Education is one of the greatest gifts that we can give to the next generation, and teaching them about God's love and grace is one of the key missions of our church. Religious instruction in government schools is becoming harder to realise, and more children are missing out on hearing the good news of the Gospel than ever before.
We want to help you turn the tide, and provide the opportunity for you to extend your mission field into your local government schools. By setting up a project under the RI in Govt Schools fund, you can collect tax-deductible donations to financially support the position of a chaplain or religious instruction teacher in your local school. You will be responsible for advertising for the chaplain/RI teacher, screening applicants and appointing someone to the position. Alternatively, if you have someone in mind that you want to support in their current position, you can set up a project for them too.
An example of a Religious Instruction in Government Schools Project could be...
Just down the street from St Mark's Lutheran Church is their local state school. The school has been without a chaplain for a couple of terms, as they haven't been able to access any funding to support the position.
Wanting to reach out into the community, St Mark's decides to step in and financially support a chaplain for 2 days a week at the school.
St Mark's Church Council meets and determines how much they will need to fund the position for a year, then they complete the online project application with QLG to 'Fund a chappy'. Once 'Fund a chappy' has been approved by QLG, St Mark's digs in and comes up with a variety of ways to raise funds: the women's fellowship group organise a bake sale at their local Bunnings, while the men's shed group runs the BBQ. The youth group hosts a trivia night for the local church and wider community, and the call goes out to the surrounding churches asking people to pledge their help for the chaplain.
As donations come in to the QLG RI in Govt Schools fund, St Mark's advertises the chaplaincy position, interviews their shortlist, and appoints a chaplain on a 6 month contract. The church council meets again to plan out a series of fundraisers over the next 6 months to continue to boost donations for the project, while the chaplain begins at the local school.