This fall, God opened another door in the Philippines’ public schools. Our team went into a high school of about 5,000 students and reached every grade level. Students asked for help with mental health and hope. They rated the program 4.9 out of 5, and many wrote, without being asked, about finding their hope in Jesus. Teachers are seeing change too: nearly all of the 113 teachers we work with say their students are growing in character, faith and kindness. Now two large school districts have opened their doors. Please pray with us for the next 10,000 students.
There’s something holy about a classroom door opening.
For years we’ve prayed for the public schools of the Philippines. Millions of young people walk through them every year carrying more than backpacks: pressure at home, worries about money, broken friendships, questions about who they are and whether they matter. Many have never had someone sit with them and say, “There is hope, and His name is Jesus.”
This fall, God opened another door.
A school that asked for help
A public high school in Metro Manila, with about 5,000 students from Grade 7 to Grade 12, invited our team in. They didn’t want a show or a motivational talk. They wanted help with something their students were facing: mental health.
They asked us to talk honestly with their students about caring for their minds, helping a friend who’s struggling, and finding real hope.
We said yes.
When plans changed
Our team came ready with a two-day plan. Then, as so often happens in ministry, things changed. It was the end of the term, and the school had moved to shortened 30-minute class periods. The schedule we’d planned no longer worked.
So the team adapted. Instead of waiting for students to come to one place, they went to the students, room by room and class by class, wherever a door was open.
By the end of the first day, they had reached every grade level. The second day wasn’t needed.
We love that picture. Sometimes God opens a door wide, and sometimes He opens it thirty minutes at a time. Either way, our job is to walk through it.
What the students told us
After each session, students filled out anonymous feedback forms. Teenagers are honest, especially when no one knows who wrote what. Here’s what they told us:
- They rated the program 4.9 out of 5.
- 91% gave it a perfect 5.
- 95% said they understand mental health better now.
- 100% said they would come again or would consider it.
Those numbers encouraged us. But what moved us most wasn’t a number.
On those forms, without being asked, students wrote about God. They wrote about Jesus, about comfort and healing, and about wanting to help others who are hurting.
No one told them to. They brought Him up on their own, because somewhere in a 30-minute class period, hope found them, and they knew where it came from.
Teachers are seeing it too
Something else is happening alongside these outreaches. We work with public-school teachers who teach character and generosity in their classrooms, rooted in God’s kindness. This year we asked 113 of them, across 28 public schools, a simple question: what are you seeing in your students?
- 112 of 113 described positive change in their students.
- 111 of 113 saw growth in character.
- 111 of 113 saw growth in faith and purpose.
- 110 of 113 saw better engagement and behavior.
- 107 of 113 saw change beyond the classroom.
These are teachers’ own observations, not a formal study. But teachers know their kids, and when nearly all of them see the same thing, it’s worth paying attention.
Generosity that costs nothing
One finding surprised us. When teachers described how their students were learning to give, the most common ways weren’t money or things. They were words and attention.
Students are learning to encourage each other, to notice the kid sitting alone, to listen and to speak kindly. Many don’t have much to give materially, and they’re discovering they always have something to offer.
And they’re learning why. One student put it simply:
“We should be kind because God is kind.”
“Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32, BSB)
That’s the gospel in a child’s words. We love because He first loved us.
Teachers told us more:
- Students lead class prayers.
- They pray before meals and before tests.
- They’re learning about forgiveness and second chances, and that they don’t have to be perfect to be loved by God.
- Parents have noticed their children praying at home.
One boy who came back
One teacher shared a story we can’t stop thinking about.
A boy in her class was often absent. He came to school with no food and no money for lunch, and many days he didn’t come at all.
When his class began learning about generosity, his classmates started sharing their food with him. They made room for him. They simply chose to see him.
That simple welcome brought him back. Now he comes every day.
What’s next
Two large school districts have opened their doors to us. They’re big, busy communities full of students who need exactly what that high school asked for: someone to talk with them honestly about their struggles and point them to real hope.
The school we visited this fall wants us back. Every year new students arrive, and every year there’s a new door to walk through.
Our next step is to reach the next 10,000 students in these districts. We want to share hope in Jesus, and then stay: walking with the teachers who see these kids every day and helping them follow up long after our team leaves the room.
Would you pray with us?
- For the students in these districts, that they would find hope in Jesus.
- For the teachers who carry these kids every day.
- For more doors to open, even thirty minutes at a time.
- For our team, as we keep saying yes.
There’s something holy about a classroom door opening. Thank you for praying with us as we walk through the next one.
