Evangelizing Schools in London
I believe God's Kingdom is not confined in the four walls of a church building; it needs to be manifested in all areas of our lives. But, a church is a pretty good place to act as a springboard. I think of Normandy Landings in WW2. The church is invading the world, sending hundreds of God's soliders for landing on the soil and gaining the ground for further missions.
Something like this happened recently within my ministry. I have Pizza Lunch every Thursday, serving the kids from Oakridge Secondary School and Riverside Public School. I don't know how long this ministry has been; it's before my time. One frustration I had with this ministry was that I never got to go beyond than seeing them during Pizza Lunch. Until this fall!
This fall, our church participated in two city-wide Christian campaigns, namely Why Encounter Project and City-wide Alpha Promotion Campaign. A large-sized magazine, containing Gospel message and people's testimonies, was delivered in September to every household in London, and OPC looked after all the households in the church's neighbourhood. OPC also pitched in to offer city-wide Alpha advertisement, through 92 billboards and social media commercial coverages during the month of October. These campaigns raised awareness of Alpha program amongst the youth who are coming to Pizza Lunch. Gotta convert this into evangelism opportunity!
I had one Grade 8 girl who took Alpha in early Spring. At the end of the course, I asked her if she would be willing to help with offering Alpha to the Pizza Lunch youth. She said yes. I was excited. What I didn't realize was how excited she was.
In early September, when I resumed Pizza Lunch minsitry, I didn't want to sound too pushy to the kids. So, I just put up Alpha posters and videos in the space where we have Pizza Lunch (we do it in our gym). The actual Alpha program would begin in early October, so I thought I was going to use that whole month of September to test the water, so to speak. Well... On the first day of Pizza Lunch, that Grade 8 girl brought her five or six friends and asked if I could explain to them about Alpha. O, also, I needed to add an incentive for those who want to come to Alpha - so I offered free Pizza for those who would come to Alpha, and I found donors to help this cause. These girls all thought it was a great idea and wanted to try it. Remember those campaigns? They all heard of Alpha and thought it was interesting.
Then, these girls went and brought more friends, who might be interested. By the time I began Youth Alpha in early October, the number became 12. On the second week of Alpha, that number moved up to 20+. Now, it became quite a buzz amongst the Riverside Public School youth.
Parents and school began to notice us. I didn't realize how much buzz it could create. So, I had to do some work, which I should have done in the first place. I gave letters for the youth to take home and bring me their permission forms. Also, this got me thinking. I began to dream if we could offer Youth Alpha right at the school.
It actually makes more sense. First of all, the time is so tight to run Alpha at OPC. These youth are usually released for lunch at 11:40 am. By the time they come to our church, it's already 11:50 am. Then, they settle and grab their pizza and drinks. No time for chitchat or anything. We begin right away Alpha videos, which are usually 30 minutes long each, excluding the time for discussion. I have to let them go back to the school by 12:30 pm. Virtually all our discussions are rushed. But, it's different if we do this at the school. They don't have to waste the 15 minutes to run to the church and another 15 minutes to run back. We can save almost 20 to 30 minutes. More quality discussion time!
I suggested this idea to these youth. Their first reaction was like YEAH, THAT'S AWESOME! Then, there were some reality check moments: What about PIZZA? I will bring them to you! But what if we attract all these youth, who are not serious but only there for pizza (these serious girls are so cute and I love them!)? That's okay; that's where they are at that point. I want these youth to begin a lunch club/program and offer Alpha right at the school.
Imagine: The Grade 8 youth can go to Oakridge Secondary School and begin Alpha during their lunch time. The Grade 7 youth can begin Alpha at Riverside Public School. We supply everything. We supply video materials, training for leadership, letters and permission forms, and oh PIZZA! In fact, what if this can be done at every school in London. What if we tell our church youth to go back to their schools and start Alpha right there. Instead of bringing their friends to our church, they can share the Good News of Jesus Christ right where they are. Instead of hoping their friends will be converted in our church services or youth programs, they can be empowered right where they are. Holy Spirit comes down, not just in church buildings, but right in school buildings. This sounds too amazing. But, I believe this has become a real possibility at these schools and it can be done!
I shared this story once with someone I met at Wednesday morning Bible Study (CCBF) and she wanted to feature this story on Christian Life in London newsletter. You can go to this link to read the article: http://www.clil.ca/index.cfm?sel_cont=feat&nws_id=1