There is a Ghost in the 4th Grade Bathroom
There is a Ghost in the 4th Grade Bathroom
I walked through the halls of Sheridan School last week on a sunny Thursday afternoon. I had just spent time with a 4th grader I mentor every week at the school we have the opportunity to worship in as a church.
My mentee is a feisty “rule the school” kind of gal and has given me some great one liners that I promptly share on Facebook and Twitter such as:
“I’ve been playing basketball but I want to play football so I can tackle people for no reason.”
“There is a ghost in the 4th grade bathroom because when you flush it just goes round and round and round.”
“You work at a church that’s at our school?” –Mentee
“Yep” – Me
“Do you have a T?” – Mentee
“Do we drink tea?”
“No, do you have a T?” –Mentee
“Oh a CROSS?” –Me
“Yeah that.” – Mentee
“Um… yes we do.” – Me
This last week was different, I had heard her share about some of the hard experiences in her life, but this time she was describing the violence that she has experienced in her own home. As she explained what she had seen, I was glad that she isn’t currently in danger, but my heart was broken for her.
I walked through the 3rd floor hallway after dropping her off at her class and I looked out at the cityscape of Minneapolis as the sun shone in through the window.
I let out the only prayer I had at the moment, “God your Kingdom needs to come to this school and to these kids. I know we have seen You do so much, but I want more for this school and for these kids.”
A few years ago might have been different… perhaps before the prayer left my lips I would have be filled with doubt and discouragement.
But now, as I prayed this short prayer, there is a deep confidence and faith that I have because of the amazing things I have seen in the last four years.
This month marks four years since my church began to worship in the Sheridan School auditorium. We had met in homes for over six months and would serve the neighborhood in any way we could. But when we had the opportunity to worship at Sheridan, we took it.
“I don’t understand… what is in it for us?”
This was the question from the principle at the time. You see, the money for our rent goes to the Minneapolis Public Schools, not directly to our school. In her mind, all we were was a potential headache for teachers whose rooms we would use.
We shared that we would do anything we could to be an asset to the school and not a burden, but we knew that we wouldn’t be able to be perfect renters.
Right away we began to serve in any way possible, and that’s a story I will tell soon. But the other thing we began to do is pray for the Kingdom to come to Sheridan.
There hasn’t been a Sunday in four years that we haven’t prayed for God’s presence and blessing to be on Sheridan, the students, faculty staff and families.
This school has struggled as one of the poorest performing schools in Minneapolis for years. It’s considered a “failing school” in every sense of the word. The administration shared that they felt unnoticed and under resourced.
But as we began to pray, by no other effort of ours, amazing things began to happen.
- Target gave a huge grant and had an entire Media Center and Library makeover.
- The school has kept their new principle for over three years (unheard of in a failing school in the city).
- A monthly food shelf for parents was implemented operated by Second Harvest and Target.
- “Family Nights” where parents come to be equipped to help their kids learn has quadrupled in attendance.
- Toro and the Minnesota Vikings paid to renovate the playground to make it one of the most amazing play spaces in the city.
We’ve developed an amazing God-given relationship with the school but I’m not even adding the efforts we are making as a church to this list.
I ran into one of the engineers who we’ve gotten to know a while back and he said, “things have been different since you all have been here.”
“Well, we pray for this school all the time” I told him.
“I knew we needed to get some of the devils out and some Jesus up in here” he said and laughed. Who knows, maybe that ghost even left the 4th grade bathroom??
All joking aside, I do believe that these changes are happening at this school because the Kingdom of God is coming to Sheridan as we beg for God to move in this place.
I pray that this is only the beginning so that little girls that rule the school, like my mentee, can step into freedom more and more each day.
God may your Kingdom come and your will be done in Sheridan school!
READ PART 2 OF THIS STORY HERE
There is a Ghost in the 4th Grade Bathroom
I walked through the halls of Sheridan School last week on a sunny Thursday afternoon. I had just spent time with a 4th grader I mentor every week at the school we have the opportunity to worship in as a church.
