Before venturing out and knocking on a school door, it's important to have discussions with others in your church community. Firstly, discussions should enable a group of people to see the opportunities that might be available before you and enable the church to discern who might like to get involved in building relationships with schools (in whatever way they might be able to - praying is a key role in a project!). But it's also a time to recognise what connecting with a school will be all about - being clear that it is not having a particular agenda or telling the school what you are going to do. It is about seeing what a school might like support with, while also recognising what you are able to physically do with the people, time, and gifts and skills you have.
Some key questions to ask during your discussions:
- Why might this be important part of God's work?
- Why should we join in with what God is doing in the world?
- Who might like to get involved with connecting?
- What gifts, skills, experience and knowledge do we have among us that might be useful in what we bring?
- Are we open to listening to the school and what their needs are? Can we make time to listen to the stories of people's lives in our communities?
- Who do we know in our church - and the people our church links with - who are already involved in schools? Including working in schools, volunteering, parents, governors...?