School Partnerships: Start Small to Go Long

We know isn't not unusual for youth leaders to struggle to find a way to have access to schools. It's not that way everywhere in the country, but we know that some places are harder to build a relationships. Still, we know youth leaders in every region of the country who are doing it all the time.

How do we navigate all the variables to develop a lasting partnership with a school campus in our area? Here are some principles we've learned.

It starts with a mental shift: If we take a moment and move from the short-term goal ("get on campus") to the long-term possibilities, we've discovered that the idea of "just getting on campus" falls far short of what a real partnership can make possible. Taking the long view can result in a much greater cumulative impact on relationships with students, administration, and harmony between the community's churches and schools.

Here are six core values that help a youth leader or network "go long" with schools:

• Whoever: Find a staff member on campus who is responsive to your communications. Build on it. It's all about relationships!
• Whenever: Show up whenever that staff member has a need you can meet. The project may not fit your ministry dreams, but investing in that adult's needs builds trust.
• Wherever: Sometimes this takes you in a direction you don't expect. Roll with it; be patient.
• However: The more you connect and serve, the more you'll be able to utilize your strengths. In the short term, serve however they will allow you to.
• Together: Find people in your church and community whom you trust, and bring them along with you on campus. This is bigger than you and your church. No one church has ever reached every student in their community.
• Forever: Schools don't trust people with an agenda, and they don't extend short-term trust. Be in this for the long haul and play the long game.

Being able to work with youth on campus requires gaining the trust of the gatekeepers in your community. We need to continue to remember we aren't trying to bypass them to get to the students.

Our goal is to stand with the gatekeepers and lend our strength and skills in protection and care for the students. When we do that in the short term, we find ourselves seeing all sorts of doors and opportunities opened to us and our team.

Stan is the NNYM's Ohio Valley Coordinator. His role is to connect and train youth pastors, and other leaders to effectively reach the students within their communities. You can connect with Stan here! Stan helps to create a sustainable movement to reach the schools in Cincinatti.