We pledge to make our church a holy place where all children may come to know God and experience the love of Jesus Christ, but tragically, churches have not always been safe places for children. The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, in April 1996, adopted a resolution aimed at reducing the risk of child sexual abuse in the church. In 1999 the Mississippi Annual Conference approved its own child abuse prevention policy statement. As a part of its 2000 report to Annual Conference, the Coordinating Council for Children's Ministries was to present recommended guidelines and procedures for implementing such policy in the local church. But due to a time crunch at Conference, the Council was unable to give its full report and present these guidelines and procedures.
Complete sets are available in the conference office.
Protecting church staff and volunteers who work with children and youth. Protecting the ministry and outreach of the church. It only takes one incident of abuse to scar a child for life. It only takes one false allegation to ruin someone s life. Have a child abuse prevention statement that is approved by the Administrative Board and readily available to members of the congregation, staff, and volunteers.