Do Churches Need a Complaints Policy?
Having a clear complaints policy helps people in churches to listen to each other well and deal with problems that come along.
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In this episode, Phil Topham and Adrian Reynolds are joined by Paul Harrison (Christian Safeguarding Services) to talk about dealing with complaints in church and the new Complaints Policy template FIEC has commissioned.
00:00 - Introduction
01:55 - Why do churches need a complaints policy?
04:34 - Isn't Matthew 18 enough?
07:34 - The FIEC church Complaints Policy template
13:40 - Avoiding a cover-up
16:12 - Why is FIEC providing a policy template for Independent churches?
17:50 - How can churches introduce a complaint policy without it being a tick-box exercise?
26:40 - How should the policy be made public and transparent?
31:31 - How do you access and use the complaints policy template?
Resources mentioned in this episode
- Christian Safeguarding Services (thecss.co.uk)
- Matthew 18 (biblegateway.com)
- 1 Timothy 5 (biblegateway.com)
- The Complaints Policy template (fiec.org.uk)
In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear teaching and resources for church leaders from the FIEC Ministry Team and guests from FIEC churches and partners.
You can subscribe by searching for “In:Dependence” on your favourite podcast app or by subscribing to the FIEC YouTube channel.
Phil Topham
Phil is FIEC's Executive Director. He is married to Kath and they live near Market Harborough and attend ChristChurch in the town.
Adrian Reynolds
Adrian is FIEC's Head of National Ministries. He previously served as Associate Minister of East London Tabernacle Baptist Church and is currently an elder at Christchurch Harborough.
Paul Harrison
Paul runs Christian Safeguarding Services (CSS) with his wife Sue to support churches and other faith-based organisations to achieve best practice in safeguarding. He is an elder at Grace Church in Loughborough.
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