When Pastor Zach Sloboda meets people in his community and tells them where he works, there is always a positive response. “Oh, that’s the church with the cookies!”

Volunteers at Cornerstone Church love giving out homemade cookies to their local school and at community events. Zach says, “As a result of these connections, we’ve had multiple families check out our church, start attending regularly, and give their lives to Jesus. Recently, we had a young mom with two teenagers come for the first time. She came because her kids go to the school, heard about all the positive work we’ve been doing, and thought, wow, this is a different kind of church. She decided to check out the church, so a few weeks later, she came on a Sunday with her kids and gave her life to Jesus that Sunday. She has been on fire ever since!”

Here are five simple steps to build a trusted reputation for your school.

1. START WITH PRAYER

Fast and pray over the school.

Get God’s heart for your community.

Ask God which school He wants you to invest in. Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Just pick ONE school so you can have the greatest impact.

Pray over it - listen in prayer - discern what the Lord wants you to do. This has to be His idea and His plan - not yours!

Search your heart and motives. Why do you want to do this? For your glory and image perception? Or for His kingdom? Invite God to give you His heart.

Only move when you feel your heart is in the right place. NOTE: Don’t share the vision until you know your heart is right! Some people won’t get it and may throw cold water at you or attempt to hijack it. You need to get right with God first and be confident He is calling you to do this. Only then should you bring others in - and only if they are willing to pray into it with you as well.

2. BUILD A RELATIONSHIP

Email/Call the Principal or Vice Principal - be chill and flexible.
Ask if you can come over to introduce yourself.
Set up a short meeting (15 minutes or less!) as principals often have to shift meetings to solve unscheduled conflicts at the school.
Honour their time - be done early.
Bring a bag of good coffee and donuts as a gift on your first visit. This is for you and the staff! You can leave it in the staff room or wherever is best.
On your first visit - make it all about them! We want to know how we can serve you, pray for you, and support you. IMPORTANT - Make no ask! We don’t want anything from you - we’re simply here to serve you. For Jesus said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others…” Matthew 20:28
Ask - what challenges are you facing right now that we could help with? Be prepared that they may not have an answer! But it will plant a seed for what you’re going to do in the future.
Offer to pray with them before you go. Be prepared - they may say "no thanks." If they do say yes - keep it short, sweet, and not weird! Just bless them and the school in Jesus' name - amen.
On Sunday, take two minutes to share with the church what the principal shared with you. Pause during the service and pray for the school, staff, students, and parents.

3. BUILD TRUST

Drop by the school several times throughout the year to continue to build relationships and to start to build trust.

A great way to do this is to print off the school calendar (usually available on the school district website).
Look for Professional Development days, report card days, and busy “peak seasons” when you can bless the staff.
How? Food!
Everyone loves cookies, coffee, and donuts.
Drop by with a handwritten card “for you from our friends at XYZ church!" Pro Tip: Local coffee shops usually throw out or donate day-old baked goods. Ask the manager if you can use them for community events. They sometimes give them away for free or at a discount.
Look for opportunities to serve, give, and support the school's efforts to meet students’ needs. Take up an offering to support their breakfast programs (feed hungry kids who would otherwise go without). Fill up backpacks with school supplies to give away to students in need. Gather warm clothing, hats, gloves, and jackets to give away to students without adequate winter clothing.
You go to them - don’t expect them to come to you! Take the initiative to cross the street, send emails, and bring ideas to them of ways you can serve.
Take photos with permission (VERY IMPORTANT) to share with the church or on social media. NOTE: Make sure it’s genuine and not “performative social justice” to make you and your church look good. Make sure your heart is in the right place, and reflect this with your language. Simple filter: If the principal saw your social post, what would they think?
With every positive point of contact, you build trust by showing that you are reliable, caring, and, most importantly, not weird! (In other words, you can be trusted.)

4. BUILD REPUTATION

Build a reputation within the school and the community as a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental church. How do you do that?

