Dallas Churches Adopt 65 Local Schools

Tony Evans, pastor of the mega-church Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, was concerned about Dallas' troubled and violence-plagued public schools. So he found a way his church could help. "Because when you have to put metal detectors into your hallways, you don't want to discuss the separation of church and state," Tony said. "You want help!" Then his church got a desperate cry that launched what became a massive program: Project TurnAround. The program started when gang activity and other disruptive behavior at one Dallas-area high school got the principal so upset, he went to Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship looking for help. They sent 12 men over to walk the halls. The change that happened from that was remarkable. Peace came over the school, absenteeism went down, grades started going up. So the church went into hyper-drive and basically adopted the school, throwing all sorts of resources into aiding students. "We provided mentoring and tutoring and family support services for the kids who were having a problem," Tony said. "And grades went up, truancy went down, delinquency went down, and the school got turned around." The church even helps the parents of troubled students. "Maybe mom cannot read, maybe dad needs a better job," Public School Outreach Director Jason Evans said. "So we're able to plug them into our Technology Institute, Career Development.help them with their resumes, maybe have them go through GED classes, adult literacy classes." Project TurnAround has expanded to 65 Dallas area schools. "The church is saying, 'We have it.we have the solution,' and the community is saying, 'Listen, we have a problem.' It's really linking the solution with the problem," Jason said, Especially crucial is the one-on-one help brought to students by the hundreds of mentors that flow from the churches into the schools. "We come in as a support system to the teachers," In-School Mentor Coordinator Moses Chisam said. "So when the teachers are having issues or problems with kids, the teacher will say 'Go see your mentor.'" Chism puts mentors together with some 300 students in one high school alone. He said, "Their self-esteem changes, their confidence changes, and you see that, and when you see that, you know that what you're doing is not in vain, because there are so many of them." "In one school, we had a 75 percent reduction in behavioral referrals, just by one person in the school," Jason said. "Now magnify that by two hundred persons -- think about the impact we're having in the school." One nearby school was so torn apart by gang violence, it called a special assembly for the boys. "I walked over with 25 men," Jason said. "And the 25 men stood in the aisles with all these boys. And we talked about what it means to be a man. And just the fact that that many men showed up from the church, gang activity ceased." Then Project TurnAround began teaming up an urban church with a suburban church to reach troubled schools. For instance, in Dallas, Oak Cliff Church partners with mega-church Prestonwood Baptist. Suburban churches often have more resources they can throw into the battle. And it gives the suburban churches ".a missionary opportunity that's across the railroad tracks, not just across the sea," Tony said. It also presents a witness when these churches clasp hands across racial and social lines. "And then we can testify to the broader society what the Church of Jesus Christ looks like when it crosses lines to do good works for the Kingdom of God," Tony said. Inevitably, opponents bring up concerns about programs like this breaching the so-called wall of separation between church and state. Tony says the churches involved are careful to respect that wall, but that doesn't mean the Lord gets silenced. "The separation of church and state.which we agree with.does not have to mean the separation of God and good works," he said. "What people have to understand is good works does open up opportunities for the Good Word," Tony said. "They say we can't bring God into the schools? But the reality is God is in us, so guess what? God is in the school. Because wherever we go, God goes with us," Jason said. "You can still let your light shine no matter where you go," Chism said. "And when you let your light shine, the kids will see the fruit." Then Texas Gov. George Bush kept an eye on Project TurnAround's growth and success. He was so impressed, when he became President, he took to Washington this idea of faith groups partnering with public institutions. And he started getting tax dollars to support them through the White House faith-based initiative. That's encouraged Tony to take this to the next level -- spreading the idea across America through the National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative. Dozens of churches and hundreds of their members are stepping up to volunteer. It takes real commitment, because they need to go through a 30-hour training program and absorb an impressive pile of paperwork. But those involved are dreaming big, and hoping to have an impact on the entire nation. "Our goal is three hundred churches a year adopting schools," Tony said. "I wish that in every state in every school there was a light on the campus where kids know they can come to and talk. So we'll make a big difference," Chism said. The hope now is, as this program goes national, that a nation can be changed - one school at a time.