Staff & Volunteer Handbook

This section contains information relevant to all Serving Team Members.

Safeguarding Policies

Safeguarding Policies

Safer Churches Policy & Guideline

We subscribe to the ACC Safer Churches Policy & Guideline.

These documents inform how we interact with children and young people, as well as other vulnerable persons.

ACC Child Protection Policy

ACC Safer Churches Guidelines

Safeguarding Policies

Code of Conduct

All workers (paid or volunteer) are expected to abide by the Code of Conduct that they agreed to prior to commencement in their role.

There are three levels within the Code of Conduct;

If you are unsure which Code of Conduct applies to you, please contact your Leader for clarification.

ACC Safer Churches Non-Spiritual Guidance Volunteer Church Workers Code of Conduct.pdf

ACC Safer Churches Volunteer Church Workers Code of Conduct.pdf

Safeguarding Policies

Incident Reporting

For the protection of those we serve, our volunteers and our church, it is important that all incidents are correctly recorded and reported via the Incident Report Form. The form should be used any time first aid is rendered. 

If you are unsure if an Incident Report is required, it is best to fill one out anyway.

Incident Report Form

Safeguarding Policies

Safe Ministry Resources

SC021 Types and Indicators of child abuse from SC Manual.pdf

Your Guide to Serving

Thank you for your heart and commitment to serving God and His Church.

Serving in a team is a key expression of our love for God, His Church, and others. God has given each of us unique abilities and giftings that we can use to make a difference through serving.

“I am your Lord and Teacher. But I washed your feet… So you should serve each other just as I served you.” John 13:3–15

Our Heart for You

We value every person in our community. Your personal relationship with God is incredibly important, which is why we actively encourage our Serving Team to:

“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly… so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)

Serving Team Expression (How We Serve)

Serving and being part of a team is an opportunity to outwork our love for God, meet people, make friends, have fun, and grow in our faith. To serve well — and to truly enjoy being part of a team — we embrace the following:

1) We Serve God

Our service is more than fulfilling a role or volunteering — we are serving God, from the overflow of our relationship with Him.

2) We Value Discipleship

Jesus is our goal. We are teachable, open to encouragement and challenge, and we take responsibility when we make mistakes so we can grow. We take every opportunity to encourage others in God.

3) We Communicate Well

We understand the importance of communication, and we communicate early and clearly.

4) We Find Solutions

Problems are inevitable — we look for solutions and move quickly and quietly to resolve them.

5) We Show Up

We value attending and engaging well at services, events, and team meetings. We show up on time, ready to engage.

6) We Speak Faith

Our language speaks faith and our actions are faith-filled. We faithfully encourage people back to faith.

7) We Have Fun

Serving on a team should be enjoyable. We are intentional about ensuring team members and the people we serve have a positive experience.

We believe we are at our best when the whole body works together.

Practical Expectations (What This Looks Like)

Being Scheduled & Reliability

Arriving on Time

Most Sunday roles require arriving 45 minutes before the Sunday service.

Serving with Excellence

Team Culture & Attitude

Respect, Safety, and Integrity

When You’re Not Serving

We encourage you to fully engage in the service when you’re not rostered on.


Who to Contact

If you have questions, need support, or can’t make your scheduled serving time, please contact your Team Leader as soon as possible.

Reimbursement Requests

At times, volunteers and staff members may make purchases that require reimbursement. In such cases, a Reimbursement Form must be completed by the individual requesting a reimbursement.

If you are making a purchase that you expect to be reimbursed, it is recommended that you speak to the Senior Pastor or Treasurer first for approval, to ensure your reimbursement request will be accepted. In some cases you may be asked to complete a more formal Requisition Request before going ahead with the purchase.

All reimbursement requests require the supply of an invoice / receipt as proof of purchase that is;

Reimbursements are usually processed fortnightly on a Tuesday.

