Dear Churches

The Prime Minister is determined to keep schools in England open, even if almost everything else is up for debate. For some children, families, and teachers, this may be reassuring and welcome news. For others, it may present a whole range of additional anxieties to contend with at this time.  

We know as Christians that we live in dark and stormy times in this world. We also know that the light of Christ, which we carry inside of us, will always and finally overcome darkness. As we head into winter; children and also teachers in schools across our city will be increasingly in need of such light, as well as all of its spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, that we are learning about in our church.  

This letter has been penned to ask if you would consider giving a bit of your time to attend one of our secondary schools weekly or fortnightly during their break time. This is simply to be there as yourself; as a trustworthy, impartial adult who is willing to listen to what children want to share, and provide encouragement at this time.  

School Pastors in the City 

‘School Pastors’ was born out of the Street Pastors movement, and introduced to the city by Portsmouth’s ‘One Body’ in 2016, to provide Christian ‘friendship, safety, and care’ to local secondary schools.  

Since May 2018 I have been employed to coordinate School Pastors in Portsmouth. By God’s grace we have seen a gradual increase in volunteer numbers in this time, from 6 to over 20, operating across two secondary schools in the centre and east of the city. One exciting development is an increased diversity in our volunteer team including in career stage from university students, to young professionals, working parents, and retirees, as well as cultural background, and church denomination. This is a significant step forward for the church in schools in our city, and for the children in being able to connect with the body of Christ in all its expressions. Lockdown has meant a small loss in volunteer numbers, but a greater determination amongst the team and some new opportunities to develop our support, and reach out to more people, in more ways.  

Returning to School 

Our visits were paused in March 2020. But over the past 6 weeks we have had meetings with Principals, visited for observations, and spent 3 weeks with a reduced team to recommence visits, while finalising our COVID risk assessments.  

We are now planning to reintroduce more of the team and at both schools after the half term break. With schools due to continue no matter the wider restrictions, we believe the demand for this kind of Christian presence in schools will grow.   

Now, we would like to introduce more people to the team.   

Becoming a School Pastor 

To become a School Pastor, you are required to complete a training programme which introduces you to the Roles & Responsibilities of being a school pastor and safeguarding matters, provides skills for active listening, and shares insight into the complexities surrounding Youth Cultures, Mental Health, and Drugs & Alcohol. 

The Ascension Trust, who run School Pastors, have taken the opportunity to take the majority of this training online at this time, and also provide it 5 times per year. This means potential volunteers can now train sooner and more conveniently.  

The next round of training starts this Saturday morning (9am-12pm) with Active Listening, followed by 7 weeks of sessions on the each of the following Saturday mornings. The essential R&R will be delivered in person at a local venue on 28th November, from 10am – 4pm. If trainees can’t attend certain sessions, there will be another chance in the near future.  

There are costs attached to training. As a not for profit organisation, we want to make becoming a school pastor as accessible and affordable to as many Christians as possible, while also not operating at a loss. We do not want costs to be an obstacle, and can discuss ways to meet these costs more on application.  

Before beginning school visits, each volunteer will have completed an online application form, provided 2 references, received an Enhanced DBS certificate if not already receiving one in the past 3 years, and completed at least the R&R and Safeguarding training modules. Ideally, we hope to introduce new volunteers in the new year, depending on how quickly this can all be completed, and maybe sooner for those able to attend the upcoming training.  

Other ways to support 

There are other ways to support us, if you can’t visit schools. Perhaps you are part of a Connect Group and would be happy to receive more information and updates from us to regularly pray for this ministry and the schools as part of your group. Or you may be aware of someone else who could be called to be a school pastor. Or perhaps you can sponsor a volunteer through training and receive regular updates.    

Thank You 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. There is a video available Portsmouth School Pastors – Simba’s Story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhdRywjR224) to give some more context of what this is about. 

…But most of all, I hope that these words will land well with someone reading this who feels a call from God to do more for the Kingdom in our city’s schools at this time.  

If this is you, or you would just like to find out more at this time, please contact me at your earliest opportunity so that we can get the ball rolling.  

Thank you, 

Andy Bullock – Coordinator,  Portsmouth School Pastors. 

 

Email: portsmouth@schoolpastors.org.uk  

Website: streetpastors.org/locations/portsmouth/ 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/portsmouthschoolpastors  

Instagram: www.instagram.com/portsmouthschoolpastors/