Safe Church training brings congregations together

Since April 2025, more than 600 participants have completed their required Safe Church training modules, highlighting the success of the LCANZ’s restructured model.

This training is part of the LCANZ’s commitment to reflect God’s love through the way we treat each other and those who encounter our church. LCANZ Safe Church training is available in two formats: live online webinars and self-paced online training. Face-to-face delivery was phased out in 2024, and since the start of 2025, the training has been offered exclusively online.

Some suburban and regional congregations have chosen to complete the live online training in groups. This approach has been helpful for participants who are less confident with technology, prefer learning in a group environment or value being able to ask questions and engage with facilitators in real time.

Liz Ewers, the LCANZ’s Safe Church Support Partner, said there had been ‘a sense of community’ among such groups, and that the facilitators had ‘been a real asset to the success of each webinar’.

Lorna Harvey from St Paul’s Lutheran Church Clare, located in regional South Australia, said her group gathered with tea, coffee and even some lollies to keep their sugar levels up, offering support to those who didn’t have internet or couldn’t complete the training alone.

‘The best part of doing it together was the interaction and discussions that were had during the sessions,’ Lorna said. ‘I was a supporter of face-to-face in-person delivery; however, after doing this online as a group, I am now more open to doing it online in a group setting.’

Bronny Ritchie from Alice Springs Lutheran Church, in the Northern Territory, noted that many people in her congregation weren’t confident accessing online training on their own, so offering a group option helped them stay involved.

‘The sessions are a good length of time, well-structured and informative,’ she said. ‘There is enough variety in the presentation to keep participants engaged, and there are opportunities to discuss the content.’

She said participants shared supper during the sessions, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. ‘There has been lots of positive feedback after the online training sessions,’ Bronny said. ‘Thanks, team!’

Keryl Howie from The Ark Salisbury Lutheran Church, in Adelaide’s north, said her congregation had several people who found using computers challenging, so they appointed a facilitator to manage the technical side of the training.

Small group sizes of between five and eight people meant everyone could participate in the discussion, Keryl said. For some sessions, the conversation continued well after the training finished. ‘Generally, we have invited participants per ministry team or group, so they have undertaken the training with those with whom they serve,’ she said. ‘This has proven a great opportunity for groups to share in the experience together.’

Many participants who were initially unsure about online training had found it easier than expected, enjoyed the group setting and subsequently encouraged others to get involved. Keryl said this was ‘clear evidence of the acceptance of the new model of training’.

Dennis Przibilla from Gawler Lutheran Church in South Australia said the group discussions helped participants share ideas, and the online Zoom training format worked well for those uncomfortable using a computer alone. He undertook the live online webinar alone and said that completing the training online allowed him more time to go deeper into the resources.

Feedback from the webinars has also been consistently positive, Liz Ewers said. She said one participant described the training as ‘well presented at a digestible pace’, while another noted that the webinar was ‘a good way of doing the training’. Liz reported that many people found the presentation clear and valued how it reinforced important responsibilities while offering practical ways to apply the training within their local congregations.

Upcoming training sessions

Have you kept up with your Safe Church requirements? Several LCANZ Safe Church live online training webinars are scheduled for October, November and December.

Visit www.lca.org.au/safe-church-training/#upcoming-training to register or learn more.