Covenant of Care Committee Review Request

Covenant of Care Local Church Policy Review Request

"The Covenant of Care Committee shall review any modified or alternative local church policies to ensure they meet or exceed the minimum standards established in the Covenant of Care Policy Template for Local Churches."
Annual Conference 2026 Delegates unanimously passed:

Resolution #3: COVENANT OF CARE

The South Georgia Annual Conference is committed to providing safe ministry environments that protect children, youth, and vulnerable adults in every Conference and local church setting.

To strengthen that commitment, the Conference appointed a task force to review existing policies and practices and recommend improvements. The task force developed a Covenant of Care Policy for the South Georgia Annual Conference (Exhibit A) and a Covenant of Care Policy Template for Local Churches (Exhibit B). The Connectional Council has reviewed these documents and recommends their adoption. These policies replace the MinistrySafe resolution adopted by the 2025 Annual Conference (Section VIII.2 of the Conference Policies and Procedures).

The South Georgia Annual Conference therefore adopts the Covenant of Care Policy for the South Georgia Annual Conference attached as Exhibit A and incorporates it into the Conference Policies and Procedures, effective immediately.

The Connectional Council shall provide the Covenant of Care Policy Template for Local Churches (Exhibit B) to every member church and require each local church to review, adopt, and implement either the template or another policy that meets or exceeds the minimum standards established in the Covenant of Care Policy Template for Local Churches.

The Connectional Council may amend the Conference Covenant of Care Policy by majority vote as needed.

The Covenant of Care Committee shall review any modified or alternative local church policies to ensure they meet or exceed the minimum standards established in the Covenant of Care Policy Template for Local Churches.

Rationale

The Covenant of Care policies affirm the South Georgia Annual Conference’s commitment to creating safe ministry environments and protecting children, youth, and vulnerable adults in every Conference ministry, event, and local church.
Submitter's Name

First NameLast Name
Email
example@example.com
Role
Church Name
Has your Church's Covenant of Care Committee and Board approved you to request your policy to be reviewed as an equivalent policy?
First time or second time submission request?
Is your policy at a higher level of safety and care for children, youth and vulnerable adults than the Covenant of Care Template for Local Churches?
If you are utilizing another policy or have materially altered the Covenant of Care Template, please explain why.
How many children, youth and vulnerable adults does your church regularly serve?
Does your church have a preschool?
Description of all of your children, youth and vulnerable adult activities and frequency.
Anything additional you would like to share with the Covenant of Care Committee who will review your equivalent request?
Attach a copy of your policy for the Covenant of Care Team to review.

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If you would like to submit any additional documents for the Covenant of Care Team to review, please attach here.

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This request will be submitted to the Covenant of Care Team for review. The team may contact you with follow up questions. Once reviewed, a response will be sent to the contact on this form. Thank you.
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Covenant of Care Local Church Policy Review Request