Piedmont Church Staff with Local Business and School Officials
Public schools are more successful when they build partnerships with the government, business, non-profit and church communities. I was reminded of this at a recent luncheon in which Piedmont Church, in partnership with the local businesses, presented $12,000 worth of scholarships to two local high schools. In attendance were approximately 75 business leaders, school faculty and administration and church staff.
The funding for the scholarships came from a community-wide event put on by the church called Christmas At Piedmont. To read my thoughts of this event, click HERE. In short, local businesses sponsored the event. This allowed them to get their products and services in front of thousands of potential customers. The sponsorship money then allowed the church to actually put on this Christmas spectacular. After covering all their expenses, the church then returned all remaining proceeds as scholarships to local high schools. Piedmont Church did not make a single cent on Christmas At Piedmont.
Piedmont Church Pastor Ike Reighard and Brian Dodd
The following are 7 Benefits To Partnerships Between Churches, Businesses And Local Schools I learned from this luncheon:
- Business Leaders And School Officials Can Learn Much About Leadership From Local Churches – The greatest leadership in America today occurs at local churches. This is because pastors must lead volunteer armies. Piedmont Church Senior Pastor Ike Reighard said, “You never want to be the expert in what used to work.” This challenged and motivated all in attendance.
- The Church Should Help Local Businesses By Connecting Them With Their Community – The Piedmont staff took a moment to recognize all sponsoring businesses. This allowed them additional exposure to all attending faculty and administration.
- Churches Earn The Trust Of Local Schools By Faithfully Serving Them – Ike told all school faculty and administration, “Thank you for the privilege to serve you.”
- Churches Earn The Trust Of Local Schools By Being Generous – Ike continued, “Why not be a church notorious for giving things away?” Over 30 local school choral groups performed during Christmas At Piedmont. Each was presented with a $300 gift. In addition, the business sponsorships allowed 12 iPads to be purchased for special needs children.
- Partnerships Between The Church, Business and Educational Communities Help Better Serve Those In Need – “Hunger doesn’t take the weekend off.” Therefore, the church and MUST Ministries, a local non-profit, partnered with the business community last summer to provide 254,906 lunches to Cobb County students. Chick-Fil-A also helped out. Cobb County, a North Atlanta suburb, has 2,000 homeless high school students. 20% of all county students are on food stamps.
- Churches Create Pathways For The Business Community To Invest In Local Schools – The defining moment of the luncheon was when Carolyn Stradley, owner of C & S Paving, Inc., told the story of a high school teacher who gave her the only clothes she had one year. As a result, it was a joy for her to invest in teachers and local education. Piedmont Church’s community involvement created the pathway for Carolyn’s generosity to local schools.
- Students Are Given Hope And A Future When Partnerships Take Place Between Schools, Businesses, And Local Churches – As mentioned before and shown in the pictures above, outstanding high school students will now have a more affordable college education.
What I remember most about this luncheon was the sheer joy Ike and the Piedmont staff had partnering with business leaders to invest in local schools. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive.
What is one thing you learned from this luncheon and Christmas At Piedmont you can implement in your church.
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