Back to school outreach: What is your church up to?
The school year is about to begin. What is your church doing to help parents and families prepare?
Mitchell First United Methodist Church in Mitchell, South Dakota collected school supplies and backpacks and distributed them to over 575 students in the local community. Sioux Falls area United Methodist churches are getting ready to give shoes to students that need a new pair of shoes for school. Mitchell Fusion is having a “Back to School Bash” to celebrate the beginning of the school year.
Barbara Dunlap Berg, United Methodist Communications outlines a few more ideas in an article titled “The ABC’s of back-to-school outreach.”
Provide after-school programs. First United Methodist Church, Jackson, Tenn., coordinates a tutoring/mentoring ministry called WINGS. Teaming up with Arlington Elementary School, WINGS works with second- through fourth-graders. "More than just tutoring programming, said Ann Woodall, "WINGS is an opportunity to be a Christian and spiritual mentor while encouraging academic success.
"Reach out to schoolteachers. Match faculty with prayer partners from the congregation; provide snacks in the teachers' lounge; remember staff with small gifts, birthday cards and thank-you notes throughout the year; serve breakfast to teachers and volunteer in the classroom. The Rev. Connie Marie Stutts of Beech Grove United Methodist Church, New Bern, N.C., said, "One of the teachers told me that whenever she is having a bad day, she just picks up one of her cards and remembers that she is loved and appreciated and being prayed for."
Celebrate Christmas in July. Hay Street United Methodist Church, Fayetteville, N.C., takes Christmas in July seriously. In 2013, they decorated a Christmas tree for the "Clothes for Kids" campaign and outfitted all 300 children at a neighborhood elementary school with uniforms.
The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) has a Back to School Blessing for churches to use.
No matter the size of your church find a way to reach out to those in your community that are preparing for a new school year.
