Child Safety
The vision of SIM is “to see a witness to Christ’s love where He is least known, disciples of Jesus expressing God’s love in their communities, and Christ-centered churches among all peoples.” This vision includes caring for and showing God’s love to those who often cannot care for themselves, the vulnerable. As Psalm 68:5 declares, God is “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows.”
We believe that all people are valuable and worthy of respect and care because they are made in the image of God. We affirm that the Lord Jesus cares for and values all children, and that their protection is an essential expression of faithful Christian witness. Children are inherently vulnerable and therefore require special care and attention to prevent harm.
SIM USA recognizes its responsibility before God to safeguard the welfare of all children within its care. We will earnestly strive to protect them from harm and will seriously address all concerns or reports of possible child safety issues. This includes harm that is physical, sexual, emotional, self-inflicted, or the result of neglect.
SIM USA expects every individual, both child and adult, to be treated with dignity, care, and respect. We will not tolerate child abuse of any kind, and we are committed to maintaining a culture of vigilance, accountability, and compassion in all contexts in which children may be present.
To fulfill this commitment, SIM USA seeks to:
· Reduce the risk of harm to children under its care, whether through action or inaction.
· Reduce the risk of misconduct toward children by SIM USA workers, associates, or volunteers.
· Strengthen organizational integrity and public trust by responding to concerns with both rigor and compassion.
To achieve these objectives, SIM USA will implement:
· Prevention Strategies including safe recruitment procedures, awareness training, a signed Code of Conduct for all workers, and regular monitoring of worker conduct.
· Response Strategies including clear guidelines for reporting and addressing child safety concerns, disclosures, or allegations in a timely and responsible manner.
Leadership at all levels of SIM USA is accountable for the faithful implementation of this policy. The policy will be reviewed regularly and revised as necessary to reflect legal, contextual, or organizational changes. SIM USA will work in collaboration with SIM International and relevant local authorities to ensure our standards remain aligned with best practices and the highest levels of child protection.
Updated 10/25
The Child Safety Team promotes the safety of children and the protection of SIM workers through prevention and response strategies that fulfill our Biblical, legal and ethical responsibilities, thereby helping to preserve the integrity of SIM USA. If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information regarding SIM’s Child Safety Program, please feel free to contact any of the following people:
Jason Hazell – SIM International Child Safety Coordinator
Jody Hilt –SIM International Child Safety Specialist
Mary Decker – SIM USA Child Safety Advocate
A letter to adult children of SIM USA missionaries and their parents from Randy Fairman, SIM USA director
Dear Friends,
As a father of two adult daughters who experienced the challenges of living in difficult places where my wife and I served, this is both an organizational and a personal letter. Experiences growing up as the child of an SIM missionary are diverse and varied – some children had a wonderful experience with rich memories and others faced very difficult challenges which impact their adult lives in challenging ways. Furthermore, the experiences my children remember might be different than what I imagine.
I want to respond as part of SIM internationally and as SIM USA. We want to acknowledge and respond to those who have faced difficult and sometimes traumatic experiences. We want to share with you a heartfelt apology from SIM International Director Joshua Bogunjoko. We at SIM USA are wholeheartedly entering into this time of apology, listening, and action together with our international director and the global family of SIM entities.
We also want to understand the broad range of experiences children have had in accompanying their parents serving with SIM. For this purpose, we invite you to share your thoughts at any time, now or in the future, via a questionnaire. This can be filled in online at the following link (ACOM survey) or, if you prefer, there is a PDF version (ACOM survey .pdf version) you can download, complete, and return. This questionnaire will help us to care for adult children of missionaries and learn from them as we seek to care well for children of missionaries currently on the field, and those who will go in the future.
Trained, trauma-informed people are available and would be honored to listen to any story you’d wish to share. They will also seek to understand how you wish to move forward at this time. More information about this is found in the FAQ section of Joshua’s letter. If you’d like to be contacted by the SIM USA listening team, you can email directly to US.Listeners@sim.org. If you’d like to share your story with someone who is outside of SIM, that option could be arranged through these contact points as well.
If you have adult children who spent time overseas with you while serving with SIM USA, we would appreciate it if you would share this letter with them. If you are aware of any others who lived overseas as children of SIM missionaries, please share this letter or a link to this communication with them as well.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this.
Grateful to God for each one of you,
Randy Fairman, SIM USA director