KEYSER AND ROGERS SCHOOL

One of the main ways Grace Church reaches the community is through our partnership with our neighborhood schools, Keyser Elementary School and Rogers High School. Our partnerships with Keyser, which began in 2006, and Rogers, which began in 2018, serve as an opportunity for Grace Church to connect with and serve the students and families in the community surrounding the church, as well as the staff and teachers at the schools. Our belief that God blesses His people in order that they become a blessing to others has been the catalyst to our journey in adopting a school. Our goal in partnering with Keyser and Rogers is to be God’s presence and blessing to the staff, students, and families of the school, as well as the community in the neighborhoods surrounding our church. Relationship is key to all that we do with the school and community.

“BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING.”

Our hope since the beginning has been that other churches in our area would partner with local schools, serving the students, staff, and families of those schools in a way that demonstrates the love of Jesus. We are excited to see that this continues to happen. At the beginning of the 2018/2019 school-year there are 33 school/church partnerships! So what does a church-school partnership look like? It will look a little different for each partnership as each church discovers the needs of their partner school, and then partners with God’s Spirit as they look to His leading in how to meet those needs.

how we partner

In-school reading tutors. Tutors spend one hour a week with the same two students for the full school year.

Help with resources (people and financial, as needed) for events such as open house, honors awards programs, parents’ nights, special programs, Scholastic book fair, classroom projects, field trips, field days, etc.

In 2007, we opened a school supply pantry for the teachers, providing school supplies for their classrooms. That pantry has grown to include all five of the schools in the Rogers Learning Community in partnership with 5 other churches. Visit the School Supply Pantry page located under the Outreach tab in the top menu to learn more about the School Supply Pantry ministry.

We host events to connect with families from the school and the neighborhood, such as a neighborhood picnic or a children’s free bike repair event. In addition, we partner with the parent organization and the school to assist and support parental participation and promote positive family activities. In 2017 we began hosting three parent engagement events at the school: Goodies with Grandparents, Desserts with Dads, and Munchies with Moms.

Grace Church serves as a resource to the school to help meet the physical needs of families and students. We connect them with ministries and agencies in town to meet their needs, and partner with Epiphany Lutheran to provide Thanksgiving food baskets, among other activities.

We host a weekly prayer walk at Keyser on Tuesday mornings before school begins. We have also joined the Monday morning prayer walk at Rogers.

God opening doors

Through the partnership between Grace Church and Keyser Elementary, God has opened doors for a number of ministry opportunities:

Sunday Morning Bus Ministry. Children are picked up for church throughout the Keyser neighborhood or dropped off by relatives. Breakfast is served before church.

Youth Haven Ranch. A ministry for children from disadvantaged homes where they experience the love of God in a safe and fun camp environment. We provide groups of ten children with weekend trips throughout the school year and week long trips during the summer.

Grace Church participates in the City of Toledo’s annual Fishing Derby at Sleepy Hollow Park each summer.

We provide space in our church buildings for use by neighborhood block watches and other community-focused events.

Partnerships in serving the community alongside other churches in the School Supply Pantry – Braden United Methodist, Epiphany Lutheran, Epworth Church, Toledo Mennonite, and The University Church.

In late fall 2018, Grace began a partnership with Rogers High School. In addition to supporting teachers and students through the School Supply Pantry, we are supporting the Rogers Hub Community and look forward to exploring the ways our partnership at Rogers will grow in the future.

how can you help?

The needs of these children, teachers, and families are real, and there are many ways in which you can help support Grace Church’s mission to build a community to reach a community. Here are just a few:

Purchase gift cards through the Scrip program. A percentage of each gift card purchase is returned to the church and all proceeds fund our outreach ministries. Contact Roxanne Combs, 419-535-0060 or by email rcombs@gracetoledo.org.

Purchase school supplies for The School Supply Pantry. Lists are available in the church office or on the Grace Facebook page

Sign up for Kroger Community Rewards. A percentage of purchases goes to the church and funds outreach. Call the church office at (419) 535-0060 for instructions. or email rcombs@gracetoledo.org

Drive children to/from Youth Haven on Fridays or Sundays throughout the school year.

Tutor Kindergarten through 3rd grade students in reading on hour per week at the school.

For more information on how you can get involved, contact Mary Brack, Director of Local Mission & Outreach. You can reach her in church office at (419) 535-0060 x.112, or send her an email mbrack@gracetoledo.org .