Be a Child Advocate
United Voices for Children supports child advocates through orientation and training sessions, periodic communications, and a web page that provides updated information to both child advocates and members of the congregation.
What do Child Advocates do?
- Help their congregations develop and become involved in activities & programs that benefit the children & families in their church’s community
- Interpret and promote the services of our four Conference-related child serving agencies for the purpose of gaining support for these ministries.
- Inform church members on the major public policy issues affecting children.
Child Advocate Job Description
Every local church is encouraged to elect or appoint a Child Advocate or Advocates during the congregation’s Annual Charge Conference. More than one child advocate can be appointed to this role. Each child advocate makes a commitment of one year of service that can be renewed at the Annual Charge Conference.
The mission and role of the Child Advocate in a local congregation includes the following:
- To interpret and promote the services of our four Conference-related child serving agencies for the purpose of gaining support for these ministries through the 5th Sunday Appeal.
- To enable their congregation to engage the ministries of our four Conference-related child serving agencies in mission and social justice.
- To relate to the Administrative Council, identifying child-related issues to which the congregation can address.
- To encourage the congregation to become involved in activities and programs that benefit the children and families in their church’s community. This may include enlisting the support of the children’s coordinator, children’s council, United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men, and other groups in the church concerned about children.
- To encourage the church to observe Children’s Sunday the second Sunday in June and the Children’s Sabbath the third weekend in October.
- To advocate on behalf of all children in our communities, helping the congregation and public officials better understand the issues affecting children and their families in support of legislation and public policy practices that benefit our children.
- To encourage others to become Child Advocates.