Covenant of Care
The safety and protection of children, youth, and vulnerable adults is a top priority for SGAGMC Churches.
“‘Do no harm’ is foundational in our Wesleyan DNA.”
For Local Churches:
For Conference Events:
Covenant of Care Policy
“Do no harm” is foundational to our Wesleyan heritage. While this commitment shapes every aspect of ministry, it is especially important in our responsibility to protect the children, youth, and vulnerable adults entrusted to our care.
Every church should be a place where individuals and families can worship, grow, and serve with confidence. Establishing thoughtful policies and practices that promote safety, accountability, and healthy ministry environments is an essential part of that calling.
In 2026, the South Georgia Annual Conference adopted a Covenant of Care Policy for the South Georgia Annual Conference as part of its Policies and Procedures. The policy establishes standards for the care and protection of children, youth, and vulnerable adults participating in Annual Conference events.
The Annual Conference also approved a requirement that every member church review, adopt, and implement either the Covenant of Care Policy Template for Local Churches or a policy that meets or exceeds the template’s minimum standards. The template is designed to help congregations follow best practices in abuse prevention, promote safe ministry environments, and satisfy the requirements of the South Georgia Annual Conference Policies and Procedures.
To support this work, the Annual Conference established a Covenant of Care Committee. In addition to supporting local churches with education, the committee is responsible for developing and maintaining the Conference’s Covenant of Care Policy and the policy template for local churches. It also reviews and approves local church policies that differ materially from the template. Those requests can be submitted here.
If you have any questions, please reach out to the conference at info@sgagmc.org.
What is MinistrySafe?
A Child Safety System Tool
The South Georgia Annual Conference encourages every congregation to utilize the MinistrySafe tool as a trusted resource for implementing and strengthening its Covenant of Care policy. Through comprehensive background screenings, abuse prevention training, and volunteer management tools, MinistrySafe equips churches to protect those in their care while fostering healthy, Christ-centered ministry environments where individuals and families can grow in faith with confidence.
GLOBAL METHODIST CHURCH ANNOUNCES NEW CHILD SAFETY AND PROTECTION PROGRAM AVAILABLE TO ALL MEMBER CONGREGATIONS
The Global Methodist Church has entered into a multi-year agreement to provide every congregational member of the GM Church with access to an outstanding multi-faceted program to address child safety and protection in its provisional annual conferences and churches (including pre-schools and day cares, church schools, camps and other entities operated by such churches). The GM Church is partnering with MinistrySafe to offer this comprehensive set of tools to the provisional annual conferences and congregational members of the GM Church.
The MinistrySafe program consists of a five-part safety system that GM Church entities may take advantage of at no cost. The attached flyer describes the 5-part safety system, which includes access to model policies and procedures, skillful screening, sexual abuse awareness training, and monitoring and oversight. The system also includes background checks; however, the initiating ministry must choose the level of background check that will be performed and pay the cost of each background check. The GM Church and its churches are receiving significant discounts on the cost of each background check. Two discounted background check options are available: a 7-year background check for any county of residence in the last 7 years ($26.95 per search) and an unlimited lifetime background check ($35.00 per search).
To learn more about the resources offered by MinistrySafe through this partnership, go to www.ministrysafe.com/gmc. You can register your church and related ministries by selecting “Become a MinistrySafe Member” and then entering the discount code “GMC2026” when prompted.
MinistrySafe provides numerous videos to help you understand the unique dashboard created for your church and related entities. As soon as you become a MinistrySafe Member, which costs your church nothing, you immediately have access to all of the resources including the discounted pricing on background checks.
The GM Church strongly recommends that every member church take advantage of this significant resource which is provided as one of the benefits of being a member of the GM Church and which is paid for by the GM Church with general church connectional funding resources.
SGAGMC recommends a church to utilize a background check level that covers enough for the position the person will serve. MinistrySafe encourages customizing levels based on what the person will be doing. MinistrySafe offers a free consultative service for identifying what level a church should run.
Covenant of Care Team
At the 2026 South Georgia Annual Conference, the delegates elected the Covenant of Care Team. Their role is to support local churches in the safety and protection of children, youth and vulnerable adults.
Laity
Patty Tucker
Allison Vandenbergh
Nathan Carr
Derek Harrison
Billie Mulley
Nichole Lawson
If you have questions about the Covenant of Care, please click the link below to submit your question and the team will work to connect you with more information.
Clergy
Jay Hanson
Roger Canuel
Michael Finn
Daryl Brown
Bryce Holdman
Kim Dixon