I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A group of parents had gathered in the Bible classroom one Saturday night to organize. They had no Parents & Teachers or Home & School Association, and that’s not really what they wanted to organize. Someone said, “Let’s pray.” And so they did.

Parents began to pray for the school. They prayed for the principal, teachers, deans, and staff. They prayed for their children and the struggles they knew they were facing. They praised God for their school, and those dedicated to teaching and caring for their children. They sought God’s blessing and His direction. I knelt amazed. Their prayers went on for about 45 minutes.

When they finished, Marvin helped lead the group to choose officers—a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. “What should we call ourselves?” someone asked. Several names were suggested, but the one that won out was "Parents Praying for Positive Action." They had prayed, and then they took action.

In the days and weeks that followed, notes of encouragement and gifts began to arrive for everyone—staff and students alike. They formed work crews that painted hallways. They collected funds to provide resources. They continued to gather at the school on special weekends to pray, and they created a prayer network for times in-between.

They had formed a partnership with God, with each other, with the faculty and staff, and with their own children. God blessed!

Gary Burns is the Lake Union Conference communication director.