Leaders Attend W.O.F Training
At the end of 2018 the Council of Assembly produced a new Child Protection Policy for all churches within the PCANZ. With a goal of staying up to date with current NZ legislation as well as ensuring each church is operating with best practices in their ministry with young people, the Council of Assembly made it a requirement for all churches to put their paid and volunteer childrens and youth ministry leaders through a PCANZ “W.O.F” training before the end of 2019.
The W.O.F training is a one day training which covers ethical practices, health & safety and also looks at the content of the Child Protection Policy and how we can apply this to our ministries.
In order to make this training as accessible as possible to our leaders, Brad and Cheryl (Youth & Childrens Ministry Advisors) have offered the training in four locations across the Presbytery. Additionally PYM and Kids Friendly have developed an online version of the training which allows churches to do the training in their own context in their own time.
This year we have seen over 100 leaders participate in the training days. And with more leaders doing the training online, we are on our way as a Presbytery to training all of our leaders. Whilst the training might sound like a ‘bit of a drag,’ most participants have the content to be engaging, practical and has created some great conversation and reflection. If your church’s children and youth ministry leaders have not taken the training, we would encourage you to contact Brad & Cheryl to help get you started.
As well as each leader having to do the training, each parish is required to appoint a Child Protection Officer. So far, we are aware that approximately ⅓ of our churches have done this. We would like to encourage all churches to complete this task. Brad and Cheryl are the Presbytery Child Protection Officers and can offer advice and support if you need it.
Keep an eye out for more resources, training options and advice. These policies are new and so we are all figuring the application of this together, so please feel free to contact us at the Presbytery office if you have any questions.