Christians Urged to Battle School Violence With Prayer, Crisis Planning
by Allie Martin
October 12, 2006
(AgapePress) - - An official with an organization representing Christian educators in public and private schools says the recent shootings in an Amish school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, should serve as a wake-up call for people across America.Finn Laursen is executive director of Christian Educators Association International (CEAI). He says last week's hostage-taking and fatal shooting of Amish schoolchildren by a gunman in Bart Township, Pennsylvania, clearly shows that children are not safe anywhere. That attack prompted the organization to call for Christians nationwide to pray for the safety of children on school campuses everywhere.
But Laursen says there are other steps that concerned mothers, fathers and other adults can take. One primary step, he notes, is holding the schools in the community accountable for having a crisis plan in place in the event of an emergency.
The head of CEAI says he has had parents ask how they can know if their children's school has a well-thought-out and well-rehearsed plan for what to do in the event of a problem or emergency of any kind. His response, he recalls, was "Ask your students, 'What is your crisis plan in your school?'"
If the children's answer to that question is that they don't know, Laursen says that means the school may have a plan and "it may have been well developed, but it's sitting on someone's shelf and has not been rehearsed." And with all the millions of children going off to public and private schools in America each day, he feels that kind of lack of preparedness is unacceptable.
The Christian educators advocate notes that the Amish community's immediate reaction to the shootings was an inspiring example in several ways. "The first response of the Amish community was to go to the wife of the slayer that violated their children and present forgiveness," he observes. "To me, that was just powerful."
Also, Laursen says members of the Amish community affected by this tragedy, in addition to modeling Christian forgiveness, wisely prioritized prayer as a response to shocking violence and loss. "What did they do," he notes, "when asked by the news network, 'What can we tell the people of this nation? What do you need? How can we support you?' The Amish community said very clearly, 'We need their prayers.'"
Similarly, Laursen is encouraging Christians in communities around the U.S. to prioritize prayer, asking God to protect children and teachers in public and private schools across America. Prayer is one of many ways he says believers need to be responding proactively to the wave of school violence that is sweeping the nation.
Christian Educators Association International is holding a conference for Christian teachers next month in Lancaster County. The "Live it Out Conference," which will address how teachers can live out their faith at work, is scheduled to take place Saturday, November 11, in East Earl, Pennsylvania.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
