We are pleased to announce a partnership with Giving Rocket, a company that helps churches fund their vision.

This partnership will give Portable Church® Clients exclusive savings on Giving Rocket’s consultative services and access to education from Giving Rocket specifically geared towards church plants, mobile ministries or multi-site churches.

A Giving Rocket Fundraising Consultation will give churches a personalized, step-by-step fundraising plan, resources to speed up the fundraising process as well as education and tools for engaging individuals, churches and networks while fundraising for their mobile church plant or new, multi-site campus.

We believe this integration of services will add to the success, longevity and financial health of new Church Plants, existing Church Plants & new Multi-Site Churches.

If you’d like more information, give a Project Manager a call today. We want your churches to achieve fund raising success! 800-939-7722.

It is absolutely necessary to establish boundaries for how we interact with children. Remember, our number one goal is the safety and security of the children we teach. We are also responsible to protect our volunteers from false accusations or inappropriate appearances. Let’s take a look at two very important areas of safety:

Physical Touch Guidelines

Appropriate Touch Includes

• Gently touching a child’s shoulders, hands, arms, head and back to comfort
• Using a gentle touch to redirect a child
• Encouraging a child with high-fives, knuckle bumps, or pats on the back
• Sitting a crying preschooler on your lap to comfort them

Inappropriate Touch May Include

• Sitting older children on your lap
• Extended hugging or kissing
• Touching areas that would be covered by a swimsuit
• Any touching to express dominance over the child

Restroom Procedures and Guidelines
It is always best to encourage parents to take their children to the restroom prior to bringing them to class.

• Two unrelated adults could escort the entire group for a restroom break
• Assign a restroom monitor for all classes who remains outside the restroom door
• If pre-school children request assistance the adult may assist without closing the stall
• Ask parents of special needs children to define their child’s needs
• Diapering should include the use of disposable gloves. You may want to call a parent to change a child’s diaper.
• Call parents to assist if a child has an accident

Every church should have clearly defined procedures in place to protect both the children and the volunteers. These procedures must be clearly communicated to anyone working with children. Please stress the importance of protecting the children to everyone involved.

Are there any additional comments or procedures you would add to this list?

Keith Tusing is a Family Ministries Pastor with 20+ years of experience serving churches in Texas, Arizona and Florida. He has been married to his amazing wife, Julie, for 30 years and is the father of six incredible kids. His passion is to see Children’s, Youth and Family Ministries that encourage leaders to partner with parents in developing the next generation.

With the heightened concern for safety among parents, Kidmin leaders must be proactive with security measures. In an era when custody battles have become common place, we must be cautious with how we handle personal information with families. We must also be aware of the growing number of custody battles and how that impacts our ministry. These issues impact every church regardless of its size.

Reminder: The Number One goal is to insure the safety and security of every child entrusted to our care.

To safeguard the physical and emotional welfare of our children requires planning and diligence. The policies that our churches execute must apply to everyone who has contact with children. The steps necessary include:

CHECK-IN

There are a number of ways that can be utilized to check a child into your classroom. These include sign-in sheets, laminated tags with matching numbers, photo id lanyards and computerized systems.

Sign-in Sheets – The parent will sign in their first and last name. The parent fills in the child’s birth date. The parent fills in their phone number where they can be reached at that time. Ask the parent if there are any special instructions, such as: allergies, or if another adult will be picking them up. The parent will then receive a numbered claim tag according to the number they signed in on. The parent will present the claim tag at the time of pick up.

Laminated Tags – Upon your arrival, you’ll fill out a security tag for both the security and identification for your child. The parent will place one tag on the child’s back. The parents will keep the other tag with them during the service and bring it when they pick up their child. Should a child need their parent during the service, the number on the tag will appear on a display board in the sanctuary. The tags will then be matched at pick up.

