|
Youth Group Activities
Youth outreach programs are a wonderful extension of a congregation. These programs provide a relevant way to impact young groups of individuals with common interests and desire for spiritual growth. We encourage you to evaluate your youth outreach program’s safety criteria and ask yourself what is necessary to get your religious message out within the parameters of a safe environment.
Guidelines to consider:
- Establish a written mission statement, safety manual and staff handbook.
- Require all requests for events be submitted in great detail to the church board well in advance of a known event.
- Employ careful and commonsense consideration for any liability risks to individuals and the church. Deny requests that involve games and activities which do not meet the safety criteria. Do not allow any last minute exceptions or changes for any reason.
- Inform and educate the youth leadership committee on the mission statement of the youth group and encourage them to uphold the safety guidelines.
Topics and Questions to ask your youth leadership when designing an outreach program:
- Is it necessary to host youth events with activities boasting above average risk levels?
- Are flashy events worth the liability risk to participants and the insured?
- Is the event designed to reinforce religious beliefs or is it simply a quick gimmick to attract the attention of youth for entertainment purposes only?
- Is it necessary to mimic the activities of highly-charged reality television programs or is the counterpoint found in a simple message or religious teaching?
Youth groups are filled with energy and vitality! Please welcome youth input as you look for exciting ways to energize your outreach program. Just be ready to temper activities to prevent an unfortunate liability claim from being filed.
|