Word Spreads as You Partner With Schools
The news about our children’s ministry got out. Soon I had calls from three more schools. Two needed tutors and another needed volunteers for a special project with third-graders.
So we recruited volunteer tutors. Then we discovered that students journaled every week, but there were too many kids for one teacher to read and comment on every journal. So we paired the third-graders with our senior adults class. Our kidmin workers picked up the journals and distributed them to our seniors. They read the journals and wrote encouraging notes to the kids. Then we returned them to the school.
This correspondence went on for a couple of months. It concluded with the third-graders coming to our church to put on a concert for a seniors lunch. And we adopted the teachers at all four schools. So now they all get our monthly teacher care packages with a note of appreciation from our children’s ministry.
Within months of our effort to partner with schools, we received an invitation to the district board meeting. Principal Nordling shared how we’d been a great help. The superintendent even let me address the board. I thanked members for their hard work and for the privilege of partnering with them. I said our ministry, as an active participant in our community, supports education.
Little did I know, two newspapers quoted my comments. So did the district website. In the parking lot that evening, I heard something I won’t forget. “It’s great seeing the church being the church!”
Soon after that meeting, the district sent photographers to our ministry. Next thing we knew, we were on the front page of its newsletter, which goes to every home in the district! The newsletter kindly acknowledged our effort to partner with schools.
A Partnership in Deed
Our ministry’s goal is to offer sustained support for schools. We stay in regular contact with principals. We check in to see what needs arise and then get creative with our help.
Recently Principal Nordling expressed concern for kids who go home each summer and have nothing to read. By fall, they lag behind in reading. In our district, families speak more than 50 different languages at home, and two-thirds of kids need financial help from the state. Many don’t get reading support from home for a variety of reasons.
Principal Nordling wanted kids to have a book to read during the summer. So our ministry organized a “gently used” book drive and collected more than 1,200 books. All the students got at least one book they could call their own. Then they sent homemade thank-you cards that our kids treasured.
We partnered with another school on a coat drive for immigrant families. Last Christmas we collected socks for students. Recently a gym teacher at an elementary school asked for sneakers for kids who didn’t have any. Our church delivered.
Our ministry’s goal is to be the gift, not just to give gifts. As a result, we enjoy strong relationships as we partner with schools. For example, we’re the evacuation site for our local high school. We also host science competitions, teacher seminars, and concerts. We provide overflow parking during special events.
Plus, our preschool is the learning lab for both local high schools. Teenagers come observe how we run our program—and consequently, they hear the gospel. We even provided school space at no cost when one school’s classrooms flooded.
