Blog from May, 2022

Annual Required Education is back!
Over the weekend, a third-party report was released that detailed decades of sexual abuse, the mishandling of reports, and the subsequent cover-up of abuse allegations in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The findings are, among other things, shocking, frustrating, and profoundly heartbreaking. They are also a reminder of how essential it is to have preventative resources, including education and training, as well as accessible and responsive mechanisms for the reporting of abuse and misconduct. And most importantly, churches and ministries must take any reports of abuse seriously and soberly and respond in a way that prioritizes the safety of the victim and those who may be vulnerable to abuse.

A critical lesson that we and our partner churches and ministries have learned over the years is that we all have a duty to be vigilant in watching for abuse in our ministry communities. If something doesn't seem right, we should not remain silent. Furthermore, those in a position of power and influence must take action to address the abuse appropriately. So as a reminder, if you have any concerns, please contact us at notifyHR@reliant.org or use our anonymous reporting line at 844-544-1444. And no matter what role we are in, we must also be aware of our actions to ensure that we are not creating environments that allow even hints of abuse to fester.

This is why for the last three years, we have required all Reliant Missionaries and Associates to take courses on two topics vital to fostering a safe and healthy environment for you as a staff member and for those to whom you minister. On June 1, 2022, we will once again launch web-based training courses on Child Safety Awareness and Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prevention. These courses are taught from a Biblical perspective and are meant to equip you and your team in ministry. This year, we also will invite you to complete a Ministry Experience Survey that includes questions about your experience at your partner church or ministry and about the services that Reliant provides.

Your supervisor has been made aware of what is included in this year's Annual Required Education and the expectation that you complete these steps by July 31, 2022.

Below are answers to some Frequently Asked Questions, but we also encourage you to visit the Getting Started and General Questions Solomon page to begin. Feel free to reach out to your Program Team with any questions. Both Kristina Lilly, Reliant's HR Compliance Coordinator, and I are also here to help, and you can reach us at hr@reliant.org. Be sure to check your Reliant inbox for emails with links to LEARN and MinistrySafe that will be sent out on June 1, 2022.

I am grateful to be partnering with you to build safe and healthy ministries.

Warmly,

Steps to complete by July 31, 2022.

Look over the helpful information about the Required Education Courses.
Complete the Sexual Abuse Awareness Training course. You'll receive an email invitation from hr@reliant.org for the course you need to complete. The subject line will start with "Here is your link to the..." and will include your unique link to the MinistrySafe course.
Complete the appropriate Harassment & Discrimination Prevention course(s) for your staff level.*
Take the Ministry Experience Survey.*
*You will receive emails from learn@reliant.org with links to these three activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are we doing this again when we took the same courses last year?

• Reliant is committed to fostering a safe and healthy ministry environment for employees and those to whom they minister. Therefore, it is beneficial for us all to be trained and educated regularly on best practices around child safety and workplace harassment and discrimination prevention, two areas that are essential for creating safe ministry and work environments. It also gives you a chance to review the policies related to these topics. Plus, some states require annual training on workplace harassment, and this ensures that we are compliant with those state laws.

• The Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prevention course has been updated for 2022. The Abuse Awareness training by MinistrySafe is the same course but with a new look. However, it is such a vital topic for churches and ministries today that the information covered in the course must remain top of mind for anyone who works with children, youth, young adults, or any vulnerable population.

How long will it take to complete the Annual Required Education?

• For most staff, it will take just over 2 hours to complete the courses. For staff members who are supervisors or leaders, it will take around 3 hours. See Role Definitions for more details about who falls under each role.

I completed the courses as part of my New Staff Training with Reliant. Do I need to retake them?

• If you have attended Reliant Training since January 2022 and completed the courses, you do not need to take them as part of the Annual Required Education for existing staff. However, all Reliant Staff that attended training before January 2022 will need to complete them again as part of the Annual Required Education.

I am planning on exiting staff within the next few months. Do I need to take the courses this year?

• If you are planning on exiting staff with Reliant before October 1, 2022, you do not need to take the courses this summer. But it would be great if you could take the Ministry Experience Survey!

• If your Program Team is aware of your planned exit, they may have removed you from the list, and you should not have been emailed the links to the courses. However, if you did receive the links, please let your Program Team know so that they can note that you are excluded from the training requirement.

Hello,
Reliant is excited to let you know that we have hired the International Program Team Leader position. As you are aware, we have been in a season of transition over the last few months, and we genuinely believe that God has brought the right leader at the right time to lead Reliant's International Program into this next season. After a thorough process and much prayer, we are pleased to announce the hire of Mike Easton. Mike has been in the missions community for over 15 years. He has served on the field as a goer, he has mobilized countless individuals through a missions network, and most recently, he has worked as a missions pastor at a large sending church.

