-bearers of God who deserve to be treated with love and respect. Use Faith Alive’s two-session Safekeeping curriculum or other awareness curricula to teach kids to recognize abusive behaviors and help them discover ways to protect themselves and identify trusted adults who can help.

Prayer
Trust the Lord for the protection of the kids in your program. It’s frightening to imagine that abuse could happen in your church or in the homes of kids in your ministry. But as you tweak policies and supervise volunteers, remember that God is the source of all provision and protection. Ask him not only for protection, but also for eyes to see any danger that’s there so that you can intervene to help a child in need.

Recommended Resources


Safekeeping: Session Plans for Developing Abuse Awareness in Kids is designed to equip children and youth with an awareness of abuse and to provide strategies to deal with potentially dangerous situations. Click here to read a sample chapter.

 

 

 

Preventing Child Abuse: A Guide for Churches will help your church set in place a comprehensive child abuse prevention program. Inside you’ll find general prevention policies, screening procedures for volunteers and staff, signs and symptoms of child abuse, guidelines for responding to a child's report of abuse, and much more. Click here for more information.

 

Responding to Domestic Violence: A Resource for Church Leaders helps pastors and other church leaders respond to and prevent domestic violence. Includes resources for premarital counseling, addressing legal issues, and a variety of other areas. Click here for more information.

 

 

 

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