Having trouble viewing this email? Click here
Aug. 24, 2022 | "Transformed Lives Transform Lives"
Prepare for fall programming by completing
Safe Sanctuary training now
At the heart of all it does, the Baltimore-Washington Conference is committed to the safety and well-being of young people and vulnerable adults in the church’s care.

As fall approaches, this is a busy time for churches as they prepare their leaders for the upcoming program year. To assist in preparing leaders, the Conference has partnered with Safe Gatherings.

Safe Gatherings provides an efficient, cost-effective way to train new or returning volunteers and complete background checks all in one place so churches have their people ready to serve as Sunday school teachers, nursery attendants, and youth group workers.

This resource is a companion piece to the book Safe Sanctuaries: Reducing the Risk of Abuse in the Church for Children and Youth, by Joy Thornburg Melton, which the Conference has adopted as its policy for keeping children and youth safe.  
 
Safe Gatherings is a comprehensive system that incorporates an online application, online abuse prevention training, several levels of background checks, and paperless reference checks for people who volunteer or are employed with churches, schools, and organizations that serve or work with children, youth, and vulnerable adults.
 
The price per non-clergy applicant for the individual church program available through the Safe Gatherings website is $37. In the initial rollout of the Safe Gatherings resource, the Conference is covering $20 of this cost, leaving a balance of $17 per applicant. This includes processing of two electronic references, a national and county of residence 7-year background check, national and state of residence Sex Offender Registry check, and the two-hour online abuse prevention and boundary awareness training.
 
Contact the Safe Gatherings team at contact@SafeGatherings.com or 888-241-8258 to provide the contact information for your church or group. As soon as the church is set up within Safe Gatherings, your applicants will be able to follow the links to begin their Safe Gatherings approval.
 
Learn more about Safe-Sanctuaries, Safe Gatherings, and preventing sexual misconduct within the church.