One of the tent-poles of Shades’ Community Engagement ministry is to provide spiritual, emotional, and professional support to our school teachers and administrators. These leaders have tremendous influence over our children during their formative years, and we want to do our best to support and encourage them, and ultimately influence them for Christ.
We have six teams currently working in area schools. In Vestavia Hills, we serve in Dolly Ridge Elementary, Vestavia East Elementary and Vestavia West Elementary. In Hoover, we have teams at Bluff Park, Green Valley, and Shades Mountain Elementary schools. All told, the Lord has given us space to build relationship with and encourage more than 600 local school employees.
Our School Care Teams offer support at their schools in a variety of ways. We provide grab-and-go breakfasts for teachers as they arrive for their classes; we help with school cook-out days; we provide goodie bags with gifts, all in an effort to show our appreciation for the work our teachers and administrators are doing every day. Most importantly, all of these activities are bathed in prayer that our work will open doors for Gospel conversations with the leaders in our schools.
We’ve gotten great feedback from our school partners. Principals tell us the breakfast treats are a welcome start to the day for their teachers. Teachers say that the gifts are thoughtful and give them a nice pick-me-up in the midst of long days of classes. Our team members express genuine happiness as they serve in their schools as the hands and feet of Jesus.
We are always open to new team members and new ideas for ways we can express our appreciation in our schools. God has opened doors for us and we want to be faithful to use these opportunities to build up our teachers and administrators and share the love of Jesus with them. If you would like more information about our School Care Teams or want to get involved at one of our schools, please contact Tommy DeRamus.