As we head into fall, your local schools are gearing up for another year. It’s a great time to pursue opportunities to serve your schools and show the love of Jesus and the care of your church.
But what should you do?
Pursuing your church’s mission in your nearby schools doesn’t need to stress you out.
Here are 11 ways your church can engage your local schools this fall.
1) Volunteer as Classroom Helpers
Schools across the country need volunteers, particularly in classrooms. Your congregants can volunteer to help teachers with activities such as grading papers, preparing materials, and supporting small group activities. When you provide classroom helpers for schools, you free teachers up to spend more one-on-one time with their students.
2) Organize School Supply Drives
School supplies have gotten more expensive in recent years. Parents, teachers, and school systems have had to pick up these additional expenses. A supply drive can help to ease these financial strains.
Get a school supply list from your local school. Typically, they are available at least a month before school starts. If you want to get a head start, take last year’s list. It’ll be similar. Share that list with your congregation. Encourage them to bring in what they can. Then distribute what you’ve collected either to the school or directly to students (maybe with a backpack).
You’ll make a lot of kids (and parents!) smile.
3) Host After-School Programs
After-school programs provide students with a safe place to go after school and learn something productive. You could provide tutoring, athletics practice, or a simple arts and crafts time.
Talk to your school administrators about programs that might be helpful to their students. Recruit volunteers with the right skill mix, and promote the activities at the school.
Transportation may be a challenge, so this option works best if you’re within walking distance of the school and can get volunteers to help escort the children.
4) Serve Meals to Children in Need
About 1 in 10 children under 17 years of age live in homes that experience “food insecurity.” For many of those families, school breakfasts and lunches are the only good meals they get each day. But that leaves gaps when school isn’t in session (evenings, holidays, summers, etc.).
Partner with local food banks and schools to find kids in need. Gather food from your congregation or get help from your local food bank. Then put together packing events at the church and distribute the food discretely to the children.
5) Offer the Use of Church Facilities
You’ll often hear of new churches using schools as meeting locations, but there are times when schools themselves can use church facilities. This is particularly true of larger churches with excess parking (particularly during the week) and space for athletics. Talk to your local school administration about specific needs they might have. Make sure to check with your insurance carrier and ensure you’re covered in case of an accident on your premises.
6) Create Mentorship Programs
Many children today don’t have nearly as many adults in their lives as they once did. Your church members can help to stand in the gap by serving as mentors to at-risk children.
Get recommendations of kids who may need help from your local school and match them with interested volunteers who have some time. Make sure all volunteers have gone through appropriate background checks.
Consider partnering with an organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters if you have one in your local community.
7) Support Teachers with Resources and Encouragement
Teaching is one of the toughest jobs out there today. Your church’s support can be the key to helping them move from surviving to thriving.
There are truly limitless possibilities for how to do this. Start by talking to school administrators and understanding the biggest needs. Do they need you to sponsor a meal for teacher appreciation week? Can you purchase teacher supplies? Your administrators will know how best you can help.
8) Partner on Anti-Bullying Campaigns
The last decade has brought much more public awareness to bullying in schools. School districts are trying to address this, but it’s likely bigger than they can handle on their own. Helping with anti-bullying campaigns can help your church put your biblical values of kindness and respect into action.
Collaborate with your local schools to create and implement an anti-bullying program through workshops, educational materials, etc. Encourage congregants to take part in school events on the subject.
9) Organize Career Days and Workshops
The children (and teenagers) in your local schools will be the workforce of your community in the future. Your congregants can help introduce them to productive careers.
Ask congregants to share their experiences during a career day at your church. Try to include participants in a wide variety of fields, including trades and the public sector. Include workshops on preparing for higher education and creating resumes.
10) Participate in School Clean-Up Days
Schools can be centers of neighborhood pride. Leverage your church’s community influence to organize a clean-up day.
Clarify what needs to be done with your school leadership. Gather volunteers from your church and reach out to other community organizations to help. Collect as many of the supplies as possible from the congregation, so you’re not a burden on the school. Be sure to take some before and after photos to spread the news and help gather support for future clean-up events.
11) Pray for Your Local Schools
Every church and every Christian can do this. It won’t cost a dime—and nothing can make a bigger long-term impact. Talk to people at the school (students, teachers, and administrators) and try to discern the biggest needs.
Share those requests with your church’s prayer team. Distribute them to small groups and Sunday school classes for regular prayer. Build a regular cadence of praying for your school during worship services. Consider leading a team to prayer walk around the school.
Fall is typically an exciting time at churches. Make a game plan for getting more people involved in all you’re doing this fall by downloading our new FREE guide, The Fall Church Communications Playbook: The Ultimate Guide to Re-Engaging Your Church Family.
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