SAFEGUARDING AT EVERYDAY

Safety and accountability Are kingdom values

The Church was always meant to be a safe place for everyone. EVERYDAY is committed to ensuring the safety of every person under our care and making our community one that fosters trust and accountability. Our Safeguarding Policy and Safeguarding Team have been established to provide easy access and reporting for those experiencing or observing any form of abuse, wrongdoing, or unsafe behavior at EVERYDAY.

Our Safeguarding Team is made up of staff and community members who are experienced in best practice for church discipline and legal safety requirements. All polices were created with the guidance of outside experts to make sure these policies were strong and fair.

To report something to our team, please first review the FAQ and the "Who to Contact" form to ensure that you're getting the help you need. It’s our honor to shepherd this community in the values of the Kingdom!

 
 
 
 

SAFEGUARDING FAQ

  • EVERYDAY’s Safeguarding Team is set up to ensure the safety and security of the people who come to EVERYDAY, as well as to bring church discipline and boundaries when needed. We would ask that you submit a report if:

    • Abuse of any kind is happening at EVERYDAY or involving EVERYDAY community members.

    • A person is attending our programming that you know or strongly believe to be an unsafe person.

    • A minor or vulnerable adult is being mistreated or taken advantage of in our community.

    • A leader at EVERYDAY is acting or leading in a way that is manipulative, dishonest, disintegrous, or unsafe.

    The Safeguarding Team is NOT a substitute for proper reporting to the police in instances of sexual assault or victimization. We are limited in our scope to situations and people who attend EVERYDAY.

    For a more robust list of resources and direction, please click the “Who to Contact” button linked above.

  • We ask that reports submitted be limited to the the situations listed in the “Who to Contact” document linked above. Requests for prayer and resources related to a personal crisis (spiritual, emotional, or financial) should be directed elsewhere. If you are unsure where to go, please send an email to info@everydaympls.com and we will do our best to direct you.

  • Our safeguarding team is comprised of a combination of EVERYDAY staff and community members. We will always have at least 50% of the Safeguarding Team be female.

    Our current team is:

    • Pastor Ben Peterson

    • Pastor Abby Christian

    • Tiffany Yerxa

    • Karissa Neff

    • Rafelle Jackson

    • Israel Anderson

  • No. If you are seeing behavior at EVERYDAY that causes you to fear for someone’s safety or well-being, we’d encourage you to reach out. Good faith reporting is always welcome and will be free of repercussions.

  • We ask that submissions be made via the “Report a Concern” form above. This form will be emailed to each member of the Safegaurding Team, alerting them of the situation.

  • While we understand the desire for anonymity in certain situations, we ask that those reporting a concern provide their name and contact information. We are not able to seek clarity or provide any sort of follow up with anonymous reports, which limits our ability to properly assess the situation.

  • If you feel it’s important for EVERYDAY to know about a past or current situation you’ve been involved in, you can do so via the form above.

  • A member of the Safegaurding Team will reach out via email to the individual within 24 hours of submitting a report, confirming that your report was received. If there are immediate next steps for the individual (inform authorities, redirect to pastoral staff or counseling, etc.), they will be communicated at this point.

  • To comply with best practice and ensure appropriate transparency, each case will have the following documentation:

    • Original submission form

    • Copies of emails sent

    • Meeting notes from any phone calls or meetings (time-stamped)

    • Written next steps and action items

  • Unless the situation directly indicts a member of these groups, documentation will be available to members of the Safeguarding Team and Pastoral Staff. We will seek to honor the privacy of the matter in every way.

  • Per Minnesota law, the Safeguarding Team is not required to report incidents exclusively involving legal adults, but is mandated to report abuse and/or danger involving minors. While always seeking to honor the personal agency and choices of the individual reporting, the Safeguarding Team reserves the right to inform local authorities if corporate or personal safety is threatened.

SAFEGUARDING POLICY