safety ministries
Sierra Vista places a special emphasis on keeping children, youth, and vulnerable adults safe. Click HERE for Sierra Vista's Safety Policy.
If you are not sure if you need Safety Training or a Background Check, please call the Church Office at 325/944-4041 and ask for Troi.
Safety training
If you are interested in working with children, youth, or vulnerable adults at SVUMC, you can begin the training process at this link: https://riotexas.org/safesteps.
Step One
Complete your application with Safe Gatherings (safegatherings.com)
This application includes your background check and 3 reference checks. Remember: You are asked to provide a personal and a clergy/vocational reference in addition to your church/organization’s designated reference, which is sent automatically. Please let your references know that they will
receive an email from Safe Gatherings. The reference will take 2-3 minutes of their time and is an essential part of the certification process.
Step Two
Complete Safe Gatherings online training course and test.
This is a 60–90 minute presentation of information on safety guidelines and best practices as defined by the state of Texas. Persons will take a test at the end of this training.
Step Three
Complete the Rio Texas Conference training module.
This is a 30-minute interactive training on safety guidelines and best practices as defined by the Rio Texas Conference for ministry in our churches, districts, and beyond. This training will become available via a link on your Safe Gatherings dashboard once you have completed step two of the process. You will need to complete this module in one sitting as it does not save your progress and will require you to start over if you navigate away from the training window.
Background Checks
Servant team members will still need to complete a background check, regardless of where and how they serve; however, if an individual is never in a small group setting with children, youth, or vulnerable adults, that individual will only need to do a background check through Red Star, the company we have always used for background checks.
A link to a pdf file of this form is available here. Please complete and return this form to the Church Office.