Mike is very familiar with Reliant as he has been the leader of one of our largest international sending partners, Campus to Campus (C2C) and The Salt Company. Mike comes in with an intimate knowledge of Reliant's systems and processes, but more importantly, he comes to Reliant with a unique perspective as the leader of a key partner. Mike has experienced both the good and the bad as a partner, and we are confident that his perspective will put us into a position to better serve you, our partners and field goers. Mike brings a proven track record of leadership, both on the field and in the church. We believe he is the right person to lead this program into the future, and we are confident he will bless you.

Mike will start his new role at Reliant on June 1, 2022, and we would love to provide you with an opportunity to meet him. There are a couple of ways you can do this. First, you can schedule a one-on-one time with Mike at your convenience using this link: https://calendly.com/mike-rel/45min. In addition to this, we will also have two group meet and greet times available to you:

Thursday, 6/2/22 at 8:00 am Central Standard Time
Wednesday, 6/19/22 at 8:00 am Central Standard Time
Both of these times will be on Zoom using the following link:

https://reliantmission.zoom.us/j/6939654040?pwd=RFZhdWwxSlFCZitjbXdCZmFKbWh0QT09

Meeting ID: 693 965 4040

Passcode: fayxr6

We would love to end by allowing Mike a chance to introduce himself in this email, but we hope you will take the time to personally meet him through one of the opportunities listed above. We are sure he would also love to hear from you via email. You can email Mike at: mike.easton@reliant.org. As always, please know that we are here to serve and help in any way we can. Always feel free to reach out to us anytime. You can always email us at: international@reliant.org.

Reliant Goers, Church and Network Partners,

Hi, my name is Mike Easton. As of June 1, 2022, I'll be the new International Program Leader for Reliant. I'm excited to get to know all of you a little bit and find out how to serve you better. Here's a little about myself.

The two words that describe my life's vision are "Mobilizing Passion." I love to take motivated people and give them everything they need to go in that direction as fast and as equipped as possible.

I graduated from Iowa State University in 2005. After that, I spent a semester overseas in East Asia and then started on with the college ministry, the Salt Company, at the church I went to in college, Cornerstone Church. After three years, my wife and I went to East Asia. We stayed two years and decided to come back to the States to be a part of mobilizing college graduates to the nations.

For the past eight years, I have been the missions pastor at Cornerstone Church in Ames, Iowa, where I will continue to live and work remotely with Reliant. During my time at Cornerstone, we had the privilege of sending over 2000 students on short-term summer mission trips. The Lord graced us with the opportunity to send over 90 people overseas for 2-years or more with the IMB or Campus2Campus.

As I move to this role in Reliant, I have two particular passions that I believe will be a blessing to Reliant and you all: 1) equipping churches to send and care for healthy members, and 2) making goers' lives easier through improving financial and logistical systems. I'm excited for these passions to be a blessing to you all.

I am looking forward to hearing from you all!

Mike Easton

Let's talk about MTD stewardship: the relationship-building that takes place after a ministry gift has been received. Stewardship involves showing how a donor's giving is making an impact, connecting personally in order to minister to them, offering new opportunities to give, and recognizing their investment with genuine thanks. Generally, this can be accomplished in a SHOW, CONNECT, OFFER, THANK cycle. This ongoing view of MTD leads to a strong and stable support base.

Quick Tip

This month, focus on the CONNECT phase of this cycle by personally connecting with some of your donors.

Think 1-on-1 connection to build relationships vs. one-size-fits-all mass communication. No ask. Just connection and ministering to the people who empower you.

For ideas on how to relationally connect with donors, go to the CONNECT section on this page.

Story from the Field

"After about a decade on a support-based salary through Reliant, I decided to dig into my MTD numbers. I looked at backpay and what I *could* be making as a salary vs what I was actually taking. It helped me realize I wasn’t in a sustainable situation. I either needed to figure out a different source of income or get the support raised. So, I spent the next few months calling every one of my 70 donors. I talked with 40 of them. A lot of my calls were an hour long. I was fine with that because I was making up for years of not connecting. And I didn't ignore the elephant in the room. I acknowledged I hadn't done a good job keeping in touch but wanted that to change and was looking forward to getting to know them more. It was so worth it..."

Tune in next month to hear the rest of the story!

-Matt Moore
Missionary serving in Austin, TX

Deeper Dive

Dig into the Connect portion of the Annual Stewardship Plan.

In Spirituality of Fundraising, Henri Nouwen explains more of the "why" behind this style of stewardship plan. This short, 8-chapter booklet can be used as a devotional companion to the summer support raising season. Go through it on your own, with your spouse, or your team.

We're here to help

Summer cohorts are starting up soon. Click here to learn more and sign up. Rather have 1:1 coaching? Let us know if you need a coach.

Thankful to be serving alongside you,

Your Reliant Program Support Team