Appendix A:    FBC Youth Group guidelines                                   5/30/23

Yes it is that time…..Your son or daughter is going to join the Youth Group at Fresno Bible Church.

There will be times of great fun, great friends and great Bible study. This is a critical time in your young person’s life.

The leadership at Fresno Bible Church takes the safety of your son or daughter very seriously.

The guiding principles for our efforts are safety, trust & two-way communication.

Because of the nature of youth work we want to make some room for impromptu fun, study and conversation. But we also want to have a policy that provides you the parent or guardian with confidence in the Youth Staff at Fresno Bible Church. This is truly a balancing act.

We will conduct a parent meeting yearly. This will be an informal communication time and a time to welcome new members to the Youth Group. We want to set the stage for two way communication. It is also a time to update any needed paperwork for the year ahead.

All FBC Youth staff will be over the age of 18.

Every Youth Staff will have a current background check.

Drivers on official FBC Youth events will be over 18 years old and will have a current background check. There will be more than two persons in each vehicle. If this is not satisfactory to you as a parent or guardian you must make your wishes known. We will try, but we can’t give guarantees.

In the event of an activity that has the Youth Group staying overnight.

1. A signed release by parent or guardian.
2. Only biological genders will be rooming together. Males with males, females with females.
3. A Youth Staff member will be assigned to oversee specific rooms. Although they may not sleep in that room, they are responsible to see that we are complying with FBC policy.

Events that will not require a parent or guardian signed release are as follows:
1. Ice cream trips to the Dari Hut.
2. The digital scavenger hunt.
3. Other activities that do not require an overnight stay.
4. Activities within 50 mile radius of Fresno Bible Church.
We endeavor to always have two Youth Staff in a room with the youth at all times.

There are times that this becomes very hard. (IE. Parents do not pick up their youth on time and a Youth Staff member is left waiting with the youth for the parent to come. Or the parent never shows up at all. A youth wanting to talk to a staff member in private.) We need to allow the staff member to use some judgement in how to hold such a conversation. When meeting one-on-one, we will endeavor to:
1. Meet in a public space, if not possible, office door will be open.
2. Inform a parent via phone or text.
3. Ask if another staff member is welcome to the conversation.

Other thoughts to keep in mind:
Informal ministry happens!
Sin is always just right around the corner!