FCM Professional Practice Policy

Applicants for membership in the Federation of Christian Ministries are required to complete the following Professional Practice Policy and Questionnaire

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES STATEMENT

It is the position of FCM that each member of FCM holds primary responsibility for maintaining appropriate professional and personal boundaries in all ministerial relationships. It is also assumed that when a person joins FCM, and especially when commissioned, that he/she has attained emotional and sexual maturity thereby allowing the FCM member to minister comfortably with persons of any age or gender who may come for assistance. Therefore, membership and commissioning in FCM is based on the following representations, and the signature of the applicant for commissioning will indicate understanding of, and agreement with, these standards.

Please circle Yes or No in response to to the following questions. If your answer is Yes to any of them, you must provide full particulars on a separate sheet of paper for your application to be considered.

1. Have you ever been convicted of or charged with a crime in any state or country, the disposition of which was other than acquittal or dismissal? A juvenile finding of responsibility or involvement, or similar determination, shall be explained as if it were an adult conviction. Any probation before verdict or similar disposition program shall be fully documented as well.

2. Has any certifying or licensing board or professional ethics body in any state or country ever required you to surrender your license or certificate or found you guilty of a violation of ethics codes, professional misconduct, unprofessional conduct, incompetence or negligence (including alternative dispute resolution cases)?

3. Are there any complaints, charges or investigations by any certifying or licensing board or professional ethics body pending against you in any state or country for violation of ethics codes, professional misconduct, unprofessional conduct, incompetence or negligence (including alternative dispute resolution cases)?

4. Have you ever had any insurance company or Lloyd's decline, cancel, refuse to renew or accept only on special terms any professional liability insurance?

5. Has any professional liability claim or suit ever been made against you (including alternative dispute resolution cases)?

6. Are there any circumstances of which you are aware that may result in any professional liability claim or suit being made against you (including alternative dispute resolution cases)?

7. Have you ever been accused of sexual misconduct with any of your current or former clients including but not limited to spiritual direction clients, mental health clients, or any other persons with whom you have had a professional, pastoral or other similar relationship of confidence and trust, or with any current or former client's spouse or with any person in a close personal relationship to the client or former client (for example, a guardian, blood relative or the client or spouse of any person sharing the client's domicile)? For purposes of this inquiry, "client" shall include, but is not limited to, persons with whom you have or have had, at any time, any professional, penitential or any other pastoral relationship.

FCM ministers are required to follow state and federal laws for clearance to minister to vulnerable populations, e.g., children, the elderly.

The Federation of Christian Ministries does not assume nor accept responsibility for the actions and practices nor the results therefrom of any of its ministers, present or past.

The applicant for commissioning hereby represents that to the best of his/her knowledge, the statements set forth herein are true. If the information supplied herein changes between the date of application and the time when the FCM commissioning is issued or renewed, or subsequently at any time the applicant remains a member of FCM, the applicant shall immediately notify FCM.