At Riverside Friends, we strongly believe in the need to protect our children. That's why we included this section on our website. Every church believes that it won't happen to them. We believe it could happen here and take every step to ensure it doesn't. We protect our children in two ways: first, through our staff and volunteers, and second, through our children themselves.
The Church vets our staff and volunteers to ensure they have no history of abuse. They receive regular training and have a reporting plan if something comes up. We, as staff and volunteers, don't meet with kids or youth one-on-one. There are times, though, when this is unavoidable; at these times, staff and volunteers know who is meeting and where, and they are regularly checked upon. No staff or volunteer is left alone with a child for an extended time. No kids are left unattended without supervision for an extended time.
We teach the kids three things: Respect God, Respect Yourself, Respect Others. From this, we have a no-tolerance policy when it comes to violence or fighting. Kids who are violent to other kids get taken home immediately and have to sit out a week.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us. Your kids' safety is our priority.
If you want theological insights on this topic, we preached through Scot McKnight's book A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing. Those sermons can be found here.