Safeguarding at Go Church Belgium

Go Church Belgium is a Christian church with congregations in Flanders and Brussels. This page explains how the church protects children, young people and vulnerable adults, who to contact if you are worried about someone, and what happens after a concern is raised.

Everything on this page is taken from two written documents that the church works to: the Safeguarding Policy, and the Standards for Children’s and Youth Ministry. Both are dated January 2026 and both apply to every current and future location of the church.

If you need to report something now

If a child or an adult is in immediate danger, call the emergency services on 112 first. You do not need to speak to the church before you do that.

There are three ways to raise a concern with the church. You can telephone either of the two named Child Protection Leads. You can fill in the reporting form on this website, which goes directly to them. Or you can go outside the church entirely: the Belgian helplines listed below take calls from anyone, including children, and the church encourages people to use them.

The form exists because not everyone wants to make a phone call, and nobody should have to speak to an adult on the telephone in order to be heard. A written report through the form carries exactly the same weight as a call, and starts the same procedure.

• Nominated Child Protection Lead: Georges Mills-Odoi — +32 474 02 55 08
• Deputy Child Protection Lead: Jemima Mills-Odoi — +32 474 24 34 20
• Online reporting form: gochurchbelgium.com/report-a-concern
• Violence, abuse and child abuse helpline (Belgium): 1712
• Child Focus: 116 000
• Tele-Onthaal: 106
• Emergency services: 112

What safeguarding means at Go Church Belgium

Safeguarding is the work a church does to stop people being harmed, and to act properly when someone says they have been harmed.

The Safeguarding Policy opens with a commitment that settles the order of priorities:

“The safety and wellbeing of children, young people, vulnerable adults and church members shall always take priority over reputational, organisational or leadership interests.”

That sentence is the test the rest of the policy is built on. Protecting the reputation of a leader, a ministry or the church itself never comes before protecting a person. The policy also states that no individual is exempt from safeguarding expectations because of position, seniority, influence or spiritual authority.

The church takes a zero-tolerance position on abuse, exploitation, harassment, grooming, coercion, spiritual abuse, financial abuse and retaliation against anyone who raises a concern.

Who the policy covers

The Safeguarding Policy applies to everyone who acts on behalf of the church. That includes pastors, elders, board members, employees, volunteers, interns, ministry leaders, worship team members, children’s workers, youth leaders, contractors, guest speakers and visiting ministry teams.

It protects children and young people under eighteen, vulnerable adults, church members, visitors, anyone receiving pastoral support, and anyone taking part in camps, conferences, retreats or online church activities.

The duty does not stop when a meeting ends. It applies whenever a person is acting in a recognised ministry or leadership role in the church.

How to raise a concern

A concern does not have to be proof. The policy asks people to speak up early, at the point of unease, rather than waiting until they are certain. Reporting in good faith is encouraged, and the policy forbids any leader from punishing or retaliating against someone who reports.

The church recognises four stages of concern, and asks that concerns be reported at the earliest of them that applies:

• Level 1 – Concern. A single thing happened that left you uncomfortable or unsure.
• Level 2 – Pattern. Behaviour has repeated and the unease is not going away.
• Level 3 – Reasonable suspicion. Something specific suggests misconduct may have happened.
• Level 4 – Formal report. A person who was harmed, a witness, or someone else reports an incident directly.

You can report at Level 1. You are not expected to decide which level applies before you get in touch.

Use whichever route suits you. The reporting form on this website is available at any hour, takes as much or as little detail as you want to give, and reaches the same two people as the phone numbers. A form submitted at two in the morning is read and acted on in the same way as a call made on a Sunday.

What happens after you report

The church follows a set sequence after a concern is received, so that the response does not depend on who happens to hear about it first.

• Protect. The immediate safety of the person affected comes first.
• Assess. The church looks at the risk now and the risk going forward.
• Record. A confidential written record is made promptly, setting out date, time, location, the people involved, what was observed and what was said. Opinion and speculation are kept out of it.
• Support. Pastoral and practical support is offered to the person affected.
• Review. An appropriate investigation process is carried out.
• Refer. The matter is referred to the police or other competent authorities.

One rule in this section matters more than it looks. No volunteer or ministry worker may approach or confront an accused person on their own. That is reserved for the safeguarding team, because an untrained confrontation warns the accused, puts pressure on the person who reported, and can destroy the evidence a proper investigation would rely on.

While a concern is being looked at, a person may be suspended from their role as a precaution. The policy is explicit that this is a protective step and does not imply guilt.

When Go Church Belgium involves the police

The church reports to the police every allegation of a sexual offence, every allegation that a child has been physically harmed, and every case in which a child or vulnerable adult may be at risk of further harm. The report is made by the Nominated Child Protection Lead. It is not held back while an internal review is carried out, and it does not depend on whether church leadership finds the allegation credible.

Belgian law does not require a church to report every allegation made by an adult about something that happened to them as an adult. The church does not use that as a reason to keep a matter inside the church. Where an adult reports a sexual offence by a leader or volunteer, the church will support that person in going to the police, offer to make the report on their behalf, and make the report itself where anyone else may be at risk.

