Your School, God’s Mission
by
Daniel Darling, Pastor and VP of Communications, Ethics and Religious
Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC)School. Come August, it dominates life in our communities. Midway through your Sunday sermon, mothers are already mentally compiling a list of things they need to do to get ready for Monday morning. Lunches. Homework. Sports practice. Kids are already wondering what clothes they should wear on Monday, if the locker-room drama from last week will escalate, or if the English exam will be bearable.
What parents and kids might not be thinking, as they sit in church on Sunday, is that when they walk into the doors of their public school on Monday, they are not just walking into the place they have to endure in order to get to college, but a mission field.
Every community and every school is a little bit different, but all of them share one thing in common. They are filled with kids and teachers, parents and faculty, staff and students full of hopes and dreams. What would it look like, then, for Christian students to view their classmates not as competition, but as people created in the image of God? And what would it look like for students to consider the place they spend their waking hours as an opportunity for God to do his best work? And what if they not only felt the freedom to authentically live out their faith in public, but also saw themselves as God’s messengers of hope and healing in their public schools?
This is why Focus on the Family encourages students to put their religious freedoms into practice and bring their Bibles to school. Not simply to make a point, but to make a difference. In every public school, in every community, there are those who are earnestly seeking God, and God is calling your students, who attend school every day, to be the ones stepping into those spaces to share about His love. (Bring Your Bible to School Day is Oct. 6. See more information below.)
The kids in the schools in your community come from varied backgrounds. They each have stories, some of heartbreak, some of hope. For many, the only ray of light they will see in their entire week is the Christian witness of the students you are equipping on Sundays. Imagine what would happen in your community and around the nation if Christian students saw themselves as God sees them: ambassadors of the gospel to every corner of their school and community?
As a pastor, you play a special role in shepherding them. Your affirmation of their mission, your challenge, your teaching can be used by God to inspire them to fulfill the mission in front of them. There are conversations they can have with fellow students that you will never be privileged to have.
Here are some suggested ways you might intentionally equip the students in your church for mission in their public schools:
- Have a special service where you and a few people in your church pray for students.
- Preach a special message on being unashamed and unafraid to share the Gospel, even at school.
- Have youth pastors, parents, and leaders periodically check in throughout the year to make themselves available for conversations and equipping when kids are feeling like their faith is being marginalized at school.
- Plan Wednesday Bible studies and fun activities that increase students’ confidence in the truth of the Bible and its power to impact today’s culture. (BringYourBible.org has lots of fun videos, quizzes and activities you can use!)
Focus has great resources to help you empower students:
- Elementary, teen, and parent/pastor guides that provide fun, age-appropriate Bible-centered activities, as well as step-by-step guidance on how to join the movement for Bring Your Bible to School Day!
- By signing up at focusonthefamily.com/bringyourbible, individuals receive free access to all of these guides, as well as a chance to win a trip for four to see the Newsboys in concert in Dallas and meet the band!
- BringYourBible.org also has lots of information about students’ religious freedoms, kid- and teen-friendly videos, quizzes, and relevant discussion topics.
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