Community Agreements 

Why we believe this matters

These emerging Community Agreements are our living breathing shared norms of how we want to practice consent, care, respect for boundaries, repair, and responsible use of power.

We are guided by Forefront’s values and theological distinctives: forefrontnyc.com/values 

Worship Reimagined: We are an independent, inter-denominational, and progressive church, drawing from many different traditions within the Christian faith. Progressive means our faith is always evolving and changing. We embrace many styles and expressions of worship and belief. We take scripture too seriously to take it literally. There are no doctrinal or belief requirements to volunteer or lead in church.

Uncommon Kinship: We are a diverse community that is committed to generously caring for one another no matter who you are or where you are in your journey. Valuing unity over uniformity means we are united by our shared values and out of those come a variety of beliefs. We believe in co-existing and growing together with people who have different views on prayer, scripture, and other topics.

  • Uncommon kinship means we can all belong here. We believe every person is made in the image of God with inherent dignity, worth, and agency. We believe every person is worthy of a belonging that is neither conditional nor partial. As a queer-affirming progressive church, we celebrate people of every sexual orientation and gender identity, and we honor the many ways people build love, commitment, and family, whether single, married, partnered, polyamorous, or in other consensual relationships. We delight in the many ways that faith is expressed in our community. We want to build a space of uncommon kinship where no one has to shrink themselves to belong. 

Radical Equity: We’re an inclusive church because we believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is generous and inclusive. Anyone can preach, lead, get married, and be baptized regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. We are intentional about racial, gender, and sexual diversity in all levels of leadership as part of our commitment to being an anti-racist, affirming, gender-equity-centered church. Jesus didn’t treat people equally, but he treated people equitably, with particular care for the marginalized.

  • Radical equity guides us to protect the vulnerable or marginalized, confront systems that harm, and to resist the misuse of power. Any power should be used for healing and liberation. Leaders therefore carry a heightened responsibility to steward power with humility, transparency, and accountability. And all community members share responsibility for cultivating a culture of safety, consent, and mutual respect. We know many of us have experienced harm in religious spaces. We want to protect each other — especially those among us who are most vulnerable: including, but not limited to, survivors of sexual or church trauma, newcomers, queer folks, BIPOC, young adults, and minors in our care. We keep us safe. 

Our Theology: We believe in a just and generous God who was never separated from us. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are so that we can change our minds about the goodness of God, not so that God can change God’s mind about our goodness. This is the good news of the Gospel! God’s Justice is restorative, not punitive. We aim to cultivate a more just and generous expression of the Christian faith.

  • Love is a core Christian ethic of our life together. Jesus shows us that love is never coercive or dominating; it is patient, just, generous, and oriented toward the flourishing of others. We want to treat one another with respect, honesty, and mutuality. We trust good intent in our interactions with each other, and when broken trust or harm are brought to our attention, we will tend to those impacted. We uphold these agreements with grace for our humanness, and with courage to repair when we make mistakes. We value restorative justice and a love that heals.

“How We Be” – Boundaries We Hold Together

All Community Members — everyone who participates in Forefront, in person or online — are invited to honor these intentions. We will name these norms at key church events and retreats, and invite everyone to help practice these behaviors together.

  • We practice consent. We ask before touching. Consent is a free, informed, enthusiastic yes, and can be withdrawn at any point. Hesitation or silence is as valid as a no. We make an effort to avoid unwanted advances. Whatever the request, we receive a no gracefully, without pressing or revisiting. 

  • We honor dignity. We affirm people's identities and pronouns, and we correct ourselves graciously when we err. We refrain from making unwelcome comments on another's appearance, misgendering, discrimination, harassment, bullying, gossip, micro agressions, judgments, or shaming of any kind. We lovingly correct missteps early and often, e.g. practice Oops / Ouch. 

  • We tend to impact, not just intent. We trust we have good intent, but we know that even well-intentioned people can cause hurt or harm — and how we respond matters. When someone says we've caused hurt, we get curious rather than defensive. We own our mistakes, acknowledge feelings, and take accountability with humility — willing to listen, learn, and make amends.

  • We protect confidentiality. What's shared in kinship circles, small groups, prayer, or pastoral conversations stays in those spaces — unless someone gives permission for it to go further, or safety requires action. We never out someone's identity, health, or personal journey without their consent.

  • We respect boundaries. We honor different needs, sensitivities and comfort levels. We show care and refrain from initiating a new romantic or sexual interest with someone who is intoxicated, in acute crisis, or in a place of significant vulnerability. We agree to carefully consider any imbalance in power, age, income, or life experience before pursuing intimacy. If mutual interest arises, we first check-in and talk together about how to honor our values, intentions, and boundaries before proceeding. In Forefront Church events, we are mindful not to overshare or solicit sexual history, preferences, or explicit content in church spaces, or with someone who hasn't invited it. 

