One of the things that can seriously damage a church is an affair that happens involving a staff member. This is especially true if it happens between two staff members.
Given the severity, it’s important that policies are in place to prevent such an occurrence. Since the beginning, we’ve had a pretty strict policy in place to help prevent anything like this from happening.
Here it is:
As a church staff, it is especially important to ensure there are healthy boundaries between members of the opposite sex. Therefore, it is the policy of CCV that no two staff members of the opposite sex meet for any reason alone while away from the office. This includes but is not limited to going to lunch together, having coffee, or any other occasion that would have the two staff members of the opposite sex alone together.
Of course one on one communication is important between staff members regardless of gender, therefore certain provisions are made to allow such meetings to take place. For example, all office, conference room, and classroom doors are furnished with windows to allow others to see into the room. If the office or conference room door window is furnished with blinds or other covering, it must be kept open at all times while the meeting is taking place. Rooms with doors without windows (such as the Green Room) should not be used for meetings between staff members of the opposite sex. Meetings may also take place on church grounds, in the open where others can easily see the meeting taking place. Additionally, two staff members of the opposite sex should not be alone in the office for any significant period of time.
If it is necessary that two staff members of the opposite sex travel to the same destination for the same event/conference, they are required to travel separately and some provision must be made that their time at the event/conference does not allow the two to be alone at any time for any reason.
This policy also applies to all staff members when they are meeting with anyone else of the opposite sex, except of course spouses and other relatives.
This policy does not apply to unmarried staff members who are involved in a dating relationship. However, if an unmarried staff member becomes involved in a dating relationship with another unmarried staff member, both staff members should make their ministry area leader(s) aware of the relationship. In all cases, an unmarried staff member may not become involved in a sexual relationship with anyone.
Preventing anything like this from happening is at least important enough to have a documented policy in place that everyone has read and agreed to follow.