Northwood Presbyterian Church seeks to protect all children and youth involved in the ministries of this congregation, adults working with them, and the congregation itself from harm and accusation of harm.

As a community of faith and commitment to Jesus Christ, we are committed to children and youth as the first priority in Christ’s rule of love. We honor the vows that our congregation takes in the baptism of children to act as spiritual parents, to teach them the way of Christ by our words, our actions, and our practices as a community. We support and encourage parents in their tasks of raising children to know and love God. We endeavor to make our activities and relationships with children a sanctuary of protection and growth in grace that becomes a model for other places in God’s world.

To that end, these policies and procedures are presented as elements of a “safe church” program. The program is intended both to foster a safe environment for children and youth and to educate regarding inappropriate behaviors during church-related activities. The session adopts the following policy for working with children and youth (18 years and younger, hereafter referred to as “minors”), in keeping with the mission statement of the congregation, as policy for all organizations and activities at Northwood Presbyterian.

Click here to view the entire "Safe Church" Covenant document for Northwood Presbyterian Church.