Reliant reviews Collegiate's Leadership Training program applications and accepts the event participants. If there are no concerns then Reliant will accept the applicant without any further steps needed.  This .  (The director can also request that they see the list of everyone who is ready to be approved by Reliant to confirm their acceptance). This page outlines the steps taken for applications that have concerns. If Reliant sees anything of concern with an applicant, Reliant event coordinator (Sarah) will send an email to the appropriate LT program director to inform them of the specific concern. 

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1. Sharing the concern with the appropriate LT program director 
2. Pursuing a local pastoral interview with the applicant's pastor, or
3. Follow up with their named reference(s) given by the applicant

Reliant needs to first verify that the LT program participant's application shows that they have responded with a YES to the Confidentiality Agreement on the LT event application.  (We have added this new question to the LT application in the AGREEMENT Section asking for the participant's permission to discuss their LT application answers with their local pastor or named reference.) We will be required to honor their answer.  If they respond NO, then Reliant will inform the LT program Director that we see a concern but since they have answered the Confidentiality question with NO we do not have permission to discuss this further.  Reliant will then give their recommendation to the LT Directorprogram director who can decide if they would  like to move forward with the acceptance. 

Reliant would prefer to leave the overall acceptance criteria up to the

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program directors and local pastors; however, there are certain issues that Reliant must be involved and follow up with in order to protect both

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our partner churches/networks and Reliant form liability, risk and legal issues. 

RELIANT AND

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THE PROGRAM DIRECTORS DECIDE ACCEPTANCE  TOGETHER

Those scenarios include, but are not limited to: 

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These above scenarios do not mean automatic Reliant rejection from LT program acceptance. It just means lots of additional follow up for information and email trails to be able to provide legal protection for Reliant and the Collegiate LT program to prove we did our due diligence. These scenarios may include Reliant asking the LT Director director or designated representative to discuss with the local pastor to follow up with the individual participant with an in-person interview discussing the concerns and then giving Reliant their candid thoughts prior to potential LT acceptance. It will then include the overall approval of the LT director as well as the approval of Reliant. It may also include requiring the LT participant to have continued follow up meetings with a pastor during the LT program.  It will almost always include a conditional acceptance email from Reliant that is sent to the participant which strengthens our written legal protection for the program to show that we did our due diligence.

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With concerns regarding suicidal thoughts or attempts we may require (depending on the situation) an additional condition before acceptance if the event director and Reliant are still in favor of moving forward.   

The condition for acceptance is that we would like the participant to sign a waiver with their counselor that allows the LT program director (or LT program director and local pastor) to be able to call the counselor and get their recommendation on whether they think the participant should attend the program or not.  We want the LT program director to be on the waiver because we want to have the ability to contact the counselor to keep the lines of communication open over the summer if a follow up conversation becomes necessary. However, we would be open to allowing a local pastor to be that person as well if the local pastor is also attending LT the program with them to continue following up. The participant’s acceptance is conditional on them signing the waiver and the director/local pastor being able to talk with the counselor.  If they do not want to sign the waiver then that shows (an unwillingness to co-operate instead of that they are potentially hiding something) and Collegiate is not willing to accept them due to liability. If the counselor does not recommend them attending the program then we will not accept them. If after talking to the counselor, the LT director is now not convinced that they should be accepted,  even if the counselor says it’s fine then we don’t accept them.

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If the participant is not currently seeing a counselor, then we will may ask that they do see a licensed counselor in order to move forward with our conditions for acceptance.

We will also add on the conditional acceptance email that they commit (if possible) to continuing to meet with their counselor via phone or skype at least once a month during the months of LT (May, June, and July) if possiblethe program .  We also ask that a LT Reliant/Collegiate staff member the a leader in the program meet periodically with them over the summer.  

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This conditional acceptance email has the potential to sound more legalistic due to the needed legal sounding wording requirements. It is advised that if there is the need to send a conditional acceptance email then we ask that the local pastor or director share with the participant that they will be receiving an email from Reliant asking them to refrain from the concerned struggles/behavior, discussing the conditions for acceptance, and letting them know that there is a possibility that the LT program director may ask them to leave the program if they do not follow the LT policies while in attendance of the program.  Again, the conditional email will only be sent AFTER the local pastor/director has already met with the individual to discuss the concerns and emailed Reliant with the follow up info from the conversation to confirm their approval of the acceptance of that participantlet them know that they will receive a conditional acceptance email assuming the director wants to continue with the acceptance. 

