Summertime Safety
Summertime in the North Country can be a magical season for children. Unfortunately, it can also be a dangerous season if parents aren’t thoroughly informed about the risks associated with kids’ summer programs. Many summer camps and programs have strict policies to protect vulnerable children, which makes it easy to assume that all programs have the same safeguards.
Christian Fellowship Center is running several programs aimed at children for Summer 2026, including Vacation Bible School, a soccer clinic, and music theater classes and Shakespeare camp through The Arts Program of Northern New York. Parents considering these programs should listen to the experiences of children who grew up at CFC and ask careful questions.
Zenna, daughter of North Country Christian Fellowship leader Bob Dale, recounts her experiences at NCCF with a middle-aged man. “He would go to church, and instead of talking with a group of older men his age, he would gravitate towards the younger girls, or younger children, teenagers, even little kids. He would chase the little kids around and play with them and tickle them.”
As she assisted with NCCF’s VBS, Zenna noticed that this man kept loitering around the kids: “All of the people who were helping were either teenage girls or moms. But then this guy who has no children, who is not helping with anything, he was just hanging around at the Vacation Bible School.”
NCCF held a picnic at the end of VBS, and Zenna noticed that this man was following her around at the event. Her parents weren’t present, so she appealed to Pastor Mike Tomford’s wife for help.
I actually went to Judy Tomford and was like, “Hey, I feel really uncomfortable. He's standing right behind me staring at me. He's following me around wherever I go.” She was like, “Alright, well, let's test this out.” So she went inside with me. And there he was, hanging around where I was, and we went back outside. And she was like, “Just hang with me for the rest of the evening.” I went home, and I was really upset. It was my first time feeling like I was being stalked or sexualized.
Zenna remembers that when she told her parents about her experience, her father dismissed the incident, saying that the man was probably lonely and couldn’t help himself. Despite notifying multiple church leaders, Zenna says that it took years for NCCF to finally tell this man that he couldn’t be around children.
CFC’s track record of abuse mishandling requires especially pointed questions. Parents who send their children to a summer program operated by CFC should demand clear answers about who is allowed to be around their children and how CFC will respond in the event of an incident.
We have previously addressed CFC’s inadequate child protection policies, but summer programs are a different situation. G.R.A.C.E., an organization dedicated to helping churches respond well to abuse, offers a helpful hypothetical scenario for screening volunteers, but this is a question that should be asked of every CFC leader:
"What would you do if you saw a popular, beloved church elder tickling a child in a corner during game time, which violates our physical touch policy?" If the applicant hesitates, makes excuses for the elder, or says they wouldn't want to cause trouble, that is a red flag. If they hesitate in a hypothetical situation, they will likely hesitate during the fast pace of VBS week.
G.R.A.C.E. also offers several guides that can help us all to ask informed questions about summer programs for kids, whether it’s a daytime event or overnight trip.
Ultimately, learning to ask good questions about child safety benefits everyone in our community, not just the children in our own families. Join us in making summer a safe season for kids in the North Country!
