Tony Evans: Christians' Involvement Key to Behavioral Issues in Schools
by Allie Martin
September 21, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Churches throughout the nation are being encouraged to take an active role in improving the quality of public school education.Nearly 20 years ago a principal at a Dallas-area high school asked Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, to help curb gang activity in the school. Project Turn-Around was born and involved sending 12 men to the school to walk the halls. Order was soon restored.
Now more than 65 schools take part in the Dallas-area program, which is being expanded nationwide. Dr. Evans says the National Church Adopt-A-School Initiative is ready to be implemented. The program is easy, he says, and can be started at any grade level.
"You can start at your little elementary school where it's [easiest] because the kids are younger and the parents are more involved, all the way up to high school," Evans says. "And if just one church will adopt one school, we can cover every community in America."
According to Evans, the answer to public school reform is not more federal funding, but genuine concern from Christians who are willing to get involved on a personal level.
"The problem is that a lot of the social service issues that impede education have to be addressed up-close and personal, life-to-life, person-to-person," the popular pastor explains.
"When there's a gang problem [at a school] and we bring our group of men to talk to all the boys [about that] -- as we've done -- that life-on-life touch does more than simply throwing dollars at programs can do because the church lives in the community with the school." He then adds, "So for less money, we can have more impact."
Under the Dallas model, students receive tutoring, mentoring, and other services. Families are eligible for a variety of training programs.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
