As school leaders, we don’t want to just teach our students about ministry; we want to create hands-on ministry opportunities for them to practice what they’re taught! We also want to give them the tools they need to bring revival to public settings in a way that is honoring.
School outreach is a powerful means to support students to develop a revivalist lifestyle and empower them to take the kingdom everywhere they go! Through various opportunities, students are also challenged to take risks and they develop vision for what it looks to serve a city well. Some of these opportunities could include mentoring children at an elementary school, sharing encouraging prophetic words with a local business, or evangelizing through treasure hunts in a mall.
To help you create outreach opportunities that raise up your students as influencers, we have provided some keys and resources below. They will support you to develop goals, structure, and training that empower your students to effectively love and minister! We have also included examples of outreach opportunities at BSSM that will help you brainstorm ways for your students to serve individuals and groups within your city.
Develop Outreach Goals
The first step we encourage you to take to develop outreach opportunities for your students is to define your goals. This will help your students capture a heart for your city and understand how to root their actions in value and honor for their community. Also, your city should never be viewed as a project for your students or a means to attain the most powerful testimonies. By communicating clear goals for outreach, your students can learn how ministry extends from a lifestyle of loving people well.
At BSSM, we have created a program called City Service that provides hands-on ministry opportunities for our students. This program allows students to apply what they learn in school on a weekly basis. Our passion is that as students participate in local outreaches, they begin to learn how to bring revival wherever they go.
Our goals for students who are participating in City Service include:
- Students learn how to share their personal testimony and lead someone to Christ
- Students confront fears while meeting and ministering to strangers
- Students learn how to pray for the sick
- Students learn how to give an encouraging word to the downhearted
- Students capture a passion for city transformation
Create a Structure for Outreach
We believe it is important to build a structure for school outreach because it will help you achieve your goals! Structure creates stability, consistency, and accountability, supporting students’ growth throughout the school year.
To support our BSSM students taking part in City Service, each team is led by a BSSM leader, Third Year student, or trusted volunteer. Each team consists of both First and Second Year students. By combining students from both programs, our Second Year students develop leadership skills and experience as they are empowered to provide additional leadership oversight over the First Year students. In fact, they support our First Year students as they step out in new levels of risk-taking.
We invite our students to sign-up for the City Service opportunity they would most like to participate in through an online form. We communicate to students that we will do our best to place them based on their preferences. However, there are no guarantees because we place students based upon needs, numbers, skills and experience, and how we are prayerfully led.
We equip our students by teaching them specific tools and conveying our outreach goals before they serve on a team. Also, each team leader facilitates any additional training that is specific to the outreach he or she is overseeing. These teams serve together for two hours each week throughout the school year. Consistency is a crucial part of this program to demonstrate faithfulness to our city and to create a lasting impact.
As you prepare for the launch of your school, may the Holy Spirit begin highlighting specific ways for your students to powerfully operate in the spiritual gifts and passionately love your city! As the salt of the earth, He desires to use your students to reveal His kindness to the people they encounter.
ACTIVATION
To develop goals for your school’s outreach, we encourage you and your leadership team to sit down together and answer the following questions:
- How is your school called to love your city?
- What are the needs of your city?
- What organizations or individuals can your school partner with?
- How can you activate your students outside of school?
- What does it look like for your students to bring the kingdom into your city?
To develop a structure for your school’s outreach, consider the following questions:
- Which school leaders, volunteers, or interns could lead an outreach team?
- How will we create outreach teams (i.e. place students ourselves or ask for their preference)?
- What training and tools do our students need to be successful?
- What type of schedule will we use?
Hi my name is Michael Rivera & I just want to know how long are each of your semesters & do you do fire tunnels.
Hi Michael,
Our semesters run from the beginning of September to mid-December, and then the beginning of January to the first week of May. We do do fire tunnels. Blessings!