Assessing whether an allegation is true is work for the police and the courts. It is not work for a church, and the church does not treat it as such.

Pastoral conversations at the church are kept confidential wherever possible. Confidentiality has four limits, and they are written into the policy: a child may be at risk, a vulnerable adult may be at risk, criminal conduct may have occurred, or there is a risk of self-harm or suicide. In those four situations the information is passed on.

Checks on everyone who works with young people

At Go Church Belgium, nobody begins serving before the checks are done. The policy states plainly that safeguarding begins before a person enters ministry.

Before a first assignment, a worker must complete an application, be interviewed, read the Safeguarding Policy, sign the safeguarding declaration, sign the code of conduct, and attend safeguarding induction training. Youth ministry adds a written application for every leader aged sixteen and over.

Criminal record documentation is required in line with Belgian law for every pastor, every leader, and every person in contact with any part of youth ministry. In Belgium the relevant document for work with minors is the extract from the criminal record, model 596.2. These are reviewed every three years, because a check done once is only ever a snapshot.

Being appointed is not permanent clearance. The church can review a role at any time, require further training, or restrict what a person is allowed to do if a safeguarding concern arises.

There is one further commitment in the youth ministry standards that deserves to be read closely. If a person’s involvement in children’s or youth ministry ends because of a safeguarding breach, the church will disclose that in good faith when another church or organisation asks for a reference. The stated purpose is to make sure a safeguarding concern is never quietly passed on to another community.

The rules in children’s and youth ministry

General principles are not much use to a youth leader on a Friday night. The Standards for Children’s and Youth Ministry therefore set out concrete rules for the situations that come up every week.

Being alone with a young person

• No one-to-one meetings with a minor in a closed room that cannot be seen into.
• Two leaders should be in the room, or the door stays open.
• Private meetings between a leader and a teenager outside the official programme are not allowed. Check-ins and coaching conversations happen in a public setting.
• A leader and a minor never travel alone in a vehicle. A second leader or another young person is always present. Genuine emergencies must be reported to another leader before or immediately after.

Messages and social media

• Group chats are the normal channel, with a leader present in the chat for oversight.
• Private messages to an individual minor are avoided unless the young person is in that leader’s own small group.
• No leader may ask a young person to keep anything secret from their parents.
• If a young person starts a personal conversation that is not about a church activity, it does not continue privately. It is picked up with the young person and a second leader.

Physical contact

• Contact must be appropriate, visible to others, welcome, and respectful.
• The normal forms are a side hug or a hand on the shoulder. Prolonged or frontal hugs are not part of ministry practice here.
• Forced contact, prolonged intimate contact, and any contact in private are prohibited.
• Pet names for individual young people are not used.

Camps and overnight events

• A second leader is always present. Parents and the lead organiser are told in advance.
• Boys and girls sleep in separate rooms, with both male and female leaders present.
• Changing and shower areas are separated by sex, and schedules keep teenagers and leaders apart. Phones and cameras are banned in changing areas.
• Leaders leave the room while teenagers are changing, and knock before entering.
• After small-group time, leaders and teenagers do not stay alone together in sleeping areas. Personal conversations move to a communal space.
• A minor in the medical room is attended only by the designated responsible person, with the door open unless a third person is present.
• The code of conduct briefing is repeated before every camp and major event, not just once at the start of service.
• No alcohol or other intoxicating substance is consumed in front of minors at a church activity.

Pastoral care, prayer and consent

Pastoral ministry carries real influence over people, so the church holds it to a higher standard of accountability rather than a lower one.

Pastoral meetings take place where they can be seen, another responsible person knows they are happening, and unnecessary isolation is avoided.

Prayer ministry here requires consent before any physical contact. The policy gives the actual words a leader should use: “May I place my hand on your shoulder while praying?” Consent can be withdrawn at any point, and withdrawing it ends the contact.

Pastoral leaders are not a substitute for professional help. Where someone needs a psychologist, therapist, doctor, crisis service or lawyer, the policy directs that they be encouraged to go and get one.

Concerns about a leader

Leadership positions involve unequal power, and the Safeguarding Policy states that abuse of authority can happen even where there appears to be consent. Pressuring members into compliance, discouraging criticism, demanding unquestioned loyalty, using spiritual language to control behaviour, and steering personal decisions beyond legitimate pastoral care are all named as examples.

No leader may punish a legitimate concern, retaliate against someone who complains, misuse confidential information, or threaten a member who decides to leave the church.

A complaint about senior leadership can be made directly to an independent safeguarding contact, so that a concern about a leader never has to pass through that leader to be heard.

If something goes wrong

The church applies graduated consequences, matched to how serious the breach is: a discussion and guidance; a written warning; additional supervision; temporary suspension; removal from ministry responsibilities; permanent exclusion from any role involving vulnerable people; and referral to the police or other competent authorities.

