Thank you for desiring to volunteer with the children at Cornerstone! Please fill out this application to the best of your ability. Thank you!
In Children’s & Youth Ministries, it is our desire to provide our children with the greatest and safest care as we point them to Jesus Christ, the one who has saved us and gives us our purpose as a church and his people.
Therefore, in order to help ensure that we accomplish these goals, we require that all volunteers in our ministry know Christ as their personal Savior, are living lives consistent with biblical values, and are in agreement with our church’s statement of faith and policy on human sexuality. Please answer the following questions and return this form to the Children’s Ministries Director or Youth Pastor.
The following questions are used to help our church provide a safe, loving, and secure environment for the children who participate in our programs. If you prefer not to answer any of these questions in writing, you may leave them blank and a pastor, the Children’s Ministries Director, Associate Pastor for Youth, a Titus Two member, or an elder will talk with you privately. Your answers in this application will not necessarily disqualify you for work with children, although they may raise a concern which leads us to believe that an issue needs to be addressed further with you in private conversations to learn whether the issue has a bearing on your ability to work with children.
Please list three references that we may contact, none of whom are relatives:
(see CPPP §B.1.a for exceptions to the reference requirement)
Should my application for work with children be accepted, I agree to follow the Child Protection Policy and Procedures of Cornerstone, an Evangelical Free Church. I also agree to refrain from any unscriptural conduct in the performance of my services on behalf of the Church.
Pursuant to the Child Protection Policy and Procedures of Cornerstone, and Evangelical Free Church, §B.3.d, all prospective ministry workers over the age of 18 must read and sign this sexual misconduct and criminal history affidavit before being approved to work with children at Cornerstone.
The following definitions apply to terms used in this affidavit to the exclusion of any other descriptions or meanings the terms may have outside the context of this document. Please read these definitions carefully and
Child Abuse is when any child under 18 years of age whose parent or any person responsible for his or her care, causes or threatens to cause a non-accidental physical or mental injury; has a child present during the manufacture or attempted manufacture of a controlled substance or during the unlawful sale of such substance where such activity would constitute a felony violation; neglects or refuses to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, emotional nurturing, or health care; abandons the child; neglects or refuses to provide adequate supervision in relation to a child’s age and level of development; knowingly leaves a child alone in the same dwelling with a person, not related by blood or marriage, who has been convicted of an offense against a minor for which registration is required as a violent sexual offender; or commits or allows to be committed any illegal sexual act upon a child, including incest, rape, indecent exposure, prostitution, or allows a child to be used in any sexually explicit visual material.
Sexual misconduct refers to the following categories:
§ Child sexual abuse: any contact, communication, activity, relation or interaction between a minor and an adult when the minor is being used for the sexual stimulation or gratification of the adult or of a third person. The behavior may or may not involve physical contact. Non-physical behavior, verbal and electronic communication, including, but not limited to, texts and emails, is also covered under this definition. All sexual behavior between a minor and an adult is deemed to be the result of force, threat or intimidation whether or not consented to by the minor, and is deemed to harm the physical, mental, emotional or spiritual health or well-being of the minor.
§ Sexual harassment: unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, written, electronic, or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: a.) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or a condition of an individual's employment or their continued status in an institution; b.) Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or c.) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. § Sexual misbehavior: conduct exhibited by obscene or suggestive verbal or non-verbal language or actions, unacceptable visual contact, unwelcome touching or fondling, possession on church property of pornographic or sexually graphic materials, accessing 18 pornographic or sexually graphic web sites on church property that is offensive or injurious to the physical or emotional health of another.
§ Sexual malfeasance: sexual conduct that occurs within a ministerial or professional relationship. Sexual malfeasance includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. This definition is not meant to cover relationships between spouses, nor is it meant to restrict church professionals from engaging with other consenting adults in mutual, social, intimate, or marital relationships.
Crimes of Violence applies to and includes any of the following crimes or an attempt to commit any of the same, namely, murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, rape, mayhem, assault with intent to maim, disable, disfigure or kill, robbery, burglary, housebreaking, breaking and entering and larceny.
Please initial next to the following statement to indicate your consent.
*Sustained: In a criminal court, "sustained" means that there has been a guilty plea, a nolo contendere plea, a guilty verdict or a plea bargain. In a civil court, "sustained" means that there has been a judgment against you as a defendant.
**Pending: In a criminal court, "pending" means a criminal charge before a grand jury, or one that is in the process of being prosecuted, or in which there is not yet a verdict. In a civil court, "pending" means a case in which there has not been a decision or judgment.
