Back to school

Here we are at the start of a new school year! A time for back to school, new school, starting school, moving up, and for an increasing number of families; not back to school, as they begin a new year of home education. For many, this will be a few weeks of settling in, setting expectations and setting off on a new year of teaching and learning. 

We are passionate about supporting schools in their work with children and young people, and as the church we have much to offer! But I do think sometimes we approach schools in the wrong way, with the wrong expectations. There is a danger that we view schools simply as opportunities for us to deliver what we want to, rather than understanding the needs and pressures within the school environment, and their need to fulfil an entirely different set of expectations. 

Education in this country has a long heritage rooted in the engagement of the local church, who saw first the need invest in children and young people and give them gifts which enabled them to flourish and thrive, and we still have a great amount to offer; so how can we consider our mission to and with schools this new school year? 

Pray 

Firstly, we can and should commit to regularly praying for our schools; for the children and young communities who are preparing to return or to begin a new school; for the teachers and support staff, and for the wider school community. We can be praying for those who are present in our church services and for their engagement in school life; many churches now have back to school or bookbag blessing services; we can also include our local schools in prayer walking routes, in our intercessions and regular prayer bulletins. 

Serve 

There are numerous opportunities for us to serve our local schools in many creative ways, so how do we know where to begin? We have heard so many stories of wonderful stories of powerful ministries in schools beginning when a church asked a simple question; ‘how can we help you?’ 

From a curate who began by being asked to be on the playground at the end of the day, being available to parents, who now hosts regular chaplaincy services to the whole school community; to the group who were asked to provide a monthly lunch for college aged students, and our very own Rebecca who regularly serves in one of her local schools as stand in lunch time supervisor and extra pair of hands for trips and tricky times of the week as well as the more traditional lunch club and assemblies. 

What new missional activities may you discover by asking ‘how can we help you?’