Computerized – Provide a Check-in Station. Typically the computer utilizes a phone number to retrieve a families information. The parent should verify their information is correct. After the information is verified, a name tag will print for each child as well as a pick-up receipt for the parent. There will be a code on the name tag that is identical to the one on your parent receipt. This code is the ‘family number’ for the week. This security code is randomly assigned each week. The parent will then present the receipt at the time of pick up. (See Pictures of Portable Check-In Stations)

Classroom Check-out is a critical time. Check-Out is when we must be the most vigilant. Insuring that the check-out procedures are followed is essential. Our goal is to be sure that a child is released only to those adults who have been approved by the custodial parent. The safety of the child is our number one priority.

In Part 1, we discussed the essential element of Screening all Kidmin applicants. Now that we have taken the first precautionary step to insure the physical and emotional safety of our children what’s next?

Ongoing supervision is also critical to maintaining a safe and secure environment.

Reminder: The Number One Goal is to insure the safety and security of every child entrusted to our care.

To safeguard the physical and emotional welfare of our children requires planning and diligence.  The policies that our churches execute must apply to everyone who has contact with children. The steps necessary include:

SUPERVISION

Identification – Approved volunteers should be easily identifiable.  This can be accomplished in a number of different ways: name tags, t-shirts, color lanyards, etc.  Name tags could include a photograph of the volunteer. You may also consider posting volunteer photographs at the entrance of the classroom in another option. This way, parents will be able to easily identify volunteers and also begin to know them by name.

Two Person Rule – There must be a minimum of two non-related adults present before a child may be checked into a classroom.  At no time should any adult be alone in a room with a child.

Visits – As the primary leader of a Children’s Ministry we should regularly visit classrooms.  This gives us an opportunity to monitor both the security and emotional temperature in the room. We can also use this opportunity to observe the teaching techniques being implemented in the classroom.

Report – Any suspected abusive incidents MUST be reported immediately.  The Lead Pastor and pastoral staff must be notified immediately and the incident should be clearly documented.  While privacy and confidentiality should be protected, the safety of the child must be our number one concern.  Protect the child, yourself and the church by accurately reporting any suspected abuse.

The next post in this series will look at how we can manage the Security of Check-in and Checkout.

I want to share some fundamental material that will benefit both the newbie and the veteran Kidmin Leader. For the leader new to Children’s Ministry these may be issues you haven’t addressed yet. For the veteran leader these may be reminders that will help stimulate fresh ideas or approaches.

Safety and Security, from a parent’s perspective, is quite possibly the highest priority. The number one goal is obviously to insure the safety and security of every child entrusted to our care.

To safeguard the physical and emotional welfare of our children requires planning and diligence. The policies that our churches execute must apply to everyone who has contact with children. The steps necessary include:

Screening

Background Checks – requiring background checks of everyone including staff and volunteers is absolutely essential. Background services are available for a fee and your church insurance company may require a particular type of background check. The service you use should include national, state and county background checks.

References – be sure to follow up and call all references. I have been surprised how often over the years this has helped me to make the right call on placing someone.  When people know that you are working to protect children, they have a tendency to be honest in their evaluation of others.

Rejections – anyone with questionable suitability should be excluded from working with children. Sexual misconduct is not the only thing that should disqualify an applicant. Emotional instability or a history of abusive behavior would also be grounds for rejection.

Screening is an absolute must and the first step we should take when someone offers to work with our children. In tomorrow’s post, we’ll discuss supervising those who have become Approved Volunteers.

A church in the Carolinas is selling their equipment purchased in November 2006. This is a complete System, listed in *good* condition.

• (8) Portable Church® Shelf Cases
• (4) Portable Church® Kids Cases
• (1) Portable Church® TV Case
• (2) Portable Church® Audio Racks
• (1) Portable Church® 7′ x 24′ Trailer
  + All of the equipment inside of the cases

This is a bulk sale with a price of $25,180 (an incredible deal!). Interested parties can contact  Brian Phipps @ 913.375.6831 or online at lifegroupdude@gmail.com.

A full inventory list and a complete set of pictures from Brian are available upon request.

