Partnering your church family with a public school can be a rewarding experience, but also presents some unique challenges. The Mission-Minded Guide to Church and School Partnerships offers practical steps that congregations can take to make a difference with the children in their community. From basic organization, training, safety, and planning helps leaders will learn how to share the vision and effectively recruit and train volunteers. Most importantly, leaders will discover practical steps they can take to begin a two way, trusting relationship with a school, principal and teachers. In addition, there are suggestions for sharing information through newsletters, presentations, and special Sundays for welcoming the schools, teachers, and principals, and more. Inspire your church family to embrace the power they have to change lives and make a difference in their community.

Children living in poverty have the same God-given potential as children in wealthier communities, but on average they achieve at significantly lower levels. Kids who both live in poverty and read below grade level by third grade are three times as likely not to graduate from high school as students who have never been poor. By the time children in low-income communities are in fourth grade, they're already three grade levels behind their peers in wealthier communities. More than half won't graduate from high school--and many that do graduate only perform at an eighth-grade level. Only one in ten will go on to graduate from college. These students have severely diminished opportunities for personal prosperity and professional success. It is clear that America's public schools do not provide a high quality public education for the sixteen million children growing up in poverty. Education expert Nicole Baker Fulgham explores what Christians can--and should--do to champion urgently needed reform and help improve our public schools. The book provides concrete action steps for working to ensure that all of God's children get the quality public education they deserve. It also features personal narratives from the author and other Christian public school teachers that demonstrate how the achievement gap in public education can be solved.

The heartbeat of every local community is found in its local schools. Yet many Christians have little to no connection with school leaders, and few churches have an active ministry presence. If you want to effectively reach your community, you must take the time to invest in school administrators, teachers, and families. Not having a relationship just isn’t an option. Many schools today are facing budget crises’ and financial shortfalls or declining enrollment. School leaders and teachers are more open than ever before to partnering with parents, neighbors, and churches in a sustainable way. This book shares stories and examples of how schools and churches can work together for the common good of students and the community. You’ll gain a better understanding of the laws defining the line of separation between church and state, and you will learn how to best approach school leaders with creative ideas for working together. Serving Local Schools provides biblical support and practical resources to equip individuals and churches to meet the needs of local schools while faithfully witnessing to the good news found in Jesus Christ.