7 Ways to Bless and Follow Through
by Carol Albrecht
Load up the backpacks, stuff the totes, fill the briefcases—school’s about to begin for both teachers and learners. This means new clothes and shoes, backpacks and laptops. But it can also mean an opportunity for your church to touch lives with Christ’s love at a significant time in people’s lives. Here are seven ideas to get you started.
1. Backpack Blessings Set aside a specific Sunday and ask elementary and junior high students to bring their backpacks to church that day. Invite the students to bring their backpacks to the front during the service. Then pray for the kids, their teachers, and their learning. Consider distributing items kids of all ages can hang on their backpacks, the J Team ID Tag or the Gospel Cross Cloth Keychain. You might also like to hand out J Team Magnet Frames older students can hang in their lockers. They’ll see “Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us . . . by keeping our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:12 NLT) every day! This will make the event even more memorable.
2. Student Commissioning Don’t forget the older students in your church. You’ll want to bless junior high, high school, college, and graduate students alike. And think about those going on to technical training or bypassing college for a job opportunity. All of these people need to know that their Savior walks with them in the coming days and months. They need to know their church family supports them as well! Commission them, praying for grace to use their giftedness and to share God’s love with new friends.
3. New Graduates Last year’s eighth graders going into high school and last spring’s seniors who will be moving into college or joining the military face new opportunities and special challenges. You may want to take your blessing a step further for them. Sponsor an informal potluck meal or picnic for them. Invite everyone to share his or her future plans. Talk together about their hopes and dreams. Let them know you really care, and ask for contact information so you can keep in touch with them. E-mail makes an especially good vehicle for doing so. Even if their physical addresses change often over the next few years, their e-mail addresses usually will not.
4. Staying in Touch—Intentionally When doubts, fear, temptations, and loneliness seep into a young person’s life, personal connections with the church can often prove stronger than all the external pressures combined. Plan ways to stay in touch year-round. Distribute addresses and birthday information to members of your congregation. Encourage them to send care packages at key times—mid-term and final exam weeks, for example. Cards, e-mail messages, and homemade cookies help smooth over stressful times for young adults. Care packages need not be large or expensive; pencils, pens, sticky notes, candy, gum, stamps, small gifts, and tracts don’t take much room. The boxes will mean even more if the sender includes a personal note and perhaps a note from the pastor or youth minister. Consider sharing the joy (and the expense) by having some members assemble the boxes while others wrap and mail them.
5. Teachers, Too! Volunteers in church classrooms have agreed to take on a demanding job. It often comes with little recognition. Acknowledge their readiness to serve! Show them that the congregation values their contribution. Plan to pray for them from time to time throughout the year. Begin now to plan a dinner, picnic, reception, or another event honoring their service. Buy each teacher a $10–20 gift card at a teacher store or department store. Say thank you—often!
6. All Teachers! Your volunteers matter, but so do the professionals who populate public, parochial, and private school classrooms. All can use a big dose of caring. Teaching is one of the most difficult professions, especially today. Knowing their church family supports them provides a real boost to people who dedicate their lives to caring for others. Recognize them, and let them know you value their service. Pray for them periodically and invite them to the thank-you receptions you plan.
7. Learning Workshop Host an event that brings the professional teachers in your congregation together with the volunteers. Discuss classroom problems and brainstorm solutions. Share creative ideas. This kind of event shows support for all teachers. And it provides a forum where teachers can mingle, share ideas, pray together, and form their own support system.
Your church can support kids, young adults, and teachers. Doing so builds up everyone.
You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27