Reimbursement Request Form

General Policies

General Policies

Alcohol Policy

Why this matters

This isn't legalism. We're not saying alcohol itself is sinful, or that a Christian who drinks is doing something wrong. Biblically, drunkenness is never okay, but as leaders and those who serve others, there are moments when we make decisions out of our care, love and duty to others. Paul's own conclusion, "it is better not to… drink wine… if it might cause another believer to stumble" (Romans 14:21, NLT), isn't a rule handed to him. It's a freedom he gladly lays down for someone he loves.

Why name alcohol in particular? Of all the things we could point to, this is an area where the harm is real, common and well documented: in addiction, in health, and in family violence. (There's a short summary of the evidence at the end of this document, if you'd like it).

On any given Sunday, someone here is quietly fighting an addiction, recovering from one, or carrying what someone else's drinking did to their family. We usually won't know who they are. They're simply the believer Paul had in mind.

So we go first. Not because drinking is wrong, but because the people we serve matter more to us than our liberty does.

In short

Where Our practice
The Reside venue Alcohol-free, always
Promoting any Reside event Never feature or advertise alcohol
Leaders & serving teams, at Reside events Don't drink
Supplying alcohol to anyone NeverLeaders and volunteers don't provide it
Others, at external Reside events Their choice. We don't encourage it, and we don't confront it
Small Groups & gatherings in homes Alcohol-free and alcohol not visible
Non-Reside gatherings(e.g. a church member’s birthday) Prayerfully consider what’s appropriate

What counts as a Reside event

A Reside event or gathering is anything organised by Reside or one of its ministries (a service, Small Group, team night, camp or social) or promoted through Reside channels: emails, announcements, socials, and anything said from the platform. It doesn't matter whether it happens at our venue, in a home or somewhere external. If Reside organised it or invited people to it, this policy applies.

Our venue is alcohol-free

The Reside venue is an alcohol-free venue. Alcohol is not served, supplied or consumed on site at any service, event or gathering.

We never advertise alcohol

Alcohol is never used to promote a Reside event or draw people to it:

This applies across all our communications: flyers, socials, emails, and anything said from the platform.

Leaders and teams don't drink at Reside events

If you lead, assist, or serve on a team, don't drink alcohol at Reside events or gatherings, including events held at external venues. While we're gathered as Reside, you're a leader in the room, and people take their cue from you.

We don't supply alcohol

Leaders, assistants and volunteers don't supply alcohol to anyone, at any age, in any Reside context. Don't buy the round, bring the bottle, stock the fridge, or hand someone a drink.

You never know whose fight you'd be adding to. (Supplying alcohol to someone under 18 can also be a criminal offence, but our standard is simpler than the law: we don't supply).

Where others choose to drink

At Reside events held at external venues, some people in our church may choose to drink. That's their choice**.** We don't provide it, we don't encourage it, and we don't confront people about it. We simply hold our own standard and extend grace.

Hosting in homes

Small Groups and similar gatherings often meet in leaders' homes. When you host, keep alcohol out of sight by putting it away before people arrive. It's a small thing that makes the space safe for whoever walks in.

When it's not a Reside event

Not everything church people do together is a Reside event. If someone from church invites you to their birthday party, that's their gathering, not ours, and this policy doesn't follow you there. We'd encourage you to prayerfully consider what's appropriate, the same care for others that shapes this policy is worth carrying everywhere.

Personal conduct

Expected behaviour around alcohol at a personal level is covered by the Code of Conduct. If you're ever unsure how this applies to you or your team, talk with your overseeing pastor.

The evidence behind this

If you'd like the detail behind this policy:

Sources

Serving Team Onboarding Process

Who does what

The church office handles the paperwork: the questionnaire, references, Working With Children Check, Code of Conduct, Safe Ministry training, approval and record keeping. Most of it is automated.

The team leader handles the relationship: the welcome, the come and see, the role induction, the first serve and the check in afterwards.

The volunteer says yes, completes what the office sends them, and turns up.

Come and see first

Nobody has to commit to anything to explore. Have a coffee with a team leader, watch a team in action, or try it alongside someone experienced.

No forms are required just to come and see in an observer capacity.

