RELATE WELL TO SCHOOL AUTHORITIES

 

Antonio had a strong desire to reach the students at the school near his church, but the school was closed to any ministry coming on campus. Yet Antonio was determined and figured there had to be a way. So, when he had the opportunity to be a substitute teacher, he saw it as the ideal opportunity, giving him access to hundreds of students for hours at a time.

 

During class, Antonio took the opportunity to give Christian answers to controversial subjects. As students’ interest increased, so did Antonio’s boldness. But he never bothered to meet with the principal. He felt nervous about talking to an administrator he didn’t even know. 

 

When the principal heard about Antonio’s conversations in class, he forbade Antonio from expressing his religious beliefs there and warned him that he would no longer be able to teach if he continued to do so.

 

To Antonio, this meant depriving kids of real-life answers. He felt it was his duty to share Christ with students, even if it cost him his job. And it did.

 

Now the school has substitute teachers who don’t have the same heart for students that Antonio did. And he no longer has access to them, and because of what he did, neither do other youth leaders.

 

This is not a question of rights. It’s a matter of wisdom. Being disruptive to the educational process will close doors and work against you. But when you establish a constructive relationship with school administrators, you have a basis for dealing with issues positively. It’s important to be sensitive to teachers’ and administrators’ responsibilities and needs and “earn the right to be heard.” 

 

Submit to Authority

We’re told to submit ourselves to governing authorities, who have been instituted by God—even when we don’t agree with those authorities (Romans 13:1-5). Not to do so opens us up to God’s disfavor toward our ministries. To have an effective campus ministry, we need to understand what an attitude of submission looks like, how it’s beneficial to all, and why it’s so important. 

 

Submission opens doors and builds trust, and it allows us to minister on campus with a clear conscience. I’ve found over years of student ministry that it’s much easier and more effective when I have an attitude of submission to school authorities—not because I want to use or manipulate them, but because I genuinely honor the position God has placed them in.

 

That doesn’t mean I’ve always liked the approach school administrators have taken. Sometimes they show no interest in the spiritual aspect of kids’ lives. They can become pawns in the hands of parents and school boards. And sometimes they turn their backs on solutions because they don’t want to make waves. There is no need to judge or blame; just accept the situation for what it is. It’s easy to think they’re short-circuiting God’s will. But no one short-circuits God’s will. He can work in any situation, even through people who do not embrace His ways and the outcomes we had hoped for. That’s why we submit to authority and leave the results to the Lord. 

 

Cultivate a Submissive Approach

To develop a submissive approach to school authorities without compromising your sense of calling or purpose, follow the guidelines in Ephesians 6:5-9. Paul wrote this to household servants in the first century. He told them to serve with respect, fear, and sincerity of heart, just as they would if serving Christ. In fact, they should serve earthly masters just as wholeheartedly as they serve Jesus Himself, knowing that God rewards everyone for the good they do. 

 

We can take that same approach in any situation today and expect God to honor it. Applying Paul’s three components of a servant’s heart will set us apart on campus and set us up for success.

 

• Respect. If we appreciate and even admire the responsibilities of school authorities, we can have a positive perspective from the start. 

 

School principals and administrators have one of the most difficult jobs in the country—long weeks, hundreds of employees who answer to them, big budgets to balance, a staggering array of student problems to address, and a nagging feeling that even their best efforts are inadequate. They work under constraints placed on them by school boards and parents—they have hundreds of people in the school district and community to report to—and when anything goes wrong, the buck stops at their desk. 

 

And they live with the constant awareness of how high the stakes are. They are dealing with one of society’s most precious and difficult commodities: children and their education. 

 

Not that long ago, the biggest offenses at school were talking, chewing gum, running in the halls, making too much noise, and wearing inappropriate clothing. Now they are rape, robbery, assault, vandalism, extortion, drug and alcohol abuse, and guns. Many principals have resorted to guard dogs, metal detectors, plainclothes officers, and a security staff. Sometimes they operate a daycare center for students with babies. The responsibilities go well beyond education.

 

Most principals—and teachers and coaches too—could easily get better-paying jobs in the business world, but they choose to stay because they care for young people. They may not share your beliefs, but in most cases, they do share your concerns.

 

Learn to see principals, teachers, and coaches as people with bills to pay, families to tend to, and their own set of personal needs and concerns. Ask God to give you a heart for them. They are not a barrier to get past in order to minister to students. They are human beings who, like all other human beings, need God’s love and presence too. 

 

• Fear. In the context of Ephesians 6, fear actually means obedience—a desire to fulfill responsibilities and not fall short. On campus, this means carrying out the wishes of school administrators. 

 

My good friend worked hard for two years to develop a relationship with the boys’ varsity basketball coach, hoping the coach would invite him to help. He believed it would open doors to relationships that otherwise wouldn’t be opened. When the coach finally asked him, he was ecstatic.

 

My friend shared his excitement with a teacher friend, who asked if he was aware that only people currently teaching at the school were allowed to coach. He knew lots of people broke the rule, but the teacher thought he should honor it as a Christian. My friend didn’t appreciate this teacher’s perspective at first, but he knew it was right. When he asked the coach about it, the coach said he was aware of the rule, but said it was his team and he could ask anyone he wanted to help out. 

 

My friend wrestled with this for a week. He reminded God how many students, parents, and teachers he could reach by coaching. He told God no one would care if he fudged on an obscure rule. But eventually, my friend told the coach he couldn’t do it. 

 

The coach didn’t understand, and neither did many of the players. It felt like his ministry was taking a huge step backward. But in the end, he knew being obedient was the right decision, and his conscience was clear. He quickly found other ways to connect to students on that campus. 

 

• Sincerity. When we look at all of the potential and real frustrating situations we can encounter at schools and the people who seem to enjoy resisting our efforts, we might start to think that Paul was only kidding about “sincerity of heart”—that it’s okay to cut corners or bend the rules a little to work some situations out. Yet God tells us through Paul to work with sincerity of heart, just as we would obey Christ.

 

Sometimes school administrators are not only aggravating, but also dead wrong. But there’s nothing to gain, either at the school or in God’s eyes, by defying them. The only appropriate, godly response is to obey and serve them as though they were Jesus Himself. 

 

If you apply these three attitudes to your relationships with all school authorities, you will honor God and position yourself for His blessing on your ministry. You will also set yourself apart as radically distinctive in a campus environment. The rest is up to the Lord, and with these perspectives, He will use you powerfully. 

 

Your Next Steps

We encourage you to keep a notebook or journal of ideas, action steps, and resources that will help you advance your youth ministry. You can use the following questions and suggestions for brainstorming and developing your goals and plans. 

 

• Spend some time considering the positive benefits that could come from establishing favorable relationships with school principals, administrators, and teachers. How can that help you meet needs at school, build relationships with more administrators, teachers, and students, and eventually give you access to meet more and more students? 

 

• Write a list of reasons why it matters to obey the rules and the administrators we may not agree with—and in some cases may seem contrary to God’s purposes—and write some concrete conclusions for how you will approach these situations.

 

Resources

• Every Student Every School, sponsored by the Campus Alliance, helps students and youth leaders pray for their campus and reach out to students.