• Used Portable Church® Equipment – Michigan & Atlanta: http://ow.ly/848z7
• A Letter to NYC Churches: http://ow.ly/8490y
• Top 10 Reasons to Start a Church in a Movie Theatre: http://ow.ly/848HQ
• Discover a “Google a Day”:  http://ow.ly/8493v
• Ten Cool Web Features to Include Newcomers:  http://ow.ly/8498a
• More Great Tips for Recruiting Church Tech Volunteers: http://ow.ly/849oE
• Create a Media Storm for Your Church: http://ow.ly/849wk
• Breaking an Online Addiction: http://ow.ly/849gH
• Seven Characteristics for Church Greeters: http://ow.ly/849lj
• A List of Facilities to Rent for Portable Churches (not including Schools):  http://ow.ly/849Ek 

Follow us on twitter here: @portablechurch, @kendramalloy, @kevintoddjones. If you’re not on twitter, fan us on facebook for updates.

We partnered with almost 300 different churches.

We spent almost 100 days, or 50 Weekends, training (and getting inspired by) churches across North America.

We commissioned more than 970 Road Cases – cases which allow churches to move in & out of their buildings efficiently.

We drove a little more than 49,000 miles delivering Portable Church® Systems all over North America – systems which enable volunteers and empower leadership teams.

We delivered 38 miles of extension cords – helping churches source power, and thus power the message of Christ, at their rented facilities.

We spent more than 800 Hours racking Audio and Video Cases – these cases are now part of the mission of spreading the Gospel in hundreds of communities.

We installed 2,500 feet of Children’s Dividers - these dividers created classrooms for more than 200 children.

We loaded and (portably) installed more than 200 Speakers, more than 220 Microphones and almost 100 Projectors –these are tools that enable people to hear the Gospel – loud & clear.

We brought 490 Carpets and 2,340 Units of Children’s Flooring into churches which, back to back, provides more than 2.5 Miles of Flooring for children to sit upon & hear the Word of God

We flew more than 300,000 Miles to meet with churches in person and hear, personally, about their vision for their community. We left inspired each time.

We helped churches open, in one Sunday Service, more than 13,000 seats for adults to hear the Gospel and more than 6,000 seats for children.

These numbers are our year-end celebration. These are the numbers that motivate, inspire & spur us on.What an awesome privelege we have to be a part of the movement of Christ through mobile ministries like yours.

If you entrusted us with your vision this year – thank you. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your story. Because of your trust, we have been inspired, awed & humbled. We will continue to do everything we can, to the best of our ability, to equip and contribute to the spreading of the Gospel through all of your churches across the nations.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Evident Church in Michigan is selling an Encased Video Kit. Originally purchased in 2008, this kit is in great condition. Pictures here. Items inside case include a 5.6″ Color Monitor, Professional DVD Player, Video Scaler/Converter/Switcher w/ Phoenix Connectors. All for only $1300! Interested parties should contact Josh Hossler | 586.246-0938 | josh@evidentchurch.com SOLD

Compass Church in Metro Atlanta is selling Video Equipment as well. Originally purchased in 2009, this equipment is listed as “Almost New”. For sale is (1) Marshal Triple 4″ Video Cuing Monitor Panel (ME-V-R43P), (2) Kramer Video Scaler / Converter / Switchers (VP-719XL) w/ Phoenix Connectors, (1) LittleLite Right Angle 4-Pin XLR Gooseneck Lamp. Interested parties should contact Randall Wright | crandallwright@gmail.com | 469.400.7565

Jason Gratehouse, also in Atlanta, is selling Used Cases & Trailer. This is a second generation system – Jason bought this system used from a Portable Church Client in 2009. These Cases were built in 2004 – and are listed in “Excellent Used Condition”. For Sale Are:

• (6) Shelf Cases
• (3) Kids Cases
• (2) TV Cases
• (1) Table Case
• (1) Mixing Console Case (Will House up to 32 Channel Board
• (1) Portable Church® 7′ x 24′ Trailer