Chaplaincy programs seem to be on the rise. Mission Generation’s amazing experience with chaplains is that they can penetrate various settings of the school community freely not only with the Word of God but foremost by being a living evidence of God’s love, demonstrating care and sincere interest in the lives of students, teachers, parents and others that would never think of walking into a church building.
Due to the impact of the chaplaincy programs, Mission Generation has been in communication with various chaplaincy programs all over the world. Recently we touched base with NSCA (National School Chaplaincy Association) who have had amazing success in schools in Australia. They work in 2850 schools and are being supported by a $165 million federal government program to impact the school communities.
The chaplaincy program of Mission Generation however, works in developing nations, where government funding is not available. Our chaplains are supported by your gifts. The schools are very open to receiving the chaplains and they are having an amazing impact by bringing the love of Jesus in such a manner that many students, parents and teachers have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ, recognizing Him as their Savior and Lord.
In Australia the Lord has also made it stop raining at a state school assembly in Queensland and performed other miracles to bring state school children to Jesus.
One chaplain was able to “fix the head” of a disruptive student by placing his hands upon the boy’s head, and praying for him.
These and other miraculous claims are included in a book about the national school chaplaincy program, which was introduced by the Howard government in October 2006.
It has led to 2850 chaplains being employed in state and non-government schools. According to new data, 72 per cent of these are working in state government primary and high schools.
In a statement to The Weekend Australian, the federal Education Department said yesterday 1430 were in primary schools and 670 in high schools. The remainder were in combined schools. The statement said one million students attended schools with a federal government-funded chaplain.
The chaplains have been funded at $20,000 a year until 2010, but the groups that employ them, including Scripture Union, hope Kevin Rudd will extend the program. Under the rules of the program, chaplains are not permitted to actively recruit students to their faith.
But a new book by former Queensland school chaplain Joelle Kabamba speaks openly of miracles in Australian schools.
In the book’s foreword, Tim Mander, chief executive of Scripture Union, which has employed more than 700 chaplains for schools in Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT, says: “To have a full-time Christian presence in government schools in this ever-increasing secular world is an unbelievable privilege. Here is the church’s opportunity to make a connection with the one place through which every young person must attend: our schools.”
The book, The Chaplaincy Phenomena, is sold through the Scripture Union website.
Hugh Wilson, spokesman for The Fourth R, an organisation that supports secular education, said: “It’s clear from the book that the schools are being used as recruiting grounds for Jesus. They organise prayer meetings at lunchtime. Students are being given time off sport to engage in evangelical Hillsong programs. At my son’s high school, there are Buddhists, Muslims, atheists, agnostics, Christians, and Christians that are Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran. But Scripture Union has 500 evangelical Christian chaplains. We don’t need chaplains. We may well need skilled, qualified people in schools.”
The Chaplaincy Phenomena describes one Queensland school assembly that took place in driving rain. As the chaplain approached the microphone, “he looked up to the roof and said, ‘Could you give us a break, please, Lord?’ Immediately the rain stopped and the chaplain went on to speak as if nothing had happened.
“The Year 11 students screamed out, ‘No way!’ As soon as assembly was over (a student) went running to the chaplain to seek an explanation for what had just happened. The chaplain responded, ‘Shaun, mate, I don’t know. To be really honest, I didn’t expect it but it was worth asking and God came through.”‘ The encounter resulted in Shaun studying Christianity “and leading him on a new journey, walking with God”, the book says.
Another student, Trevor, “had endured violence and abuse at home and his behaviour at school was a by-product of some very disturbing home experiences as well as undiagnosed attention deficit disorder”.
He went to see the school chaplain, who asked Trevor if he could pray for him.
“Trevor said ‘Yes’,” the book says. “The chaplain put his arm around his shoulders and prayed, asking God to reveal himself to Trevor.”
Trevor’s behavior subsequently improved. He told his mother that a “nice man had put his hand on his head and his head was fixed”.
source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/school-chaplains-worked-miracles/news-story/0da69b948cde379ba6133733c60f24f1
