DR Sends Teams to Vermont, Kansas Church Loses Roof in Windstorm & Serving the Schools in Your Community

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams from three states are joining those in New England to assist cleanup after flooding that damaged homes and at times isolated entire towns.

Two coordination sites have been established. The main focal point is Vermont but teams from Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia and the New England are serving in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine as well.

Send Relief says they expect more than 100 volunteers to provide aid. They say they’ve served nearly 10,000 meals to those affected by the disaster.
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As Vacation Bible School workers prepared last Sunday night for the summer outreach event, a storm ripped the roof off the church building in Great Bend, Kansas last week.

Church leaders at First Baptist Great Bend say no one was injured.

The VBS was schedule to start on Monday.

The community rallied and provided an alternate location for VBS. It took place at CrossPoint Church, located about 15 minutes across town.
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Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
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As the new school year is just around the corner, maybe your church is thinking about ways to serve the schools in your community. Here’s are some tips from Lifeway Research.

Consider these seven steps for developing a school partnership near you:

1. Begin with prayer

There are likely several schools in your community, and all of them need help. Many factors will influence what school you reach out to, but seeking the Lord and listening to Him must come first. Where is God leading your church?

2. Determine to serve

Daryl Crouch encourages church leaders to sit down with the principal and ask, “What can we do to help you be successful.” And then allocate church resources of time, attention, staffing, and money to do whatever is needed.

3. Establish a relationship at the district level

It may be tempting to begin with the principal of a school near you or one you already know. But principals are responsible to the director of schools.

In order to establish a viable partnership, make an appointment with the director of schools first. Share your desire to serve educators and students. Then ask what factors are most important at the district level

4. Prepare volunteers to meet the needs of the school

Good intentions are not enough. Educators operate in a world of systems, processes, and measurables. There are rules that help students and faculty stay safe. The school board and state have established policy guidelines and academic standards.

To serve students and educators in the best possible way with the opportunity we have, we must do our homework. When we prepare well, we serve well.

5. Earn trust

Be patient. Give the school the opportunity to know you and trust you. Do what you can with the opportunities you have and keep the long view in mind. Be faithful in the small things. They tend to open up to greater things.

6. Be a culture-shifter

7. Publicly champion the school