Churches Open Their Doors When Schools Can’t

The church also threw a “Back Pack Blessing Parade” in their parking lot to encourage their younger members who will be heading back to school this year. Families drove through the lot and received treats and words of encouragement from church members and staff.

In other parts of the country, churches are offering similar virtual assistance programs as well as other practical help for students, parents, and schools—even if it is a small gesture. For instance, some churches are allowing students to use their wifi while they sit in their cars in the church’s parking lot. One rural county in North Carolina actually outfitted local churches as internet hotspots to be able to accommodate students in an area considered an “internet desert.”

One of those North Carolina churches is Robbinsville United Methodist Church. When the pandemic shut Graham County schools down in the spring, Pastor Eric Reece told parents that when pastors are at the church, they could drop their children off to use the wifi for school. The church also provides meals for students in need and is planning on hosting a kind of study hall this fall where students can drop in to get school work done.

Another church in Prescott, Arizona, is converting its annual school supply drive this year to meet a new need: Children who need laptops. Prescott UMC usually hands out backpacks, socks, and shoes to children in need before school starts. But this year things look a little different. “Denise Woolsey, lay leader of the congregation’s Shoes from the Shepherd ministry, came up with the idea and is working to obtain 75 to 100 laptops for youngsters identified by the district,” United Methodist News reports.

For those school districts planning on meeting in person at the start of the year, churches are also stepping up to provide assistance. Whether it’s providing school supplies for students in need, encouraging teachers, or praying for faculty and students, churches have always sought to partner with schools for the betterment of the community. Speaking to Baptist News Global, Rachel Gunter Shapard, co-founder of Pastors for Florida Children, said some churches are helping school districts preparing to meet in person with personal protective equipment (PPE). The churches are ordering PPE for teachers and faculty and having it shipped to the schools.

However a church chooses to help those in need, one thing is certain: Local churches are stepping up to serve their communities this year—perhaps more now than ever.