Churches in Service to Public Schools

When the WSJ reported on public schools seeking corporate and charitable sponsors in these tough economic times, Jennifer Levitz and Stephanie Simon didn’t open with an example of corporate sponsorship:

When his budget for pencils, paper, and other essential supplies was cut by a third this school year, the principal of Combee Elementary School worried children would suffer.

Then, a local church stepped in and "adopted" the school. The First Baptist Church at the Mall stocked a resource room with $5,000 worth of supplies. It now caters spaghetti dinners at evening school events, buys sneakers for poor students, and sends in math and English tutors.

The principal is delighted. So are church pastors. "We have inroads into public schools that we had not had before," says Pastor Dave McClamma. "By befriending the students, we have the opportunity to visit homes to talk to parents about Jesus Christ."

I expect many will ignore the fact that the only thing the church is doing on campus is providing school supplies: communicating the church’s message is being done when the opportunity arises “to visit homes to talk to parents about Jesus.” 

Case in point:

At Christmas, the school connected the church with parents who said they wouldn't mind being visited at home by First Baptist. The church brought gifts, food and the gospel. Of about 30 families visited over two weekends in December, 13 "came to the Lord," says Mr. McClamma [Dave McClamma, the church's senior associate pastor of evangelism and missions], a 58-year-old motorcycle buff who drives a black sports-utility vehicle with the bumper sticker "Christ First."

The church’s message was only shared during these in-home visits, visits to “parents who said they wouldn’t mind being visited at home by First Baptist.” In fact, those who held no interest in a visit by the church still had a favorable impression of their interaction with the congregation:

Loretta Deal, a Combee parent, says she's not a churchgoer, but she appreciates the help from First Baptist, particularly after the church brought her gift certificates at Christmas. Ms. Deal, who is disabled from a stroke, says the church encouraged her to come to their church but she felt comfortable refusing.

Mind you, I think if this new interface between corporate/charitable sponsors and public schools is the wave of the future, some careful policies will need to be followed. A church, for example, will need to carefully distinguish between the time/place to assist the school’s goals and the time/place to pursue its own evangelistic mandate.  It seems that the FBC in this story has been (so far) successful in keeping the spheres separate.

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