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It’s been incredibly encouraging to see how much our recent sermon series “Six Steps to Loving Your Church” has impacted our congregations. I’ve watched so many of us have a renewed intent to love and serve each other in so many different ways, grasping hold of the opportunity to exercise a “ministry of the pew” as we gospel one another in everything that we do.

To love the Church properly is to seek the best for each other. We’re convinced that the prime means to do that is to speak of the goodness of Jesus – to tell each other the gospel! And it obviously extends into how we are together.

One of the often-overlooked aspects of our common gospel life is the need to make sure we are working hard together to ensure that the most vulnerable amongst us are protected and safe at all times. I don’t need to tell you of how damaging it is every time we hear yet another allegation of abusive behaviour against someone in a church community – and so often it is someone who because of their age or another factor was unable to protect themselves.

This is why it’s so important that each and every one of us has the opportunity to train in Safe Ministry. It’s very easy for us to think “that’s just something for people working with kids” but Safe Ministry is so much more than that. Like the effect of herd immunity in a population to combat contagious diseases, the more of us that are trained in Safe Ministry, the less opportunity we give for someone to come amongst us and prey upon a vulnerable person.

So what is Safe Ministry?

Safe Ministry is the term we use to describe the way in which we shape everything that we do at church and beyond so that children, young people and other vulnerable people (of which there are many) are always safe from abuse and harm. You may also have heard the term “safeguarding” to describe the same thing.

Safe Ministry is made up of not just specific rules and regulations that we meet in order to have as safe an environment as possible but also a “safe ministry mindset” that shapes how we think about our time together and begins to influence everything that we do. I hope you can see that Safe Ministry is therefore something that each and every one of us can and should be part of.

What can I do?

The very best thing you can do to help us grow a Safe Ministry culture at St John’s is to undertake Safe Ministry Training yourself. For most of us this can be done online at the very low price of $20!

CLICK HERE to find out more.

If you would like to attend in-person training (which costs $50) then CLICK HERE for more information.

I have a few more questions

If you’d like to know anything else about Safe Ministry Training the first place to go is the Safe Ministry website. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for there then do please contact your congregation pastor. Alternatively, if you have any questions or concerns and don’t feel comfortable speaking to a pastor, you can reach out to our Safe Ministry Representative, Julia Kim.

Thank you for considering how you can be part of St John’s building a Safe Ministry culture as we seek to continue to love each other.

David Ould
Senior Associate Pastor

 

Pray: Give thanks for the encouragement and impact of the "Six Steps to Loving Your Church" sermon series, and for the renewed intent to love and serve one another within the congregation. Ask God for wisdom and diligence as we strive to protect the most vulnerable amongst us through Safe Ministry. Ask God to guide each member to embrace a Safe Ministry mindset, ensuring that all may experience the love of Christ in a safe and caring environment.