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Over the past decade, our understanding of safety and security has changed significantly. We think differently about entering large venues, airports, concerts, schools, stores and community events. We pay closer attention to who has access, how people enter and exit and what safeguards are in place.
Churches are no different. The mission of children’s ministry has not changed. We still want children to know Jesus, families to feel that they belong and volunteers to build meaningful relationships with the children and families they serve. What has changed is the environment in which we minister. Expectations, awareness and culture have changed. As ministry leaders, we have a responsibility to respond by leading differently when it comes to safety and security.
There was a time when church children’s ministries operated with relatively informal access. Parents could walk throughout children’s areas, volunteers were recruited casually, bathroom procedures were simple, security tags may or may not have been used and allergy information was often nonexistent. There was an assumption that because we were in a church, everyone was safe.
We know better now.
Safety and security must be foundational to children’s ministry. Clear boundaries, consistent procedures, trained volunteers, controlled access and thoughtful preparation for potential incidents are not barriers to ministry. They create the environment in which ministry can happen well.
Safety Is a Ministry Responsibility
Strong safety practices begin with a simple commitment: We protect the environment so children, families and volunteers can participate in ministry with confidence.
That means establishing clear boundaries, setting high expectations for security, protecting children and volunteers, anticipating potential incidents and communicating procedures clearly enough so staff, volunteers and parents understand what the policies are and why they exist.
It also means accepting that sometimes safety will require us to say no. Recently our church opened its first mobile campus. It was an exciting day. After weeks of preparation, the building was filled with families, balloons, giveaways and the anticipation of seeing God answer the prayers that had gone into launching the new campus.
As I stood at the children’s ministry check-in area, a friendly gentleman approached me.
“My daughter-in-law is serving in children’s ministry today, and I’d like to go see her.”
I smiled and told him that unfortunately he could not go into the children’s ministry area.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I’m not.”
Naturally, he wanted to know why. It gave me an opportunity to explain why our access policies matter. Anyone entering the children’s ministry area must complete the appropriate onboarding process, including a background check, serve application, abuse awareness training and volunteer training.
I understood his perspective. He was a kind man who simply wanted to encourage his daughter-in-law. But our policies cannot depend on whether the person standing in front of us appears trustworthy.
A safety policy is only effective when it is consistently enforced, even when making an exception seems harmless.
In fact, a policy’s effectiveness is often tested when someone asks us to make an exception. We want to help. We want to accommodate people. We do not want to create unnecessary frustration.
But every exception communicates something about the importance of the policy. When we make exceptions, people learn that our policies are optional. However, when we consistently follow them, we communicate that protecting children and volunteers is a responsibility we take seriously.
Boundaries Create Security
Some leaders may wonder whether strong policies and procedures can make a children’s ministry feel cold or unwelcoming, but the opposite can be true. Healthy boundaries create security, and security creates an environment where relationships can grow.
During a recent three-night event at our church, a single mother arrived with her two young children. She had been through a difficult season of life and entered the children’s ministry holding an infant carrier and diaper bag while managing a toddler. Her baby needed an immediate diaper change, and several staff members offered to help.
As she entered the children’s ministry area, she looked around and said, “This is my safe place.”
She was not talking about our curriculum, decorations, programming or activities. She was talking about the environment. The safety of our children’s ministry had given her a place where she could experience comfort, peace and relief in the middle of a difficult season. That is the ministry impact of safety.
Safety does not replace hospitality, relationships, discipleship or belonging. It creates the foundation that allows those things to flourish.
In the book From Children’s Ministry to Child Discipleship, Jenny Van Der Kooy and Sam Luce discuss the importance of security and safety in children’s ministry and reference Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The principle is straightforward: When people do not feel safe, it is difficult for them to fully engage, learn and grow. [1]
This is particularly important in children’s ministry. Before a child can fully engage with a lesson, build relationships with leaders or begin to understand God’s Word, they need to feel safe in the environment around them.