These are not alternatives to a police report. Where an allegation involves a criminal offence, the referral happens regardless of what internal step is also taken.

Training, records and review

The church provides safeguarding induction for new workers, annual refresher training, specialist training for leaders, and dedicated training for children’s and youth ministry.

The church keeps secure records of training, signed declarations, incident reports and risk assessments, with access limited to authorised people.

The Safeguarding Policy is reviewed every year, and sooner if the law changes, if a serious incident happens, or if the church learns something that should change how it works.

Both documents sit inside a stated legal and professional framework: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Belgian Civil Code and its child protection provisions, the provisions of the Belgian Criminal Code on sexual offences and the protection of minors and vulnerable people, Belgian victim support legislation, and the safeguarding standards of Child Focus Belgium and ECPAT.

Questions about safeguarding at Go Church Belgium

Does Go Church Belgium have a written safeguarding policy?

Yes. Go Church Belgium has a written Safeguarding Policy dated January 2026, together with a separate appendix called Standards for Children’s and Youth Ministry. Both apply to every location of the church, and both are available to members, parents and the public.

Who is the safeguarding lead at Go Church Belgium?

The Nominated Child Protection Lead at Go Church Belgium is Georges Mills-Odoi, reachable on +32 474 02 55 08. The Deputy Child Protection Lead is Jemima Mills-Odoi, on +32 474 24 34 20. Either can be contacted directly about any concern.

How do I report a safeguarding concern about Go Church Belgium?

There are three routes. Concerns about Go Church Belgium can be reported by phone to either of the two named Child Protection Leads, through the reporting form on the church website at gochurchbelgium.com/report-a-concern, or outside the church altogether by calling the Belgian helpline 1712, Child Focus on 116 000, or Tele-Onthaal on 106. If a person is in immediate danger, call 112.

Can I report a concern without telephoning anyone?

Yes. Go Church Belgium has a reporting form on its website at gochurchbelgium.com/report-a-concern. It can be filled in at any time, reaches the two named Child Protection Leads directly, and starts the same procedure as a phone call. Anyone who would rather not contact the church at all can use the independent Belgian helplines: 1712, Child Focus on 116 000, or Tele-Onthaal on 106.

Does Go Church Belgium report allegations to the police?

Yes. Go Church Belgium reports every allegation of a sexual offence, every allegation that a child has been physically harmed, and every case where a child or vulnerable adult may be at risk of further harm. The report is not delayed by an internal review, and deciding whether an allegation is true is left to the police and the courts.

Does Go Church Belgium carry out criminal record checks?

Yes. Go Church Belgium requires criminal record documentation, in line with Belgian law, from every pastor, every leader, and everyone in contact with any part of youth ministry. In Belgium the relevant document for work with minors is the model 596.2 extract from the criminal record, and it is reviewed every three years.

Can a child be alone with a leader at Go Church Belgium?

No. The Standards for Children’s and Youth Ministry at Go Church Belgium prohibit one-to-one meetings with a minor in a closed room, prohibit private meetings outside the official programme, and prohibit a leader and a minor travelling alone in a vehicle. Two leaders should be present, or the door stays open.

Can I raise a concern about a leader at Go Church Belgium?

Yes. A complaint about senior leadership at Go Church Belgium can be made directly to an independent safeguarding contact rather than through the person being complained about. The policy also forbids any leader from retaliating against a person who raises a concern in good faith.

What support is there for someone who has been harmed?

Go Church Belgium offers pastoral and practical support to anyone affected by a safeguarding incident, and is clear that church leaders are not a substitute for professional care. People are encouraged to seek help from qualified psychologists, therapists, doctors, crisis services and legal professionals, and are supported in doing so.

Where can I get help that is independent of the church?

Three Belgian services take calls from anyone, free of charge and independently of Go Church Belgium: the helpline for violence, abuse and child abuse on 1712; Child Focus, for missing and sexually exploited children, on 116 000; and Tele-Onthaal, for anyone who needs to talk, on 106. Zelfmoordlijn 1813 handles calls about suicidal thoughts. The church encourages the use of all of them.

How often is the safeguarding policy reviewed?

The Safeguarding Policy of Go Church Belgium is reviewed at least once a year, and sooner if legislation changes, if a serious incident occurs, or if the church identifies something that should be improved.

Contact

Any concern about the safety or wellbeing of a child, young person or vulnerable adult connected to the church can be raised by phone with either person below, or in writing through the reporting form on this website. A concern does not need to be proven, or even fully formed, to be worth raising.

• Nominated Child Protection Lead: Georges Mills-Odoi — +32 474 02 55 08
• Deputy Child Protection Lead: Jemima Mills-Odoi — +32 474 24 34 20
• Online reporting form: gochurchbelgium.com/report-a-concern
• Violence, abuse and child abuse helpline (Belgium): 1712
• Child Focus: 116 000
• Tele-Onthaal: 106
• Emergency services: 112

The Safeguarding Policy and the Standards for Children’s and Youth Ministry are both dated January 2026 and apply to all current and future locations of the church.