The powerful partnership with public school educators

As my graduation from seminary drew near, I couldn't shake the idea that the Holy Spirit was leading me to a different kind of ministry than most of my fellow graduates. It soon became clear that he was leading me to become a public school teacher.

A year later I was hired as a social science teacher at the very high school I attended, and quickly became the Christian club adviser. But I was immediately faced with a stark legal reality: as a public school teacher I was not allowed to actually minister to the students. According to the Equal Access Act, the club had to be completely student-led.

I struggled greatly under these restrictions, alternating between biting my tongue to comply with the law, and encroaching on the law when the fire was too intense to hold it in (Jeremiah 20:9).

However, I soon discovered a rich treasure in a local youth pastor. He could come on campus at lunch to do what I could not. He could preach and teach. He could pray with students. He could mentor and disciple. I became his biggest cheerleader, living vicariously through him as he taught God's Word to my club and those they gathered. He and those who came after him were a precious blessing to me.

But as time went on, I learned that I was also a blessing to each one of these youth pastors who wanted to reach public school students. Because of my presence, they didn't have to open the schoolhouse doors all by themselves. It can take youth ministers years of building relationships with principals and other school officials to gain access to a campus, only to see the principal reassigned or take another position and have to start over as an unknown. Our relationship provided those pastors with stable and easy access for campus ministry.

I pray that this symbiotic relationship between Christian educators and local youth pastors can be replicated all over the nation. But often these educators are hard to find. According to Barna, nearly half of all public school educators nationally are practicing Christians. But many are afraid of stepping out in their faith, are unaware of what they can and can't do legally, or simply don't see their work as a place of ministry.

To activate this potentially powerful witness for Christ, Christian Educators Association International provides Christian educators with live and online free legal training so that they don't miss what they can do while worrying about what they can't. Through our LIFT America events and Daniel Weekends, we inspire and equip them to see their schools as mission fields. Often these ministry initiatives are carried out in partnership with churches and parachurch ministries.

Finally, as a professional association, we also provide a suite of protections to maintain their presence in our schools and provide an alternative to the radical politics of teachers' unions.

As you are painfully aware, there are too many unreached schools and kids. We need to work together. Would you join me in praying that God would raise up an army of missional public school educators who are looking to partner with local youth ministries to impact our schools?

David Schmus is the Executive Director of Christian Educators Association International (ceai.org), which seeks to encourage, equip, and empower Christian educators to transform our public, charter, and private schools with God's love and truth. Prior to his tenure at CEAI, he was a high school AP US History/Government teacher and a Christian Club adviser for 15 years, being repeatedly honored as Most Inspirational Teacher. He holds an M.A. in Biblical Studies and Theology from Biola University, and has taught Biblical Worldview and Introduction to Teaching classes at Biola as an adjunct professor. David has provided leadership for gatherings and weekend conferences around the nation during which thousands of Christian Educators have been equipped and inspired to walk out their faith legally in the mission field of our public schools. David and his wife Elizabeth have been married for 27 years, have 3 daughters, and are based in Orange County, California.