Safe by design, without compromise
How EDEN screens, trains, and protects every child entrusted to us.
Every child you entrust to us will be loved, watched, and returned to you safe. We screen every worker, never leave a child alone with one adult, control who picks your child up, and report any concern without exception.
The Safe Garden standards
Aligned with MinistrySafe, GRACE, ECAP, and church-insurer guidance — reviewed every year.
Multilayered screening
Application, interview, references, and a background check for every worker — because nearly half of abusers have no record.
The six-month rule
Workers must be known in the church for at least six months before serving with children.
The two-adult rule
Two screened, unrelated adults present at all times. No worker is ever alone with a child.
Visibility & supervision
Open doors, windows, clear sight lines, and a designated person walking the halls.
Secure check-in / pick-up
Matching claim-tags; a child is released only to a parent or pre-authorized person.
Mandatory reporting
We report reasonable suspicion of abuse to authorities — erring on the side of reporting.
Ongoing training
Everyone is trained to recognize grooming and abuse before serving, repeated regularly.
Digital & photo safety
No child's photo published without written consent; no one-on-one adult-child messaging.
Generous ratios
We over-staff beyond legal minimums — from 1:2 for infants to 1:8 for older children.
A children's ministry that isn't safe isn't a ministry
Faith communities are deliberately targeted by people who would harm children. The research is sobering, and we refuse to look away from it. Safety isn't bureaucracy — it's love with a structure.
There is no ministry goal that justifies cutting a safety corner. None.
of those who abuse children have no criminal record — so screening must be multilayered, not just a background check.
girls (and many boys) experience child sexual abuse — youth-serving spaces must be protected by design.
We aspire to align with the ECAP Child Safety Standards and review our policy every single year.
If you ever have a concern
If you ever have a question or concern about a child's safety, please speak to our Children's Pastor or Child Safety Coordinator immediately. We take every concern seriously, we document it, and where required we report it to the proper authorities. You will always be heard.
Contact our safety team