When Jesus told the masses to let the children come to me, he set the standard for including children in our faith, our worship and our church.

Our church has adopted and implemented a Safe Sanctuary Program and has made large strides toward making certain that our children are revered in the way Jesus intended, that coming to church is a happy occasion, and that the tragedies that have befallen children in other places of worship do not happen here.  Under our Safe Sanctuary policy, we have taken steps to make certain that opportunities for such situations are minimized and that we have effective means in place for reporting and addressing suspected abuse, whether it should happen at church or during a church activity or elsewhere.

Our Safe Sanctuary program is based on the book Safe Sanctuaries by lawyer and minister John Thornburg Melton.  It was officially implemented on October 30, 2011 during a meeting of our Church Council.

Under our policy, there are procedures in place for volunteer background checks, volunteer training, supervision of children in learning situations, observational accommodations to doors, sign in and sign out procedures etc.  Safe Sanctuary policies and procedures are available in the St. John Church office and under the auspices of the Christian Education Council.

We conduct training every year, prior to Vacation Bible School.  Training occurs in the classroom and online.  For further questions about Safe Sanctuary training contact Pastor Janet, David Carter, Church Council Chair and Safe Sanctuary Trainer or Susan Carter, Sunday School Superintendent.