Where you are regarding your relationship with Jesus Christ?
(e.g. Scripture reading, worship, prayer, fasting, tithing, offerings, helping others, evangelism, Christian meditation, solitude, fellowship)
Thank you for your interest in serving as a volunteer leader in a Family Ministry environment: Basecamp, Little Campers, Middle School, and High School. We appreciate your willingness to take the time to complete the application process and attend our orientation. There are a few things we want to make sure we say up-front as you begin the orientation process.
By choosing to enter into a student leadership role in one of our Family Ministry environments, you are entering a position of authority. Our kids and students will watch you closely and take what you say seriously. We think that is a good thing. Leaders should be role models. The challenge is that being a role model is all-encompassing.
As a role model, your lifestyle is part of the equation. What you present on Sunday should be consistent with who you are in your various roles for the remainder of the week.
In the past, that was all that needed to be said. There was consensus around what constituted consistency between Sunday morning behavior and life in general. As culture has changed, however, there is a need to be more specific. The three issues that surface the most have to do with sexual relationships, substance abuse, and social media.
The last thing we want to do is put you in a position where you feel pressure to teach, represent, or appear to give assent to a view on one of these subjects that you do not personally embrace. So on these three subjects, here is what we expect volunteers to communicate and model:
Regarding Sexual Behavior:
Our interpretation of Scripture leads us to teach that sex was created by God as an expression of intimacy between a man and woman within the context of marriage. The desire is for our leadership to remain consistent and clear in this teaching while preventing situations where leaders might feel forced to represent something they are not or teach something they do not believe. In light of this desire, we ask the following:
If you are involved in a sexual relationship outside of marriage, we ask that you not lead in Family Ministry at this time but allow us to connect you into other areas to serve.
In the spirit of being a good role model, if you are single and living with a member of the opposite sex, we ask that you not lead in Family at this time but allow us to connect you into other areas of the church to serve.
Regarding Substance Behavior
If you have a history of alcohol or drug abuse, this might be something God uses in a positive way to steer a future generation in a different direction. If you feel that this is part of your message and perhaps part of your motivation for wanting to get involved with Family Ministry, we would love to talk with you further. While we might disagree on the timing of your involvement, we don’t want to miss an opportunity to partner with what God is up to in your life.
If you have been arrested for or convicted of an alcohol- or drug-related offense in the past twelve months, we ask that you not volunteer at this time.
If you are currently in treatment for alcohol or drug abuse, we ask that you not volunteer at this time.
If you have used marijuana or any other illegal substance during the past twelve months, we ask that you not volunteer at this time.
If consuming alcohol to the point of being unable to drive or to the point of it being illegal for you to drive yourself home is a regular part of your weekend or weeknight routine, we ask that you not volunteer at this time.
Regarding Social Media Behavior:
The kids in your small group will visit your Facebook page. So will their parents. If you blog, use Instagram or maintain a Twitter account, some in your group will opt to keep up with you through those mediums as well. While social media can be a great connection tool, it also serves as a window into your life beyond Sunday. In light of that, we ask that you leverage social media with your group members in mind. We realize this is a judgment call.
