Schools and Community

We are delighted that you are exploring ways to connect with your local schools!

You may already have some relationship with your local schools and are now looking for ways to develop links further. Being involved with the rhythms and patterns of the local community through links with schools brings many opportunities to serve, following the example of Jesus.

At the heart of reaching out to your local school community is relationship. Having a meaningful relationship built on trust often means ‘showing up’ and serving. This might include offering to give school assemblies or giving time and expertise as a school governor, but it could also look like volunteering to read with children, running a club or even sharpening pencils!

Simple, genuine appreciation speaks volumes. Blessing the school staff with a homemade cake, or sending a card to say ‘thank you’ could be a simple way to begin a conversation. For teachers and school staff, knowing that the local Christian community values and appreciates their efforts and dedication means so much.

So, what can I do?

Get praying! One of the most important things to do is to start praying for your local schools. Through prayer, the heart of the church community can be moved to reach out to the school community. You can find some ways to prayer for your local school here:

• Find out about Prayer for Schools

You could also follow the Growing Younger Schools team’s Prayer for Schools – Birmingham Twitter feed which will give you ideas for praying for your local schools.

But we don’t have enough people to do schools work…

Just make a start… Get praying and then start small…

There are so many ways that you could bless and serve your local school community that doesn’t rely on having lots of people. You could make a start by offering to sharpen pencils or by finding some volunteers to listen to children read. Be prayerful and be persistent!

Your church may already have developed a good relationship with your school and you are now looking for ways to develop it further. You could explore hosting a prayer event in the school using resources from Prayer Spaces in Schools. You may even be able to build a team of volunteers that share Bible stories in schools using resources from Open the Book.

We would love to share stories of how churches in Birmingham are engaging with local schools. If you have a story that you think could inspire others, please let us know!