That same principle applies to parents. Think about the first time a parent leaves their child in your children’s ministry. They are entrusting their child to people they may have never met. What gives them the confidence to walk away? It is not simply the quality of the curriculum or the creativity of the programming. It is knowing that the people caring for their child have been carefully vetted, trained and equipped and that the environment itself has been intentionally designed with their child’s safety in mind.
Security opens the door to ministry. When parents know their children are safe, they can participate in worship and church life with greater confidence. When children feel safe, they are more able to open their hearts and minds to God’s Word. When volunteers know the environment is safe, they can focus fully on building relationships and discipling children.
Implementation Is Just as Important
Developing strong policies is only the beginning. Implementing and consistently enforcing them can be much harder.
Several years ago, we noticed that staff, volunteers and families at a couple of our campuses had become increasingly relaxed about following established policies. We had conversations, retrained our teams and recommitted ourselves to consistently enforcing the procedures we had established.
At one location, there is a bathroom within the children’s wing that is accessible from the hallway. A sign clearly states: “Kids Only – No Adults or Teens.”
When we began enforcing the policy consistently, one father became frustrated. From his perspective, he was simply a dad helping his child use the bathroom. From our perspective, however, we were responsible for creating a safe environment for every child who might enter that restroom, not just his child.
Good policies will occasionally frustrate people. That does not make the policy bad. As children’s ministry leaders, we must make decisions based on the safety of the entire environment, not simply the convenience of one person or family. Protecting the whole ministry environment has to take priority over individual exceptions.
So Where Do We Begin?
Creating a safe children’s ministry does not happen through one policy or one person. It requires intentional systems, trained people, clear expectations and ongoing evaluation.
Consider starting with these five areas:
- Build a strong relationship with your security team. Children’s ministry and church security should work together rather than operate independently.
- Define who should have access to children’s ministry spaces. Establish clear access points, expectations and procedures for staff, volunteers, parents and guests.
- Identify and regularly evaluate your highest-priority policies. Consider bathroom procedures, the two-adult policy, check-in and check-out procedures, security cameras, phone policies and other safeguards specific to your ministry.
- Establish a comprehensive volunteer onboarding process. This may include a serve application, background check, abuse awareness training, interviews and volunteer-specific training.
- Evaluate your physical environment. Consider diaper-changing table locations, classroom bathrooms, play areas, visibility, access points and other physical characteristics that can affect safety.
We love the children, volunteers and families who enter our children’s ministries. God has entrusted us with the privilege and responsibility of caring for them. Safety communicates belonging. That may mean occasionally telling a well-meaning family member that they cannot enter a children’s ministry area. It may mean explaining a bathroom policy to a frustrated parent. It may mean changing practices that have existed for years.
Those conversations are not interruptions to ministry. They are part of ministry.
Families who walk through our doors need to know that when they leave the children’s ministry space, their kids are safe with us. They need to know that the people caring for their children have been vetted, trained and equipped. They need to know that someone has thought carefully about what could happen and has taken steps to protect their children.
When they experience that level of care, they begin to understand something important: You belong here. You are safe here. You are loved here.
Creating a safe environment is worth it!
Carry On!
To every child discipler reading this, your work matters deeply. There will be weeks when you may not see the fruit of your faithfulness right away. Some policies may feel tedious. Some conversations may be uncomfortable. Some details may seem small in the moment. But every thoughtful decision, every clear boundary and every act of preparation helps create a place where children and families can feel safe, seen and cared for.
God sees your faithfulness, both in the meaningful moments and in the behind-the-scenes work that often goes unnoticed. Keep doing what is right. Keep creating environments where children are known, loved, discipled and protected. When we take safety seriously, we are not stepping away from ministry; we are lovingly building the foundation that allows ministry to flourish.
[1] Jenny Van Der Kooy and Sam Luce, From Children’s Ministry to Child Discipleship: A Journey to Faith That Lasts (Awana Clubs International, 2026), 112–113.