My mentee is a feisty “rule the school” kind of gal and has given me some great one liners that I promptly share on Facebook and Twitter such as:
“I’ve been playing basketball but I want to play football so I can tackle people for no reason.”
“There is a ghost in the 4th grade bathroom because when you flush it just goes round and round and round.”
“You work at a church that’s at our school?” –Mentee
“Yep” – Me
“Do you have a T?” – Mentee
“Do we drink tea?”
“No, do you have a T?” –Mentee
“Oh a CROSS?” –Me
“Yeah that.” – Mentee
“Um… yes we do.” – Me
This last week was different, I had heard her share about some of the hard experiences in her life, but this time she was describing the violence that she has experienced in her own home. As she explained what she had seen, I was glad that she isn’t currently in danger, but my heart was broken for her.
I walked through the 3rd floor hallway after dropping her off at her class and I looked out at the cityscape of Minneapolis as the sun shone in through the window.
I let out the only prayer I had at the moment, “God your Kingdom needs to come to this school and to these kids. I know we have seen You do so much, but I want more for this school and for these kids.”
A few years ago might have been different… perhaps before the prayer left my lips I would have be filled with doubt and discouragement.
But now, as I prayed this short prayer, there is a deep confidence and faith that I have because of the amazing things I have seen in the last four years.
This month marks four years since my church began to worship in the Sheridan School auditorium. We had met in homes for over six months and would serve the neighborhood in any way we could. But when we had the opportunity to worship at Sheridan, we took it.
“I don’t understand… what is in it for us?”
This was the question from the principle at the time. You see, the money for our rent goes to the Minneapolis Public Schools, not directly to our school. In her mind, all we were was a potential headache for teachers whose rooms we would use.
We shared that we would do anything we could to be an asset to the school and not a burden, but we knew that we wouldn’t be able to be perfect renters.
Right away we began to serve in any way possible, and that’s a story I will tell soon. But the other thing we began to do is pray for the Kingdom to come to Sheridan.
There hasn’t been a Sunday in four years that we haven’t prayed for God’s presence and blessing to be on Sheridan, the students, faculty staff and families.
This school has struggled as one of the poorest performing schools in Minneapolis for years. It’s considered a “failing school” in every sense of the word. The administration shared that they felt unnoticed and under resourced.
But as we began to pray, by no other effort of ours, amazing things began to happen.
- Target gave a huge grant and had an entire Media Center and Library makeover.
- The school has kept their new principle for over three years (unheard of in a failing school in the city).
- A monthly food shelf for parents was implemented operated by Second Harvest and Target.
- “Family Nights” where parents come to be equipped to help their kids learn has quadrupled in attendance.
- Toro and the Minnesota Vikings paid to renovate the playground to make it one of the most amazing play spaces in the city.
We’ve developed an amazing God-given relationship with the school but I’m not even adding the efforts we are making as a church to this list.
I ran into one of the engineers who we’ve gotten to know a while back and he said, “things have been different since you all have been here.”
“Well, we pray for this school all the time” I told him.
“I knew we needed to get some of the devils out and some Jesus up in here” he said and laughed. Who knows, maybe that ghost even left the 4th grade bathroom??
All joking aside, I do believe that these changes are happening at this school because the Kingdom of God is coming to Sheridan as we beg for God to move in this place.
I pray that this is only the beginning so that little girls that rule the school, like my mentee, can step into freedom more and more each day.
God may your Kingdom come and your will be done in Sheridan school!
READ PART 2 OF THIS STORY HERE
I feel so blessed to be a part of this!!, As I was telling a friend the other day
“This church I go to, is a functional church, as in how Jesus told us a church should be” my friend really liked that fact, and saw our “Sheridan Story” Facebook page, to learn more about it, her name is Wendy, she lives in Tennessee, so our light is shining far beyond the walls of Sheridan…
Praise God!!