School Time

One of the greatest parts of being in a small town is the connection that the church has with the school. Our school is a 1A school in Arkansas. The enrollment is right around the minimum of the state. With the school being so small it leans heavily on the community for support and for volunteers to help out. This is a blessing and a curse. Over the last year I had the chance to be active in the school because my wife taught at Lead Hill and I even volunteered to substitute teach. Here are some of my observations on the blessings and the curses and how to use the school to grow a small town youth ministry.

BLESSING

• One of the greatest feelings in the world is having a student at school introduce you to other students as "This is Tyler, he is our youth guy at church. He is cool." I have determined that no matter how much I go and invite students to come on Wednesday nights, I will never have the impact of one student telling another about how much they enjoy coming to church. And since I am only 24 and pretty athletic I am usually seen by the teens as someone who is upbeat and not boring.

• In our small town basketball is a big deal to the community. In a town of around 200 almost everyone can be found at the high school gym. It is place to be on Tues, Thurs, and Friday nights during the season. It is a great place to love on kids and develop relationships with their parents. I have found that in my ministry most of the relationships have started at a basketball game. As anybody will tell you, using the town pride is a great way to connect with students in a small town.

• It is also great to have most of the students centrally located in one school. Since 90% of the students that come to FBC go to Lead Hill School, most of the students know each other. This makes for great fellowship at church. The students come from different groups at school but with it being such a small school they all know each other one way or the other. Having students all together also makes passing along spur of the minute announcements and events easier. There is also no school to school rivalry among the students at church. 

CURSE

• Like I mentioned, basketball is a big deal in our school. Youth ministry across the world battles with sports and extra activities. In a small town it is worse. Most of the high school students are involved in either basketball, cheerleading, or band. All three practice all the time. This dynamic means that church and sports are constantly competing for the students time. This time of the year is by far my least favorite as a minister. Students are gone every Thursday-Saturday for basketball camps. They travel around playing 10+ games a weekend. Not only does that make it impossible to schedule any events for the teens, but it also means that come Sunday morning, the ones who are in church, are absolutely exhausted.  Not to mention the first few weeks of school will include who knows how many week long tournaments that play games on Wednesday nights. Do not get me wrong, I am a huge fan of sports and supporter of activities for the students. Okay, I'm done with my rant (for now). Sports are great but the commitment that the teens are asked to make during basketball season leaves the church on the back burner.

• Our small school is considered by many teachers to be a stepping stone school. Many teachers don't stay at LH much more than a year or two, before moving on to bigger and better schools. The teacher turnover rate is disheartening for the students. Students can't develop a trusting relationship in 1 year. Many of the students come from broken homes, so having the teachers leave is just another person in their life that is abandoning them. It makes it hard for the students to open up and trust. Now I am not against teachers trying to better themselves and provide for their families, it is just another curse of a small town.

• In substituting one of the hardest parts for me is being able to balance my "cool" factor and maintaining classroom control. Because it is not my classroom and they cannot just goof off while I am there, it sometimes puts me in a tough spot when discipline comes into the picture. I don't want to be seen as the super strict sub that is boring and mean, but on the other hand I don't want to be the guy who lets everyone get away with everything. Maintaining a classroom while still seeming fun is a constant struggle.

All in all having a school in a small town helps draw the community together. There is something special about when a town rallies behind a school with support. I cannot be more thankful for a school that allows me to come in and have lunch with the students and really build and solidify relationships that might just make a difference in their life. As with everything I am extremely thankful that God has placed me in a community where everyone including the school is open to God changing lives. 

Thank you for reading and all comments are welcome and appreciated!

Tyler