Crawley Assemblies Of God International Church

 

In general, it is hoped that informal and pastoral processes will be used when a minister has complaints with the Church in which they hold office or its leadership. Where these internal processes fail to resolve matters, the Regional Leadership should be formally invited to adjudicate. They will then apply the latter stages of the formal complaints procedure as outlined below. The process should generally be conducted by meeting with the minister, and all decisions should be reported in writing.

 

The purpose of a grievance procedure for ministers is to give a legitimate place of a complaint and to solve the problems as quickly and as simply as possible, preferably within the structures of the local church. It is important that complaints are treated seriously because they are genuine to the person concerned and it is important to discover whether the complaints is legitimate at the earliest stage.

 

Stage 1

 

If a minister in pastoral charge feels they have a grievance they should first report this to a senior Church Officer, who should arrange to meet with the minister.

 

Stage 2

 

If the grievance is not resolved by consultation with that senior Church Officer, it is then the responsibility of the Eldership, or the managing trustees of the church, to try and resolve the grievance within four weeks. This attempt at resolution should comprise a meeting with the minister, and a separate, and subsequent meeting to decide upon the course of action.

 

Stage 3

 

If the matter remains unresolved, then the senior Church Officer should report this to the Regional Leadership. The Regional Leadership should meet with the minister and senior Church Officer, normally within four weeks of the complaint being brought to their attention. The minister will be accompanied by another person to that meeting.

 

Stage 4

 

If the matter remains unresolved it may be reported to Assemblies Of God (Head Office) , who will seek to find a resolution within a reasonable period of time (dependent upon, for instance, proximity to Didcot or the time of year, the

 

 

 

meetings required might be slower or quicker to arrange.) If at the end of this stage matters remain unresolved, an option might be to use mediation provided by other Associations or the Mennonites. An alternative will be for the Departmental inquiry to arbitrate, which will be final.

 

Careful notes, which by mutual agreement could be taken by an independent person, should be kept at all stages of the ensuing inquiries. Where matters impinge upon legal requirements, legal advice may be sought, but the use of lawyers to represent parties should be a last resort rather than a first resort.

 

 

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Policy statement on children, young people, and the church

 

• As members of this church, we commit ourselves to the nurturing, protection and safekeeping of all, especially children and young people.

• It is the responsibility of each one of us to prevent the physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children and young people, and to report any abuse discovered or suspected.

• We recognize that our work with children and young people is the responsibility of the whole church.

• We undertake to exercise proper care in the selection and appointment of those working with children and young people, whether paid or volunteer.

• The church is committed to supporting, resourcing and training those who work with children and young people, and to providing supervision.

• The church is committed to following the Home Office Code of Practice Safe from Harm and adopts the guidelines and procedures by Crawley Assemblies Of God International Church of Great Britain.

• Each worker with children and young people must know the recommendations, and undertake to observe them. Each shall be given a copy of the church’s agreed procedures and Good Practice guidelines.

 

 

Volunteers:

 

This sheet gives you information about a voluntary position working with children and/or young people. It is designed to help you consider whether you would be able to fulfil this role and to give you important information about the appointment process.

 

This church values its children and young people and we seek to ensure that those who work with them are suited for the role and are called by God. Because of this we also value those who give their time to work with children and young people. A thoughtful appointment process expresses our valuing of the children and young people of our church and also expresses our valuing of those who work with them.

 

 

Criminal Record:

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As stated because of the sensitive nature of the duties you will be asked to undertake in this post working with children and/or young people, you are required to disclose details of any criminal record. Only relevant convictions and other information will be taken into account so disclosure need not necessarily be a bar to obtaining this position.

 

Have you ever been convicted by the courts or cautioned, reprimanded or given a final warning by the police? (Note that the post you have applied for is excepted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, which means that all convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings on your criminal record need to be disclosed, whether spent or unspent.)