Most schools truly want help from the church, but they don’t necessarily want Bible clubs. How can youth workers bless schools with real help, especially as the school experience is changing so greatly?

Youth ministries always have had a focus on schools because they are full of teenagers, and we simply love kids. However, the agenda of the school is not to provide a holding place for teens so we can reach them with the gospel. The school’s agenda is to educate students.

We as youth leaders see the “tribe” gathered in one location, which provides easier opportunities for ministry. Schools see the “tribe” gathered as their responsibility to educate—and education is losing to attitudes, violence, apathy and crime. More and more of school life is about warehousing teens; education is squeezed out for survival’s sake.

My vantage point comes from 17 years as a substitute teacher while also serving as an employee at my church. I purposely have found time to serve the school system. Through the years, this has given me a two-world perspective that has changed how I lead in youth ministry and how I approach the school system in my community. From this vantage point, here is what I’ve learned.

Being a Blessing, Not a Detriment

Schools need the church to partner with them. I have found most schools truly want churches’ help because they are full of caring adults who are community-minded. However, church staff and lay leaders most commonly meet with students over lunch, host Bible clubs and things of similar nature. These ideas serve the ministry’s agenda, not the school’s.When our agendas don’t align, the church becomes just another headache with which the administration must deal. I challenge you to be a true blessing instead.

As a substitute teacher, the greatest thing I can offer is crowd control. I can be a blessing to my school because I know how to handle teenagers. Lunchroom monitors are needed in schools. Teachers hate this duty, and administrators usually are too busy during lunch putting out small fires. Lunch is the most chaotic time of the school day. Volunteering during this volatile time would be a blessing to your school’s administration. You become their eyes while interacting with students. This is more helpful than just eating lunch with your teens.

Other ways to bless schools:

1. Help with concerts, games, plays, pep rallies, etc.

2. Proctor exams. Some schools require two adults to be in a room when giving a standardized or other type of exam. All you need to do is watch. You can’t do any work or reading, but watching is a good opportunity for intercessory prayer.

3. Judge senior projects or science fairs.

4. Help sign in tardy students in the mornings. Teachers on duty sometimes can’t collect notes and sign passes quickly enough.

5. Serve on bus duty. The time it takes to load the students onto the busses or get them to their extra-curricular activities is intense.