YWJ: How have junior- and senior-high schools changed in the last 10-20 years?

Paul Gibbs: The changes in the schools reflect the changes in young people. Young people are far more relational now. Schools are looking for genuine relationships they can trust within the school community.

Will: Schools are more protective than ever. School shootings have made school officials guarded about “strangers” on campus. However, when youth workers look for ways to serve their local schools without an agenda, they earn trust.

John: From a historical perspective, it’s fascinating how much things have changed in the past 50 years. Before the early 1960s, many public schools still began their days with prayer. When organizations such as Young Life began their work, they entered schools that for the most part still endorsed at least a vague Christianity. During the past 15 years, schools have become much more wary of lawsuits from groups opposed to any apparent endorsement of Christianity.

Chris: There have been a lot of shifts in the quality of education. The quality of the actual education is outdated. We’re educating students for a world that no longer exists. The world is so much smaller; it’s more technological. Yet, we still have the same regimen of education. The quality of the atmosphere of education is chaotic. In the urban context, there’s so much disunity; no one trusts anyone. There’s violence, drugs, promiscuity. All of these things are in the schools. The actual job of teaching gets pushed way down on the list of things to do because instructors are dealing with all these other issues.

YWJ: What steps can youth ministries take to establish partnerships with local schools?

Will: First, check your heart. What are your motives? Do you want to serve your school to better your reputation or God’s? Next, pray. Ask God to break your heart for the staff and students; to help you serve with no strings attached; and for favor with parents, teachers and administrators. Introduce yourself to, and follow up with, the adults on campus. Ask the leadership of the school how you can serve them. Be prepared to tutor, provide school supplies and mentor, among other tasks. Serve to meet spoken needs, not what you think is needed. When a door is opened for you, be consistent! Nothing will cause greater skepticism among school leaders than not following through on your word.

Chris: Begin to pray for the school. Once you’ve made that spiritual and heart connection with the school, start serving. Don’t try to start a Bible club or an outreach. Instead, go to the school and talk to the principal. Ask, “What do you need? How can we help?” There are a lot of educators who know what to do but who don’t have the resources to do those things. Whenever churches can help bear the load, it helps educators who know where to begin to get it done. So ask what a school needs, then do that. This builds trust with the principal. Once you’re serving in the school, use volunteers to become a presence in the school. Schools need hall monitors, classroom aides, etc. Once that presence is established, that’s when the firm relationship is established. The sky is the limit after that. You can advocate inside the school or on behalf of the school because now it’s your school.