I am a children’s minister and wanted a way for presence to be known at the schools, so I do what I call a Let’s Do Lunch Club. Every Monday and Thursday, during the school year, I put out two notebooks. These two notebooks have the child’s name, the name of the school they attend, the time of their lunch, and the teacher’s name, and all of the dates, all ready printed on the paper, for Mondays and Thursdays of the school year. The kids fill out all the information and I eat lunch with the kids as the dates come up. After I eat lunch with them, I place their names on the ministry board where everyone can see it. The kids can go up to the board and see if their name is on it, who has eaten with me and who hasn’t. This is one of the best things that I have ever done in the program to get to know the kids and the teachers as well. When I come up to the school, the secretary sees me coming, has my pass ready and with a smile says, “So who are you eating with today?”
The only advice I would give is that you ask the principal permission to do this. It is basically an announcement of intentions and they want to make sure that you will not attempt to prosyletize or witness to kids in the school. Make sure you tell the principal that you understand his/her position on the matter and that you will comply completely. Also, let him/her know that you are there to eat lunch with the children only. Because of my involvement in that area, I have been asked to substitute and have been invited to read at schools, attend volunteer recognition meetings, etc, in just one year of doing this.
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