How it starts

There are two ways in, and either one begins the process:

The steps

You (joining a team) Team leader Church office
1. Get started Complete the Serving Team Interest Form Or complete a Serving Team Recommendation Form Create the record, assign a named contact
2. Get to know each other Have a welcome chat, complete the serving questionnaire and add two references Have the welcome chat Send the questionnaire, follow up the references
3. Safe church basics Apply for or link your WWCC, sign the Code of Conduct, complete Safe Ministry training Send every link, book the training, verify each step
4. Approval Submit for approval and confirm the outcome
5. Cleared to serve Get ready to start The office tells you they are cleared Notify the team leader
6. Meet the team and start Learn the role, meet everyone, start serving Run the role induction, introduce them, buddy their first few serves, check in after

Caring for people

Caring for people is central to what we do. That includes making sure everyone who volunteers is onboarded, trained and verified, in line with our Safe Ministry guidelines.

Nobody serves until they have been cleared. This applies to every role, not only those working with children and young people.

Checklists

For the volunteer

For the team leader

For the church office

Ready to serve = every office box ticked and the leader told.

Questions

If anything is unclear, or you are not sure where you are up to, get in touch with the church office. We are happy to help.

Discipleship Resources

Discipleship Resources

Sharing a devotional

A short guide for anyone asked to share one.


What it is

A devotional is a short reflection built around a passage of Scripture. Five to ten minutes. One passage, one idea, and what it might mean for us this week.

What it isn't

It isn't a sermon. You are not expected to explain the passage verse by verse, cover three points, or resolve anything difficult. A sermon teaches a text to a gathered church. A devotional invites a group to sit with one idea for a few minutes.

Doing less is not a lesser version of the job. It is the job.

The shape

  1. Read the passage aloud. Twice if it is short. Let people actually hear it.
  2. Say what struck you. First person is fine, and usually better. "What I noticed was…"
  3. Land on one thing it might mean for us this week.
  4. Pray, or invite someone else to.

That is the whole structure. If you have those four, you have a devotional.

Preparing it

Pick the passage first, not the illustration. If you start with a great story and go looking for a verse to attach to it, everyone can tell.

Ask yourself: what is the one thing? If you cannot say it in a sentence, you are not ready to share it yet. Keep sitting with the passage until the sentence arrives.

Write your last line first. Knowing where you are landing makes the rest much easier, and it stops you trailing off.

Say it out loud and time it. Everything runs longer aloud than it reads on the page.

Common traps

One last thing

You were asked because of who you are and what you have walked through, not because anyone thinks you are a Bible scholar. Something God has been teaching you lately, said honestly in five minutes, will do more good in the room than something polished that you borrowed.

If you get stuck, ask. That is not a failure, it is how this works.

Brand Guidelines

Reside Church — Brand Guidelines

"A church to belong in."

Reside Church is a Pentecostal church in Geelong, Victoria, associated with Australian Christian Churches, gathering Sundays at 175 Moolap Station Road, Moolap VIC 3224. Its mission: "We are a Spirit-filled church, devoted to loving God and sharing the Good News of Jesus."

The brand is warm, modern and grounded — not corporate, not flashy, not over-styled. The visual language is built on strong type, deep navy surfaces, and full-bleed photography of the congregation. The wordmark is a lowercase "r." set inside a teardrop / map-pin, a literal sign of Reside: to dwell, to belong in a place.

Contents

  1. Logo
  2. Colour
  3. Typography
  4. Photography
  5. Voice & copy
  6. UI patterns
  7. Motion
  8. Iconography
  9. Asset index

The logomark and full lockup are the most visible expressions of the brand. Treat them as fixed assets: use the supplied files, scale them uniformly, give them room, never modify the design.

Approved variants

File Use
reside-mark-black.png / reside-mark-white.png Logomark only (the pin) — small uses, favicons, avatars
reside-full-black.png / reside-full-white.png Horizontal lockup with wordmark — default
reside-full-black-solid.png / reside-full-white-solid.png Lockup on a solid contrast tile — thumbnails, social tiles
reside-kids.png Approved sub-brand lockup

Safe area

Keep clear space around the logo equal to the height of the "r." pin on all four sides. Nothing enters that zone - text, other logos, image content, page edges, photo subjects, decorative shapes. For the standalone logomark, clear space equals the height of the dot under the r.