  • We seek discernment. We carefully consider what is wise, kind, and in the best interests of care for self and others, such as encouraging drinking responsibly. When we are unsure, we seek out wisdom, prayer and advice from trusted nonjudgmental community members and pastors.

  • We make space. We listen before we fix. We make space for uncommon kinship where folks may hold a diverse range of sexual ethics and interpretations. We don't mock, judge, shame or pressure anyone. We communicate honestly, directly, kindly, courageously, openly, and with curiosity.

  • We share power. We build awareness of power dynamics due to role, age, race, gender, income, or social status. We seek to share power and equity, and to dismantle white supremacy culture.

  • We safeguard kids. All adults agree to our Kidstuf safeguarding standards and background checks. Any concern about a child's safety is reported immediately. We protect our little ones.

  • We practice restorative justice. We make space to repair ruptures, center the needs of the person harmed, and lovingly hold those who caused harm accountable. Genuine accountability means listening to understand, acknowledging impact, making amends, and taking real action toward repentant change. We practice intentional processes for restorative justice and healing.

  • We commit to continually improving. We will keep growing our skills and understanding of how we treat one another mindfully in our beloved community. We have grace and compassion for ourselves as imperfect humans doing the best we know at the time. We commit to learn, grow, and change. We welcome feedback and will review these norms regularly to continually improve.

Holding Roles with Responsibility

We recognize that some roles in our community carry real and perceived authority that creates power dynamics. With greater authority comes greater responsibility.

Volunteer Representatives — including Forefront Deacons, Preaching Bootcampers, Small Group Leaders, Worship Leaders, Synergy Committees, Greeters, Prayer Team, and Kidstuf Team — are trusted with holding space for new and vulnerable people in our community. As Volunteer Representatives:

  • We will practice ongoing consent, letting community members set the pace and type of contact — for example, at the prayer corner: "Is it okay if I place a hand on your shoulder like this?" 

  • We will go slow and refrain from initiating new romantic or sexual relationships with anyone we are currently holding spiritual space for. If mutual interest develops, we will disclose any new relationship with a community member in our care to a member of EC, LT or responsible deacon. 

  • All Kidstuf volunteers agree to complete a background check and help protect our kids. We will never have a child in a room alone with an adult, and keep all activities in open, or viewable areas. We agree to keep all physical contact age-appropriate, consensual, and visible. We will not share personal contact details with minors or communicate with them outside Forefront channels. 

Forefront Leaders — including our Executive Council of Co-Pastors (EC), our volunteer board known as the Leadership Team (LT), our employees, and paid contractors — are trusted with formally appointed institutional authority and are held to the highest standard of accountability and transparency. 

  • We will consider conflict of interest with care. If anyone holds a supervisory, pastoral, mentoring, management, or contractual role with another, we will refrain from intimate relationships while that role dynamic exists, or discuss with EC and LT first before proceeding.

  • LT and Staff agree to disclose any new intimate relationship with a community member to EC/LT.

Pastoral Expectations: Our pastors hold a unique role of leadership in our community, and because of that, we ask them to embody a higher standard of care, boundaries, and accountability. Many people in our Forefront community have been excluded, silenced, or wounded in past church or community settings, and our pastors take seriously the responsibility to shepherd and accompany people with gentle care. Because people trust and invite pastors into the soft places of their lives where they carry both hurt and hope, pastors must maintain strong boundaries, stay aware of the power they hold, and avoid relationships or situations that could blur roles or cause harm. They do not pursue romantic or sexual relationships with people in the Forefront community. When interest is initiated toward them, they are required to disclose it to EC and LT before taking any steps forward for discernment. They remain transparent and seek guidance and accountability with the EC when navigating complex pastoral relationships or when vulnerabilities or affections become tangled in their role.

Our pastors are not charged with perfection but with prioritizing the safety, dignity, confidentiality and belonging of the people who walk through our doors, as we all work to build a community where liberation is shared and no one’s flourishing comes at the expense of another. We name this because honesty and accountability matter here, and because when smaller missteps can be acknowledged and repair is possible, our pastors are better able to care for people well and nurture healing in the community. Pastors agree to further commitments in the Code of Conduct.

When Something Goes Wrong: How to Name Harm

If you see or experience harm in violation of these Community Agreements, you can report any incident confidentially (and anonymously if you prefer) via the Forefront Church Incident Reporting Form.

If you have any other concerns, feedback, questions, needs or flags, please feel free to contact:

Here is more information on how we handle issues. EC and LT will take feedback and continually improve our policies, practices and processes.

Additionally, we have a directory of counseling resources to support and assist community wellbeing.