From Hopeless to Honor Roll

If you had met Michael Barnes three years ago, he would have told you he was a hopeless student. "I was ready to quit school and give up on everything," the 17-year-old says. "I had lost so much."

At the time, he and his mom had just survived Hurricane Katrina and arrived in Duncanville, Texas, with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Michael also struggled with grief and anger over the fact that he'd never met his father. At Duncanville High School, his grades fell and he isolated himself from everyone.

Am I in trouble?

But that started to change the day his school counselor introduced him to Mr. Moses, a mentor from a local church. "I thought he was a lawyer because of his clothes," Michael remembers. "I thought I was in trouble." Instead, the man hugged him. That shocked Michael but also strangely reassured him.

"I guess I was just waiting for somebody to show they cared."

Michael began meeting regularly with Mr. Moses and other mentors. The results were dramatic: His grades rose from low D's to high B's and A's, and he started making friends. The high point came when first lady Laura Bush visited the Dallas area last year and invited Michael to introduce her.

In a relatively short time, he has gone from looking like a potential dropout to a high-achieving, well-respected senior. "It feels good," he says. "It's like winning a championship."

Stories like his are not uncommon if you talk to the teachers and counselors at Duncanville High School. Their school is one of more than 60 public schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that have been "adopted" by Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church (OCBFC).

God and good works

The church's school project started 15 years ago when a school around the corner was experiencing major truancy, violence and pregnancy problems, explains senior pastor Tony Evans. After the church sent volunteer mentors to the school, the problems decreased and many students' grades rose. Requests for help from other schools came pouring in.

Tony recalls one school that requested help combating gangs. "We walked over there with 25 men. They brought all the boys in the auditorium, and we talked about what it meant to be a man. Then the men met with the boys in smaller groups. Gang problems ceased. They simply needed a male presence."

In addition to mentoring programs, OCBFC provides other social services for schools, such as tutoring, computer training and access to food and clothing for impoverished families.

Complaints about separation of church and state haven't been a problem because "we don't come in the school preaching," says Moses Chism, the man who mentors Michael and coordinates nearly 400 other mentors for the school system. "But that doesn't mean I can't be a good example. There is no separation between God and good works. We are the good works."

Hundreds with vision

Now the idea is catching on nationally through OCBFC's Adopt-a-School Initiative. So far, at least 500 church leaders nationwide have been trained to replicate the model.

One of those is Rodney Maiden, pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Cleveland. "We looked on the map and located all the city public schools, then we said, 'OK, what church is near this school?'" Rodney explains. "Then we contacted those pastors. Now, the majority of schools have been adopted."

Cleveland parishioners do everything from monitoring school playgrounds to repainting graffiti-covered lockers. Even smaller churches make an impact. "It doesn't always take money; sometimes it just takes time," Rodney says. Volunteers can read to children or take time off during lunch to monitor school cafeterias.

As the founder of the initiative, Tony hopes more churches will catch the vision. His goal is for all of the nation's urban-area schools to be adopted within 10 years. Meanwhile, media outlets are decrying the fact that many inner-city schools have become dropout factories, some not even graduating half of their students.

Some say more money is the answer. But Tony believes churches have a more powerful antidote — the practical demonstration of Christ's love. "We are providing social services that are needed," he says. "Teachers are not able to be social workers and academicians at the same time. We've never had one school turn down a church's offer to help."