Editor’s Note: This week we welcome Rev. Amanda Smith as our guest. Pastor Amanda helps us think about the back-to-school season as a time to reboot, refresh, and restart aspects of ministry in the congregation. She serves as Co-Pastor at First Baptist Church on St. Clair in Frankfort, Kentucky. She is a graduate of BSK Theological Seminary.
Back to School Reboot 2025
The stretch of Ordinary Time between Pentecost and Advent is long. Whereas winter and springtime are chopped up by numerous liturgical occasions that invite us to reflect upon and sometimes recenter our relationships to God and to our church communities, summer and fall offer us a lengthy marathon of a season with what can feel like few opportunities for reset and renewal.
Fortunately for many of us in the northern hemisphere, the transition from summer to fall (often so unpredictable weather-wise) is marked by one loud, clear signal: the start of a new school year. Whether it arrives in July, August, or September, even in churches with few children or teens, it’s hard to miss the return of school buses to our traffic patterns, the many “first day” posts on social media, and the myriad of school supply sales online and in stores.
An Opportunity to Reboot
In our churches, the return to school, even if only a small portion of us are actually participating in it, is an opportunity — or maybe just an excuse — to fling open the doors and “reboot” and reconnect for a new season. Been traveling this summer? Welcome home! Haven’t been attending a Sunday School class or small group? This is a great time to join us!
At this time of the year, I like to reset our kids’ Godly Play space, add a few new stories or work options, and send out an announcement to parents and grandparents that we’re about to begin afresh. It’s often the moment when we transition to a new topic in Wednesday night Bible study or other small groups in hopes that people who’ve been out a while might feel it’s natural to make their way back.
Someone in my congregation recently suggested that we put name tags out in the sanctuary foyer this September and invite everyone to make one each week to help us connect confidently with those people whose names we feel sure we should know. I think this is a great idea. In short, the winding down of summertime travel and the beginning of the new year can be an invitation to reconnect with one another and to recommit to the work we’re doing together.
Praying for Students All Year Long
One way my church reconnects each fall — and I can’t claim any credit for this idea, as the tradition has been around longer than I have — is an extension of the traditional blessing of the students at the beginning of the school year. On the designated Sunday, we offer a prayer for students and teachers. Then, as the congregation exits the sanctuary after worship, each person draws a name of a student to pray for throughout the school year. It’s a simple (and essentially free!) practice. It is also a meaningful one that reminds us of our connectedness.
Some people keep the name they’ve drawn to themselves, while others make a point of sharing with the student that they’ll be praying for him or her. In our congregation, it works out that there are multiple adults praying for every student. Some even opt to take the work a bit further and send cards or notes of encouragement to their student from time to time throughout the year. If nothing else, this practice invites us to pay attention to one another and to root for one another as we continue to live life in community.
Time for Something New
I also find that the start of the school year can be a good time for trying something new, even for those of us whose lives aren’t governed by the academic calendar. If there’s something you’ve been itching to try, the new season sometimes holds room for a holy experiment. Whether it’s as simple as a change in how you fold the bulletins or as bold as a new way of serving your community, the space between the start of the school year and the beginning of Advent might be just the right length of time to lean into a new dream together.
The journey from Pentecost to the end of the church year in November can be a long one. However, the start of the new school year offers us a moment in the middle to reset and to reorient ourselves for the months ahead. May your congregation know the joy of reconnecting and discerning the Spirit moving among you in this season.
Do you need a back-to-school blessing? Try this one by Melissa Collier Gepford, or one of these blessings for teachers and seminarians.
For parents, here is a simple screensaver prayer for your phone or tablet as you send your children to school. (To save, R-click and download the image.)
