If a pedophile were to target your church, heaven forbid, would you be prepared for it?
A healthy Children’s Ministry should have a robust system for providing security. At my first church, before scanning and printing name tags was realistic (or possible) we used a simple sign in and out method. Parents signed for their children at drop off; then, when they picked their kids up, signed again and showed their I.D. It was basic but functional.
When I was called to serve at Southeast Christian (SECC), a church with more children on any given weekend than people in my home town, we had a more secure program which I had to learn and adapt to. Now that I have become accustomed to how we do things at SECC, I have found it difficult to drop my kids off at churches which don’t even have a basic system in place for security.
If your church cannot afford a system which prints tags and checks kids in and out… that is fine. I believe most churches are in this boat. However, this does not mean you are not still responsible for providing a secure environment. In fact, your church will be held accountable for it if you allow a child to go home with the wrong person or to be endangered by someone with criminal intent.
One of the key bright spots we see in healthy churches is a commitment to providing a safe and relevant environment. Newly constructed churches invest significant value in making sure the building is laid out in a secure fashion. Volunteers are trained to check kids in and out using the best possible technology… even if that tech is as low-tech as pen, paper, and I.D.
What are some things you do at your church to make sure families can drop their children off in a secure environment?
So true. The importance of assessing and implementing children’s security procedures can’t be stressed enough – both for members and visitors. It’s a great reminder that no-cost/low-cost items exist that any church can review and integrate.
Thanks for posting. Also, I’m aware of your resource and it is a great one. I’ve heard good things from friends who use it.
We’ve moved up in the world, going with the computerized check-in/out method. Teachers aren’t to allow anyone to take a child if they don’t have their tag, or unless prior arrangements (if a spouse knows beforehand they’ll be leaving service early, etc.) have been made.
I’ve started using a whiteboard to keep track of students in my classroom, in case we all leave the room or in case of fire or other emergency. As each student comes in I add them to the list; and as each one is picked up I erase their name.
We’ve also taken a more proactive approach to security, providing radios to each check-in station and having two to three men (also with radios) on a security detail roaming the building on any given Sunday. Security personnel are to check rooms (even the unoccupied ones), check doors, check the parking lot, entrances, etc. We also locked nearly every door to the church once service begins (the only open doors are areas that are manned). While the risk is relatively small, to have something bad happen to a child would be unacceptable.
This is great stuff! I’m glad to hear your church is taking security seriously. It really alarms me when people act with indifference about the safety of our children. I’m always surprised to see how secure public schools are and baffled that we are not as intentional at church services.
I like all of these points you added and would like to point out the fact that this is all able to be done regardless of budget.
Thanks for posting.
How about bathroom runs for preschoolers? I know some churches have bathrooms in the preschool rooms but not many. We ask our parents to try to remember to take kids to the bathroom but we know that doesn’t mean kids won’t have to go. We have a “Hall Monitor” volunteer position that we only allow to be a background checked female to take kids to the bathroom – always 2 kids together, no more than 3 (so we don’t have anything too outnumbered). I know this is a hot topic for our parents about safety/appropriateness and they often say they appreciate that we are aware of it. What do you all do?
Emily,
Thanks for adding to the conversation. I found these posts at CMConnect and thought they would add a lot more to the discussion. The community there has talked about this a ton!
Safety Procedures
20 Safeguards for Children’s Ministry
I’ve been working with children’s ministries for the past several years and have compiled a list of best practices for keeping the kids secure. If you’re interested, you can read it at my website: http://bestattendance.com/childrens-ministry-safety-tips/
Good post… thanks for sharing this, Joel.