Be Consistent

Don’t give up after 1 or 2 outreaches.
Consistency is key!
Expect to be in this for at least a year before you start to see fruit! Expect hesitation - we’re in a post-Christian culture - they may be waiting for “the other boot to drop” with “the ask.” How can you combat this? By being consistent.
Just keep showing up again and again - and keep doing it with no agenda! “We’re just here to love and serve you in the name of Jesus!” No strings attached.

Be Generous

Look for opportunities to be wildly generous towards the school.
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter are natural opportunities to mobilize the church to generosity around food.
Approach the school and offer to create food hampers for families in need. We could create two, three, five, or ten baskets. Schools often have a list of low-income families that need additional support. This is likely confidential information, but if you bring the food by and leave it with the administration, they can appropriately facilitate drop-off while still creating opportunities for generosity.
Create a list of items needed for each basket ($150 per basket).
Invite the church to bring items in or donate financially.
Purchase remaining supplies with the church outreach budget.
Gather all the supplies on the stage or in the lobby so the church can visibly see the impact.
Spend an afternoon or evening putting the boxes together with church members, writing prayerful letters to the families, and praying over them. Take 2 or 3 board members with you to deliver the hampers to the school. Take pictures and post them on social media (if appropriate).
Share stories of impact with your church the following Sundays - talk about how they met a practical need - fed hungry kids!
Pop-up Blessings. Look for opportunities during the school year to bless students and parents. If you’re in proximity to the school, set up a table with “Free Ice Cream / Cookies / Hot Chocolate.” “We just want to bless you and your family today!” Put stickers on the cups/wrappers. “God loves you, and so do we! From your friends at XYZ church, website.”BONUS - Plan this event around Christmas/Easter. Give them an invite card to church with the treat! With permission, ask if you can bring cookies, treats, etc., into the school for students or staff to bless them. If you build trust over time, they may say yes!
Get creative! Talk to the school administration, look for opportunities, and pray together as a church for things to do. Your ministry outreach will look uniquely different and will reflect the school and your community!

Be Personally Invested

You can’t delegate this away and expect results.
If you want to build a reputation in the school and community, you will need to be personally invested in this outreach! A practical way to do that is by giving your time, talent, and resources at the school.
- Volunteer – Schools are often looking for volunteers. Lunch supervisors, before and after-school care, adjunct faculty, and even substitute teachers (in some school districts).
- Find a way to serve in the school building, interact with staff and students, and be part of the school community.
Is your church in close proximity to the school? Offer your facility for off-site events. Fire pit for outdoor activities, auditorium for concerts/performances, graduation exercises, classrooms for student meetings, kitchen for meals, etc. Or as a shelter location for fire drills and lockdowns.

5. LASTLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY.

Pray before your outreach for God’s heart.

Pray during your outreach for open doors for the gospel.

Pray after your outreach for the seeds that were planted to take root and bear fruit.

Over time, as you Build a Relationship, Build Trust, and Build a Reputation, eventually, you will start to see results. And then you will have the privilege of Building the Kingdom as people come to know and grow in Jesus Christ through your outreach ministry.

TALK WITH YOUR TEAM

As you and your team consider this endeavour, here’s a key passage to guide you from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossian Church.

How should you approach this outreach? Paul tells us:

Colossians 4:2-6 NIV - Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Why are you considering this outreach opportunity? What’s your motive? Is your heart attitude right? Ask the Lord and ask Him to search your heart, reveal your motives, and give you His heart for the school!
Which school are you sensing God is leading you towards? What is one practical step you can take this week to learn more about this school? Who are the administrators? What’s the size of the school? What age range are the students?
How can you begin to build a relationship with the school? What first steps will you take? When will you take them?
How will you and your church be personally invested in this endeavour? How much time will you give towards this? How much money will your church budget for outreaches? (Money is often an indicator of priorities.)
What connections do you already have with the school? Are the teachers in your church family? Do you have parents of students in the school? Ask around and discover the people God has already given you! (He wants to reach this school more than you do!)

Rev. Zach Sloboda is the Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Truro, Nova Scotia, and a graduate of Vanguard College (Class of 2017). He and his wife, Allandra, and their children, Joy and Russell, have fun engaging with their community.