Contrast

Don't

Sub-brands

Ministry sub-brands (currently reside kids) ship as finished lockup artwork, not type-set in code. The kids lockup pairs the lowercase Outfit "reside" wordmark with a hand-lettered ministry name; those letterforms are part of the asset.


2. Colour

Deep navy is the brand neutral and white carries the contrast. The system has no saturated brand accent in its core palette — energy comes from photography, not pigment.

Core

Token Hex Role
--primary #0F172A Deep slate navy — default page surface, dark cards
--secondary #202742 A step up — elevated dark surfaces, footer bands
--accent #4F5584 Muted indigo — strokes, subtle fills, small UI surfaces
--light #F4F7FB Icy off-white — alternate section background
--white #FFFFFF Body text and logos on navy

--primary is nearly black with the faintest blue cast — never pure black, never grey. --accent is never a full-bleed brand colour.

Navy ramp

A tonal ramp interpolated from primary → accent, for text hierarchy and hairlines on dark: --navy-950 #08101F, --navy-900 #0F172A, --navy-800 #161E36, --navy-700 #1B2440, --navy-600 #202742, --navy-500 #2A3358, --navy-400 #4F5584, --navy-300 #7E84A8, --navy-200 #B5B9CE, --navy-100 #DEE0EC, --navy-50 #F4F7FB.

Colour Splash palettes

High-saturation pairs for campaign and event surfaces only — series art, posters, Sunday tiles, event heroes. Splash colour never replaces navy as the base brand surface.

Palette Background Foreground
Red #EB4E4F #FFFFFF
Mint #00E5A9 #201E1C
Purple #4500A2 #FF6E6E
Blue / Yellow #304AFB #FED72C

Rules: each palette is one background and one foreground, locked together — never pull a background from one palette and a foreground from another. One palette owns a given piece; use navy, white and the neutral ramp for everything around it.

Surface modes

Three modes do nearly all the work: full-bleed photo with dark overlay, deep-navy section, light off-white section. Maximum of two background colours in any one piece.


3. Typography

Outfit is the only typeface — a modern geometric sans, used across weights 100–900 with 400→800 doing the everyday work. It ships with this system as local @font-face files (variable plus static cuts).

Role Weight Size Tracking / leading
Display XL 800 ExtraBold --fs-display-xl (56 → 104px) −0.02em, line-height ~1.0
Display 800 ExtraBold --fs-display (44 → 72px) −0.02em, line-height ~1.02
H1 700 Bold --fs-h1 (32 → 48px) −0.01em, line-height 1.15
H2 700 Bold --fs-h2 (24 → 36px) −0.01em, line-height 1.15
Body 400 Regular 16–18px line-height 1.4–1.6
Eyebrow 700 Bold 12px 0.08em, uppercase
Buttons 600 Semibold 14–16px sentence case

Headlines are always sentence case. Eyebrows are the only place ALL CAPS is used.

Layout & spacing

Corners, strokes, shadows


4. Photography


5. Voice & copy

The voice is warm, plain-spoken, inviting, uplifting and visionary, never preachy, never marketing-slick. Every line reads like a real person inviting another real person into a real room. The energy is joyful, not solemn.

Principles

Tone

Casing

Vocabulary

Use: church to belong in (the defining tagline), belong / belonging / place to belong, gather, join us, host you, Spirit-filled (sparingly), Plan a visit, What to expect, Sunday service, Ministries.

Avoid: salvation funnel, seeker, crusade, unchurched, believer journey, do life with. None appear in any source material.

Rhythm

Sentences are short — 8–15 words is typical. Commas slow the cadence on welcome copy. Arrows appear as . No emoji on the public site.

Worked examples


6. UI patterns


7. Motion


8. Iconography

Reside uses very few icons, and that restraint is part of the system. The pin/teardrop logomark is the single most-used graphic element.

The live chrome uses only a hamburger for mobile nav, a right-arrow glyph in CTAs (, U+2192), and chevrons on small inline CTAs.