Pastors, the Summer is almost over, and the school year is about to kick off. Teachers are busy preparing their classrooms, students are purchasing school supplies, and parents are rejoicing (LOL). Although this time of year is a little crazy, there are several ways for your church to minister to the local schools. Here are four ways a church can minister to its local school.
Prayer walk a school campus – FREE
This one is easy and has no costs for the church. Set an appointment to talk with the school’s administration and ask permission to prayer walk the campus. If they are receptive to the idea, set a time for the school to be open so your people can walk through and pray in each classroom. If the schedule works out, move the Wednesday night prayer meeting to the schoolhouse and pray for the kids. I am sure that the parents, the teachers, and your parishioners would love the opportunity to pray over the next generation.
Teacher encouragement treats – $
Everyone loves treats! That extra encouragement and sugar could push a teacher through the first week of school. So set the plan now and get ready to execute. Maybe your church could deliver a few boxes of candy bars for teachers to pick from with an inspirational book. Or perhaps you could get a bunch of soft drinks and have the teacher’s favorite drink delivered to their classroom with an invitation card from your church. The possibilities are endless. Think outside the box and find a clever way to love those teachers who love our kids.
Teacher appreciation meal at your church – $$
We love our teachers! So let’s tell them! Have your church host a teacher appreciation banquet. Serve the teachers and their families a nice dinner. Have some activities for their children and provide some evening entertainment. Recognize those teachers who are doing a great job. The students could nominate their favorite teacher, or the administration could give a list of teachers deserving recognition. The goal would be to provide a fun evening for teachers to let them know that your church and their students value them.
Baccalaureate or Graduation celebration at your church – $$$
Let’s go all out for our students! I have seen this done in two ways: seniors graduating from high school and small kids graduating from kindergarten.
For seniors, you could provide a dinner celebration with games and prizes for the students. Go big with great prizes to help the students as they go off to college or start that next phase of life.
You could provide a family experience with bounce houses and a cookout for small kids. Recognize the littles but ensure the evening has plenty of smiles and photo ops for the parents.
These ideas can work in just about any context and for about any size church. Feel free to take them and adapt them as you feel led. If you have other ideas on serving local educators, please post them in the comments.