churches reaching schools

The mantra of "separation of church and state" has so infiltrated our culture and even the church that many Christians feel like they cannot have any influence or positive impact on our public schools. Over the past several months, I've seen several examples of Christians (particularly youth pastors) reaching schools in different ways. 1) Youth pastors in Latrobe/Derry and in Uniontown are working together to bring school assembly programs to schools in their communities. 2) Youth pastors in Murrysville are helping coach local sports programs - and they aren't telling kids about Jesus at practices, they are building relationships with kids. 3) Youth pastors in Greensburg (pictured here) recently met with a local high school principal to hear about what is happening with students from her perspective - and it was really eye-opening. 4) Youth pastors in the Penn Trafford school district are creating a monthly bulletin-insert-size newsletter to share with their churches to encourage their churches to pray for the local schools and for the Christian students who are doing exciting things to reach their friends. 5) I, and a very good friend of mine, do a Release Time Education program for high school students in Brownsville (RTE is one of Pennsylvania's best kept secrets). 6) A youth pastor from Somerset is helping students in his youth group form a Christian club at their school that will focus on reaching their friends for Christ. There's a lot we can't do, but there is a lot that we CAN and must do for our public schools. This is where most of our students spend most of their time. America's public schools are a great mission field.