At LCBC, our goal is to create a safe environment for the kids that walk into kidVenture Island each week. For the past two months, we have been talking about providing safe environments for our kids, but it doesn鈥檛 stop there. Now it鈥檚 time to dig into physical, emotional, and spiritual safety for us as leaders.
Physical:
- Know your evacuation plan.
- Adhere to the 2-adult accountability system.
- Don鈥檛 hesitate to ask questions to your Campus Captain and/or location kidStaff.
- Be aware of your personal boundaries and protect your space. You can do this by encouraging healthy interactions with other adults and kids. Healthy physical boundaries might be a fist bump as a greeting, or just a friendly wave.
Emotional:
- Build relationships with the Staff and volunteers you serve alongside. God intends for us to live in community with one another and expects us to grow with each other. We will face many storms in our lives, and what better way to face them than with a community behind us?
- Maintain healthy interactions with other volunteers and Staff members (being emotionally vulnerable at appropriate times and with the right people, having encouraging conversations, praying for each other, etc).
- Don鈥檛 hesitate to ask your Campus Captain or location kidStaff for help navigating hard or triggering conversations with kids or parents.
- Know your limits. There are seasons of life when we face more challenges, and it鈥檚 important that we keep a pulse on what our limits are. Be in communication with your location kidStaff, Captains, and volunteers about your limits and needs. Your location Staff can point you to useful resources and support in those seasons.
- Eliminate gossip. If you have concerns regarding another person or volunteer and need help navigating, please speak directly to your location kidStaff.
Spiritual:
- We all encounter tough things, and our lives can be complicated. During your week, pray that you can be prepared to pour into our kids.
- Make attending VIP Time a priority. This is a great time to lean into your role in serving God and these kids. It鈥檚 also a time for you to engage in quality time with other Staff and volunteers.
- Familiarize yourself with the resources available to you. We have access to a range of podcasts, articles, books, and Bible reading plans that can encourage you in many different seasons. Some good ones to check out are:
- Prioritize your spiritual health- a good way to do this is by participating in daily intentional chair time with Jesus. Here are some great Bible reading plans to check out in order to make the most of your chair time:
- Join a Group. God intends us to live in community with other people and finding your tribe can lead to strong spiritual growth. Check out the Groups we have right now.
- Gather! Make sure to prioritize gathering weekly. We can鈥檛 give our best without being our best and getting into a Gathering is a great way to continue growing in your relationship with God. We would love to see you Gather in person, but if you can鈥檛, we have an Online Gatheringwhere you can engage and learn more about who God calls us to be.