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Weigh In: Volume 2 – Connecting with Local Schools
Josh on August 31st, 2010
Every so often we take a question, perhaps from the Simply Youth Ministry Podcast, and pose it to you to answer instead of our panel. Here’s a great one that came in – if you have some wisdom I hope you’ll share!
I’ve been looking for ways to connect with our local school districts that are appropriate as a church worker and not offensive, ways to let them know we care about the students and are willing to help in any way that we can. Any suggestions you have in this area would be greatly appreciated.
Now – weigh in!
JG
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We’ve contacted our local middle and high school and let them know that we are here for whatever they need. This year they asked us to collect school supplies and give them to the school so they could give them to students directly as they saw the need. During the summer our youth group had mission days and on two of them we went to the middle school – one days we sorted books and the other day we delivered textbooks to classrooms. It was amazing to see how much the employees of the schools appreciated it. And it gave the chance for some of the youth to see people from their school in a different way – not just as their “mean” teachers.
At the middle school, they’ve also said it would be helpful to have more adults in the lunchroom, so three employess from the church (out of 7 total) will be going over once a week to be in the lunchroom and just be there. The lunchroom is also a great way to connect with students who we already have connections with and build new relationships with other students!
In other words – just contact the school and ask them how to help. If they have no ideas – then maybe offer to help in the lunchroom or reshelve books in the library. Not only is is a great way to have contact with students, but you can build a relationship with the people who the students are in contact with every day!