“…I am has sent me to you.” – Exodus 3:14

On the sunny and clear Saturday of May 15th, life in NYC started out just like any other. Millions of New Yorkers shuffling about the boroughs with schedules of countless chores and tasks to complete. However, what made this Saturday stand out from the rest was that students (and these are only the students accounted for on this particular day) organized themselves in a multitude of groups to walk to countless public schools around the boroughs and prayed for God’s continued presence in the schools. The “I Am My School” initiative was a pilot prayer and service project instigated by collaborators 20/20 Vision for Schools and God Belongs in My City that ultimately included ten walks covering 25 schools throughout the five boroughs.

What made this movement so special was all thanks to the efforts of student leaders spreading a grass roots effort in inspiring the next generation of students to become active in their public education system by utilizing their resources through facebook links, twitter, blogging sites , etc.

Approximately 3,000 T-Shirts were sold since the inception of the I Am My School initiative. So, following the massive success of the original God Belongs in My City (GBIMC) walk, students were challenged to wear these shirts with the simple phrase, “God Belongs In My City” within their local public schools and locate fellow students that were wearing the same shirts. However, the movement sparked by GBIMC does not end with just wearing t-shirts and large gatherings, but it should be movement that inspires people to consistently serve our city. The purpose of the prayer walks to public schools this May 15th weekend was to raise awareness among churches of service opportunities and become a template to inspire widespread service in the future.

At first, it seems confusing what’s happening with each initiative, but everything comes together if you look closely at the purpose of each. God belongs in My City is an independent grassroots movement begun by a local Brooklyn Pastor named Danny Sanabria, who became outraged at the nonexistent Christian response from Atheist ad campaigns running throughout subway and bus lines last year. In response, student leaders spread the news and organized themselves that culminated in 1500 students converging in Times Square to show New York City that God indeed belongs in the city.

Now, “I Am My School” is an initiative prompted between 20/20 Vision for Schools and God Belongs in My City with the explicit idea in trying to bring students and congregations together with public schools to make schools a better place. The name that God had ordered Moses to proclaim to the Jewish people, “I am” or “I am who I am” or Yahweh (YHWH).

“I Am My School,” therefore, is both a prayer and a call to serve. It’s an identification with one’s school that acknowledges that the school is a byproduct of what students, parents, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders make it. If I am not doing my part to make my school thrive, then I cannot expect anyone else to do theirs! Students have initiated the movement to do their part in fixing how the broken system operates.

In a study done in 2007, half of the reported public middle schools were classified as ‘failing’ with “only 22% of eighth-graders read proficiently, according to the report. The question now is what are we going to do about this? The organizers of I Am My School believe it’s not just the government’s job to fix these problems. Rather, I Am My School personalizes responsibility to help fix the system.

Even if you may not have known about this event before, it is never too late to organize prayer walks or service on behalf of your local public schools! Also, please challenge your congregation and youth group to follow in this example and pray for the change we need in our public school system. Just follow the link to register and purchase a tshirt (not required). The link provides a google map to locate your church in relation to the closest public school. Once registered, please join the facebook group or start tweeting with #IamMySchool or #GBIMC or @2020vision

On May 15, 16, and 17 2010, the following are just a few of the pictures, videos, and tweets that can be found.

Tweets

RT @mrtowles Getting ready for the prayer for schools rally @PS 40 & 140 w Bethel Gospel Tab (Qns) http://4sq.com/b6lWRU #IAmMySchool

RT @joelsanabria Youth Outcry meeting at the former Adlai Stevenson HS (BX) at 10am for #IAmMySchool http://tinyurl.com/iammys

I Am has sent us to pray for Ft Hamilton HS >4000 students. The neighborhood HS #IAmMySchool http://twitpic.com/1o0smw

PS 102, “I Am has sent me to you.” 1100 students including Judah, Seth, and Justin. #IAmMySchool http://twitpic.com/1o18wx

RT @ycolon819 God Belongs In Sunset Park!!! http://twitpic.com/1o0v2i #IAmMySchool

RT @ycolon819 Walking towards Sunset Park High School!! This is a Dream! http://twitpic.com/1o0pnc #IAmMySchool

RT @joelsanabria Back frm #IAmMySchool prayr walk (BX) Had an awesome time prayin n talkin w students preparing 4 regents C pics on my FB

RT @YOUTHREVIVAL: 8 Schools Prayed. 2 Hours Walked. 1 Amazing God Changing our City!!! #IAmMySchool – @GBIMC

If ur church didn’t pray for schools this wkend, no worries. #IAmMySchool continues. Register at http://tinyurl.com/iammys &pick a wkend 4u

Today is the day! Thousands of kids are praying in their schools! Please pray for them because @godbelongsinmycity and #iammyschool !!!

Praying @PS133 as they undergo construction 4 a new building. May these roots b planted firmly in I Am! #iammyschool http://yfrog.com/jmw6uj

#iammyschool Prays at Brooklyn HS of the Arts http://yfrog.com/cb1luj

There was even an inspiring video of the prayer walk made by The Riverside Community Church on the May 15th Weekend.

Seeking God for this Generation-Coalition Meeting

“And I sought for a man among them….” Ezekiel 22:30

- Commentary by 20/20 Co-Founder Kevin Young, Director, Student Venture New York: On why an adopt-a-school strategy within a faith-based organization should begin with prayer.

I was still wet behind the ears in ministry. He was the keynote speaker at a small gathering in northern Minnesota; a portly silver hair, who invited us on a sojourn to find the secret of loving God through prayer. The first night he told us that as a young man he had handed God a fragmented list of goals and desires, and He had fused them into a single passion to seek His heart. He told stories about spending hours in prayer, afraid to rise for fear of missing God’s invitation to draw near enough for transformation.

And when he said, “let us pray,”….Oh my…. His words and posture reflected the fire that simmered in the subterranean depths of his convictions, the flame that had consumed his “discretionary time, silly hobbies, and self serving dreams.”
At first I thought he was unbalanced, too radical. But radical means rooted, and this man had learned that a heart depending on God must be rooted and grounded in love. He kept saying over and over, “the portal to love is prayer.” At some point that weekend, I glanced over my shoulder, stretched out my hand, and grabbed the “stick” from Mr. Silver Hair.

“Stick.” It’s a phrase screamed over the deafening crowds in track & field at the moment one runner passes the baton to another. This aged saint had used the entire weekend to cry “stick,” in hopes that someone would respond. I’m sure he left the weekend a bit disappointed. No one went forward. However, sitting in the second row to the left, still in awe over what he had witnessed, a young man decided he would follow this old man’s lead by learning how to pray.

Lets not forget to yell “stick” loud enough for this generation to hear. The world has become deafening.

Here are a few ideas for passing the stick:

• Start Well: Seek out students who show a heart to pray
• Focus: Lead them to the scriptures to build conviction to pray
• Listen for the steps: Suggest biographies of great men and women of prayer
• Grip the stick: Build stamina in God’s presence through extended times of corporate prayer.
• Run to Win: Encourage students to begin prayer movements in their schools.