Summer Volunteerism Is Difficult

In church life, there’s a temptation to put aside volunteer protocol that works during the school year, in order to continue the weekly ministry. We ask ourselves,

How can we get creative to run programs with limited volunteers?

We might be able to do that in certain ministry areas. But the decision to run children’s programming with slimmed-down staffing is one we need to weigh very carefully.

How do we make that call?

You need a plan! And this is where Winning Kids Inc comes in. Specifically. their Admin. Leaders and Train the Trainer courses, within Winning Kids Plan to Protect program.

Never heard of Winning Kids Inc. or Plan to Protect before? The should definitely sign up, but let me explain the why first!

Winning Kids assists ministries.

“Winning Kids® Inc. is committed to winning the race against abuse and to create winning environments for children and youth!”
(http://www.winningkidsinc.ca/files/winningkids/WKI-Our%20Standard(1) .pdf)

“Winning Kids Inc. is the STANDARD of abuse prevention and child and youth protection for organizations. Our customized tools, training, policies and procedures help leaders and their organizations meet that standard of protection.” (http://www.winningkidsinc.ca)

That’s where Plan to Protect comes in.

“Plan to Protect™ is not a policy but rather a plan to protect children and youth and a plan to protect your organizations, volunteers and staff.”
(http://www.winningkidsinc.ca/files/winningkids/WKI-Our%20Standard(1) .pdf)

“Many of the sample policies that we have included in Plan to Protect reflect the insurance standards i.e. recruitment and screening and the procedures for children and youth programming.”
(http://www.winningkidsinc.ca/files/winningkids/WKI-Our%20Standard(1) .pdf)

The Bigger Picture

It would be nearly impossible for each church, ministry or non-profit to stay current with government and legal standards surrounding abuse prevention.

The reality is that organizations who try to navigate these waters on their own, often leave themselves at risk in a variety of areas. They know that they should be doing more, but it’s just too much work and their never enough time.

We can’t afford not to make time.

Time after time, in the news media, we hear about another pastor or church worker who has done something unspeakable. As they interview the congregation, the answer’s always the same: “We had no idea!“

Mankind’s nature is a terrifying thing. Satan uses man’s sin to accomplish the most nauseating acts. We can no longer ignore that these events can happen at any moment, within our churches and ministries.

My final pitch to have a plan:

I believe protecting children is God’s desire. Just consider Jesus’ perspective in the Gospels:

“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’” (Mt. 18:2-6)

“People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’” (Lk. 18:15-17)

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts!

What standard do you use within your church or ministry? How are you preventing abuse in your organization?