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Back to School
Posted by Bowden McElroy in Church & Missions
One of our purposes at SBC Impact! is to “(be a) resource for local churches and missionaries by sharing life and ministry experiences and finding solutions to everyday problems that we encounter on our mission fields…”
With that in mind, I encourage you to check out one ministry project our church is involved in: back2schooltulsa.
We will be offering free school supplies and backpacks to the first 1000 children at the event, going into grades K-12. The first 1000 students will receive a backpack filled with the supplies their school requires. Additionally, medical professionals with the Tulsa County Health Deptartment will be on hand to administer immunizations. We will also have:
- free children’s haircuts
- hearing screenings
- a book fair
- community resource booths.
This will be our second year to offer a Back to School event. Last year we were in between pastors when one of our church members – a public health nurse with the county Health Department – saw a need and decided we could fill it. The church put the whole thing together in six weeks (someone should have told us it couldn’t be done in that short a time… oh well).
Every family that attended last year heard the Good News and met with a church member for prayer. If anyone was offended at having prayer thrust on them, no one complained.
Children were ministered to, people were prayed for, and a few families began attending the church because one person had a vision and the rest of the church was bold enough to step out instead of waiting until we had a pastor.
Our public schools are a mission field that is ripe. This is just one example of a church reaching out to students and their families. In what ways has your church done something to reach schools/students in your community?
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Bowden,
Apparently not much is going on!
Our church has participated in an organized effort by non-profits in our city to do much the same thing for the homeless (haircuts, shots, basic physicals, etc). But we are looking at a local elementary school that is undereperforming and in need of a long term relationship that would include tutoring, mentoring, as well as some of the other ideas you described.
Taran,
Thanks for the comment: write a post that is perceived as controversial and everybody has something to say; write about something your church is doing (that you think is pretty cool) and it’s a lonely little blog post.
Many in the SBC argue the efficacy of sending our children to public schools. Most would agree the elementary school down the street is a mission field ripe for harvest. Reaching out to students, parents, and teachers is such a simple thing for a congregation to do. I didn’t think there would be many comments, but I was hoping for a few ideas.
It is a great idea. My church has done something similar for several years. In addition to school supplies, it has been more like a block party than a health fair, though, with cotton candy, Jupiter jumps, face painting, a climbing wall, hot dogs, and snow cones.
There is always a presentation of the Gospel, as well as people gathering in groups according to their school and having a prayer for that school.
Punch cards are used so that everybody has a chance at every activity.
A local church, not mine, has done a lot of volunteer activities for the local 9th-10th grade, including redoing the teachers’ lounge just beautifully.