A Fresh Start: Church-School Partnerships

10 ways to start, deepen or expand your church-school relationship

Here we are again with a brand-new start to one more school year! What better time for us to think of new and effective ways we can best serve our neighbors than the back-to-school season. The beginning of the school year can be just what we need as a fresh and powerful impact of being with the children and families in our communities as we serve together in transformational action.

Here are 10 ways your church can love your neighbors as you start, deepen or expand your church-school partnerships for the 2018–19 school year:

Want to start a partnership? Start here …

Pray: Gather education advocates in your church community and begin to lean in and listen to what God has designed for your church in serving schools.

Form a leadership team: Begin a discerning process for partnership with persons committed to church-school partnerships and education advocacy.

Listen and Learn: Study basic demographics and statistics. Drive or walk around the neighborhood. Be with your neighbors. Discern what God reveals and move toward simple goals in getting started. For instance, take these three and turn them into specific and measurable goals: 

• By the end of Sept. 30, we will have recruited at least two people to pray weekly for the formation of our leadership team 
• By Oct. 15, we will have at least three people committed to the discerning process for partnership and committed to studying our community

Already in a partnership with a school? Go deeper …

Assess: Routinely clarify your relationship with the school. Set regularly scheduled meetings with school liaisons to listen to the needs of the school. Ask your team, “Does what we currently offer address actual needs of the school? Are we moving toward relational partnership?”

Equipping: Offer varied training to your team to establish or build on value and effectiveness of your partnership. Cultural Competency and MissionInsite software training are a few avenues of equipping available to you through the Center for Missional Outreach.

Remain: Determine to stick it out for the long haul to establish a deep and long-term relational presence in the school during inevitable church and school changes.

Want to expand your partnership? Here’s how …

Share: Be a catalyst in your area for church-school partnerships for other churches and interfaith networks.

Advocate: Assist your leaders and congregation in understanding educational equity and how they may get involved in its advocacy. Save the date: Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon. Wilshire Baptist Church will host an Advocacy Training, and public education is one area of focus.

Inform: Invite school partners, business leaders and stakeholders to your church to speak and engage your congregation about education.

Want Help?

Reach Out: The Center for Missional Outreach exists to assist you in engaging these avenues to serve with your neighbors in church-school partnerships.

For more information about how the CMO can help your local church love your neighbors through your church-school partnership, email Jurrita Williams 

Published: Friday, August 10, 2018