Mary Carol Pederson speaking

Vital Families in Schools Summit Moves Church-School Partnership Plan Forward

Mary Carol Pederson Updated on Flourishing Families

K-12 education continues to be a major challenge facing our community with the new challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicates that thriving families are a major contributing factor to both the academic achievement and the overall well-being of children. All families regardless of their size, structure, economic status, or ethnic background need encouragement and support–now more than ever. This challenge fueled CityChurch Network and The City Center partnering to host the Vital Families in Schools Summit on July 22nd in Little Rock. Eighteen churches and organizations collaborated to identify key components of an effective church-school partnership model. Many churches are feeling called to do more in ministering to the needs of students and families in the midst of this COVID pandemic. The vision in the hearts of the group is that every school will have multiple church partners. 

Going forward, the group will continue working to identify and communicate best practices in the key elements of the model—including volunteer training, determining effective ways to form family to family connections, and creative ways to respond to the needs of families in our current context. Together, we are quickly approaching a day in our city when every school has multiple church partnerships, and when church families and school families are connecting in authentic relationships as a visible expression of the love of Christ.  

There are multiple opportunities to partner including prayer, mentoring, supporting school activities for families, family connection dinners, and meeting urgent family needs.  Every church and Christ-follower can get involved. Now is the time! Together we can help children and families. Together we can give hope to our community. 

Please contact Mary Carol Pedersen at [email protected] to learn more.

Mary Carol Pederson
Mary Carol Pederson is a non-profit professional specializing in fundraising, community outreach, and non-profit leadership. From 2020 to 2021, she served on the CityChurch Network team as the Team Leader for Vital Families in Schools. She is the Co-Founder of The CALL and served as the Executive Director from 2006 to 2010 and County Coordinator from 2011 to 2018. Currently, she is the Executive Director for STEP Ministries.