Cornerstone Church in Litchfield, Minnesota, is doing just that. In one short year, they saw dozens of kids come to know Christ. Discipline problems dropped dramatically. Student achievement skyrocketed. The Baccalaureate program revived with the principal himself opening the Bible and teaching high school students about Jesus.

How did a church manage to have such an impact in a secular school system?

Prayer.

They simply distributed pieces of paper to their congregation. Each paper had the first name of a student and their grade level. Every morning, church members prayed for their students. They might pray just 30 seconds per kid, but with the entire church praying for the entire student body every day, those prayers snowballed.

When they saw the results that a simple daily prayer can make, Cornerstone hungered for more. Now they’re praying for every student in four public school districts and recruiting additional Gospel-centered churches to pray. God is transforming entire school systems student by student—with nothing but a half-minute of prayer every morning.

Do you have a half-minute to spare?

Take a moment to write down the names of the school-aged kids in your life. You can do it right next to this article.

Skip anyone you’re already praying for (but keeping praying for them of course!). Focus on students who particularily need their lives transformed by Jesus. Maybe they’re friends of your children or grandchildren. Maybe they’re nieces or nephews. Perhaps they’re neighbor kids. Pick at least one, but reach for three.

Once you have your names, pray for them. Place the list in your Bible or stick it to your mirror or car dashboard. Every time you see it, spend a half-minute in prayer for them. Do it every day.

I promise you, God will work in that student’s life!

There’s a lot that we can do as a church to boost local schools. You can mentor students, donate resources, build friendships, lobby for additional funding and the list goes on. We should do all these things and more to properly invest in our community. But let us not neglect the supernatural power available to us. Our Father in heaven is listening, ready to hear our prayers and eager to answer them. Jesus gives us His name to pray under. The Holy Spirit fills us and prays with us, even more desperate than we are to see God transform society.

Do you have a half-minute to spare?

You can play a part in boosting our school systems and transforming students’ lives—forever. 

Kyle Davison Bair is Prayer Ministries Pastor at New Hope Church. He has a passion for people to call on the name of Jesus for direction and seek an authentic culture of prayer in this church.