Dear supporter,
We are all adjusting to these unique circumstances. Covid-19, and the response to limit its spread, is having a massive impact on the way we live, work and socialise. We are aware that you too are likely to be experiencing the impact of these changes. It is a time for flexibility, adaptability and resilience, but most of all it is a time for Christians to remember who it is we worship and serve. It is a time to remind ourselves of the character and promises of God. Recent events have taken us by surprise, but they have not taken God by surprise. We might have cause to worry and be anxious, but God is still sovereign and his promises are still true. Things around us are changing rapidly, but the gospel of Jesus Christ remains the same. We exist to teach about these things, and many others, to young people in schools, so that they can develop spiritually through understanding, engaging with and responding to the Christian faith. We remain convinced this is the mission God still has for us.
As a supporter of our work, we want to let you know how we have been affected by the actions to limit the spread of Covid-19, and what you can be praying for us at this time.
School closures and adapting our work
The government have closed schools for all but a handful of pupils. Even before the official closures, there was a sharp decline in the amount of time we were in schools, as schools had decided not to allow visitors in. As an educational charity, we exist to teach about the Christian faith in schools. With schools closed, this makes it impossible to fully achieve our stated mission.
We have been adaptable and made many resources available to schools and churches digitally. This is a mix of lesson plans, worksheets, videos, digital presentations and much more. This will mean many young people are still learning about the Christian faith, even if it is not in a face-to-face setting with crossteach staff. Our circumstances have changed, but the need for our work has not.These have been well received by teachers and others who are having to make significant adjustments themselves and find suitable resources at short notice.”Thank you for the fabulous resources”Warwickshire Teacher of RE and Philosophy” Thank you so much for sharing these with us! It’s a massive help and blessing in these days!”West Sussex Youthworker
Staffing
Given the lack of opportunity to be in schools and deliver our services, we have taken the decision to furlough the majority of our staff, making use of the government scheme.Please pray for our staff in these uncertain times.
We do still have a small team working and will do our best to respond to your communications as quickly as we can.
Fundraising and managing our finances
You will be aware, from our other communications, that we started this year with an ambitious strategy to grow our work and an ambitious fundraising goal to match. The restrictions currently in place, in response to Covid-19, greatly reduce our ability to fundraise through our usual means of supporter events and presentations at church meetings.
Making use of the furlough scheme will be of great help to us in managing our finances. However, it seems that many people are going to find that their financial resources are reduced. We are not ruling out God, through the generosity of his people, being able to provide the funds we need, but we are mindful that it is going to be much more difficult to achieve our fundraising goals.
Please pray for us as we face each of these challenges and seek to make the right decisions.
Pray for;
- The provision of the finances we need to sustain and grow our work.
- Creativity in working with schools to provide engaging resources for pupils to use both in school and at home.
- Our staff at this time of uncertainty.
- Our trustees as they seek to guide the organisation with wisdom and godliness.
- The many young people who are feeling anxious, uncertain and hopeless.
- Our readiness to return to schools, when they reopen fully, and continue to fulfill our God-given mission.
We are as convinced as ever that the need for our work exists and that this is just a temporary interruption for us going in to schools. Young people still need to receive faithful and accurate teaching from committed Christians about what we believe. And so we would ask that you prayerfully consider supporting our work financially.
Thank you if you already give to our work. Please prayerfully consider if you can increase your giving or give an extra one-off donation.
- Even during this time, we have running costs to meet.
- An increase in financial support, especially regular committed giving, will enable us to plan effectively for the next academic year. This would mean we are in the best possible place to work in partnership with schools once they reopen fully.
- We still remain ambitious to grow our work by expanding our existing teams, inspiring others to work with their local schools and lasting well into the future.
All the information you need, about how to give, can be found on our website at www.crossteach.com/support-us/.
I am sure we are all praying for our nation, the world and those we love and so we want to thank you for thinking of us and making time to pray for us and our work. We continue to trust in God and his faithfulness and we are already excited about our return to schools and all that God will do in us and through us.