Codes of Ethics for Adults in Youth Ministry

Adults working with youth bear a special responsibility in fostering youth spiritual development and modeling healthy behavior.

A code of conduct should address:

A statement of the program’s philosophy of shared youth-adult leadership
Responsibilities as adult
Never being alone with youth
No abuse, harassment, and bullying by adults including exploitation of youth once they become adults
Appropriate physical boundaries with youth
No sexualized or seductive behavior with youth
Staying in “adult role”
Adult discretion in sharing details of their personal lives
Self-care
Holding youth confidences and when confidences must be shared with supervising staff
Unofficial contact with youth: only in public, and with supervising staff and parental knowledge
Following other policies such as electronic communication policies

Sample Codes of Ethics