Safety, Integrity & Trust

People cannot take spiritual steps if they don't feel safe — and safety is a responsibility every volunteer shares, not just staff. Here are five areas every volunteer needs to understand.

1. Personal integrity

Integrity is the foundation of trust, and trust is the foundation of ministry. That means practicing healthy boundaries: we don't handle money alone, we don't step into emotionally intense conversations we're not equipped to lead, we don't promise confidentiality we can't keep, and we don't meet privately in isolated spaces. Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching — being the same person in private as in public.

2. Physical safety

You don't need to know every emergency procedure, but you do need the basics: who to call, where the exits are, and what to do if someone is injured. Our culture is simple: if you see something, say something. Every volunteer is also a mandated reporter — if you see, hear, or suspect abuse or neglect involving a minor, report it immediately to a staff member or pastor. You're not responsible for investigating; your job is to tell the right people right away.

3. Kids & students safety

We protect children as a whole church. Anyone serving with minors completes a background check, and three guidelines always apply: never be alone with a child, keep the two-adult rule (at least two screened adults present), and follow safe check-in and check-out (tags matter; only approved adults pick up).

4. Digital safety

We protect people online too. Never post pictures of minors without permission, and never private-message a minor — communication happens in group threads, with parents included, or through official church platforms.

5. Spiritual safety

We absolutely want you to share Scripture, pray with people, and point them to Jesus. But some situations — abuse, trauma, addiction, mental-health struggles, self-harm, marital crisis — go beyond what any volunteer should carry alone. Our guideline: we pray with people, but we don't prescribe to people. We don't diagnose, give medical or legal advice, or claim God told us what someone must do. Instead, stay with the person, listen, love, pray — and bring in a pastor or trained leader who can help with next steps. You are never alone in ministry.