Today on the podcast, Sean gives more details about the policy that Elevate has in place called "The Rule of Three.” A great policy to protect not only your preteens, but your leaders, too.
The Rule of Three is a simple concept that requires that there always be three people together. What this means is that a leader is never alone by themselves with a preteen. There is either one preteen and two leaders or two preteens and one leader at all times as a minimum requirement.
Maybe you don't have any policy regarding this and this is an easy policy to add. If you ever see a leader by themselves with a preteen it is easy to remind them just by saying, "Rule of Three.”
This does not apply to only adult leaders and preteens but should also be used with your high school volunteers as well. Recent studies* have shown that roughly half of all sex offenses against minors under 12 are initiated by other minors. A rule of three is a GREAT policy for ALL of your leaders, including your high school and middle school leaders.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
* Center for Sex Offender Management. (1999). Understanding juvenile sexual offending behavior. Silver Spring, MD: Author.