Here is a copy of the Reliant Conditional Acceptance Email:

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Thank you for applying to the ___LT program administered by Reliant. At this point, you should have received a general acceptance email from the ___ LT program.

We appreciate the fact that you were open and even willing to meet and discuss your application answers with your local pastor or spiritual reference.  We are thankful that you have expressed your commitment to growing in the areas outlined as concerns (e.g. marijuana usage and suicidal thoughts) on your LT application.  Leadership Training   ________program can challenge individuals physically, spiritually and emotionally. Also, for those that are already struggling in certain areas, LT ______program can be a challenge to not revert back to old habits or areas of weakness during the program.  We We hope that this summer helps you find growth in these areas of concern.

Therefore, we want to inform you that Reliant is conditionally accepting you into the LT _____program with full knowledge of these concerns. Conditional acceptance means that Reliant reserves the right to continue to monitor  your situation, make suggestions, and even make recommendations for medical attention or professional counseling if necessary. Your acceptance to the program is conditional based on you continuing to....(e.g. refrain from marijuana usage between now and the end of the program and continuing to meet with a counselor throughout the program).  

.________. In .  In addition, we need you to know that while at LT this program if your LT program director feels that you are not displaying the character outlined in the LT policies or they see continued struggle in the areas of concern, then Reliant in agreement with the LT program director reserves the right to remove you from the LT program.  

We encourage you to please ask for help and accountability this summer in your areas of concern.  Please be open with your friends, Reliant missionaries attending the program with you, and your LT program leaders. If you have any questions along the way please don’t hesitate to ask.

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In 2017 there was only one participant that Reliant choose not to accept and that was due to a parent saying “absolutely No” to their child attending Honduras LTLeadership Training. 

The only case that Reliant would say absolutely NO to accepting an applicant, is in cases such as where the parent has clearly stated that in no way they want their son/daughter to attend LT. It would say on the application "WE HAVE PERSONALLY ADVISED OUR SON/DAUGHTER NOT TO PARTICIPATE FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS".  and an example of a reason would be... "I have read that this location has a high crime rate and as her mom, I am NOT OK with this."  In the case of a parent saying no way they absolutely can not go, then Reliant cannot accept them due to insurance liability reasons.  

In the scenario of parental concerns, Reliant will ask the local pastor or LT director to follow up with parent and probably follow up with the LT applicant to help relieve concerns.  Emails and documentation will be needed to confirm that parents are willing to move forward with their child’s participation in the program.  If the parent has clearly written “No, my child may not attend”, Reliant and Collegiate the church/network must respect the desires of the parent and will unfortunately not be able to accept the applicant into the LT program due to insurance and liability reasons.

In general, most parents say they have concerns and those are usually adequately addressed after the parents have a discussion with the LT Directordirector.  You may see written on the application: "WE ARE NOT OPPOSED TO OUR SON/DAUGHTER PARTICIPATING, BUT WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING RESERVATIONS THAT WE SIMPLY WANT TO MAKE RELIANT AWARE OF"....... and that usually follows with a question or concern from the parent. Reliant will then send an email to the LT Director director to ask that the Director director follow up with the parent to discuss and seek to resolve the reservations/concerns.

ACCEPTANCE CONCERNS DECIDED ON THE LOCAL PASTOR/

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PROGRAM DIRECTOR

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There may be other concern scenarios where Reliant would like the LT program director and/or local pastor to be aware and to give their consent before approval/acceptance, but Reliant is not requiring a follow up meeting between the local pastor and individual event participant and Reliant will not send a conditional acceptance email unless requested by the LT director. These are concerns that Reliant wants to get LT director approval for, but we do not seem them as serious enough to need follow up discussion with the students (unless the LT director requests it).

Those scenarios include, but are not limited to:

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We want to leave the final acceptance decision of these concerns in the hands of the local pastor and LT director that will be with the participant all summer.

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There are a few smaller more frequently seen concerns listed below that typically appear on applications. It is Reliant’s understanding that in these scenarios a LT director and/or local pastor does not need to be notified and that acceptance is considered approved without notifying Collegiate the church/network and is simply accepted with no questions by Reliant.

• If a participant mentions that they have struggled with slipping once or twice with underage drinking drinking 

• If they have slipped once or twice with sexual purity but it is no longer a struggle

• If they struggle with masturbation but have accountability

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