“One of the features I love most about coming to First United Methodist Church is knowing my children will be safe.” says Stephanie Shields parent and Safe Sanctuaries Coordinator. Because of the Safe Sanctuaries program offered and required through the Methodist Church, all teachers, guides, helpers and volunteers working with any child up through the 12^th grade must be certified. “I know when I drop my child off for any church related activity those helping have been through a background check and have been recommended to work with our kids” Shields states.

 

In 2002, FUMC started the local “Safe Sanctuaries: Child & Youth Protection” training program. At that time, the course was a 3 hour on-site class. Today, it has developed into an on-line course that takes about an hour to complete plus a one-hour on-site follow-up offered once a year. The best thing about it is you can take the course at your own speed. If you need to stop for any reason, no problem! Just start up where you left off. This certificate is good for four years and certifies the individual for our congregational and conference events (i.e. camps and WOW). 

 

During training, you will learn how to detect different forms of abuse and how to interact with the children/youth and what is acceptable behavior for yourself and the child/youth.

 

When children come to Sunday school, COOL Kids, or other events, their parents can rest assured that their children will be in the best care.

 

So, if you’d like to help with any children/youth program, you must become Safe Sanctuaries certified. Please call Stephanie at 660-582-4821 or email her at pastoralasst@earthlink.net she will be happy to get you started.