"Most children in America don't know the Christmas story," lamented a popular Christian speaker to a large crowd.

Not so at Waterford Elementary, thought Lori Dawe, a mother in the audience. Lori is one of 30 mothers in her city who creatively narrates Christ's story each year at her children's public elementary school. After reading a picture book about Christ's life, the mother of three spells out the gospel to the children under the banner of explaining the history of the Christmas or Easter holiday.

"The only thing I don't do is ask, 'Would you like to pray with me to accept Jesus right now?'" Lori says.

Other moms have helped tell the story in 34 of the 36 classrooms at Waterford. With about 25 students in a class, 850 young people heard the gospel.

Lori, a staff member with Campus Crusade for Christ, says, "It started with one woman asking one teacher, 'May I share the history of the Christmas story with the class?' Then she challenged another mother to join her, and then it grew."

Parents aren't the only ones with access to public schools. Debbie Eng, a youth leader, regularly totes boxes of pizza into local middle schools. Her mission: to invite young people to visit the church youth group and to encourage the regular attendees. Ultimately, though, her goal is to build enough rapport to segue into the gospel with the teens.

On one pizza excursion, Debbie carried her stacks of pizza into newly built Lucille Erwin Middle School. She checked in at the office, then headed to the lunchroom.

A bunch of youth groupies scampered toward Debbie. Other teens caught a whiff of the pizza and scurried over too. The students plopped down with the youth-group members. Debbie engaged one in conversation. Toward the end, she invited the teenager to accept Jesus as her Savior and to an upcoming outreach.

Most schools allow outsiders like Debbie into the facility with certain restrictions. "If administrators allow Boy Scout leaders and other non-school—sponsored club leaders into the school, they must allow Christians," says lawyer Joel Oster of Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit law firm that helps defend religious freedom. "We have the basic right not to be discriminated against based on a religious viewpoint."

If Christians look for opportunities to invite students into God's divine plan, they will find those opportunities. For example, adults could volunteer in a school or mentor a child.

Some staff members at Campus Crusade's world headquarters donate their time at Northlake Park Community School five minutes away. Volunteers mentor children who need extra help, and as they develop a relationship with the youngsters, they also find opportunities to talk about Jesus. "They aren't necessarily tutoring; they're taking a personal interest in the child and encouraging them," says Eric Moen, Campus Crusade's manager of corporate and community affairs. "If you give sacrificially of your time, you can expect God to bless it supernaturally."

Ryan and Lora Kesselhon, who travel all over the world with the JESUS film, taught a Christian-based curriculum called "Our World" in a public school.

A few of the middle schoolers they spoke to had immigrated to the United States from some of the countries the young couple had visited. The children asked why they've traveled so much. They explained that they record the film into new languages.

"Why would you want to do that?" asked a child.

"Because a lot of people are illiterate, and we want them to hear about Jesus."

"Why do you want people to know about Jesus?" they inquired.

And then the couple told how Jesus rescued them from hell and that they want people everywhere to know how they can go to heaven. "You cannot initiate evangelism, but if it is child-initiated, you can tell them everything," explains Eric.

There are even easier ways to bring Christ into the classroom. For example: donate Christian books to the school library. "Once you get the books into the library, then you have a foot in the door," says Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel. "The school cannot remove the book for anything other than the fact that it is educationally unsuitable."

Another way is to silently shout the message. While cheering on the basketball team at a school gym, why not wear an "I love Jesus" T-shirt?

Some parents help their children organize Bible clubs at their public school. Others simply encourage their children to write or talk in school about the Christian perspective on topics like creationism, abortion, euthanasia or even Christ Himself. Some distribute Bibles and other Christian literature. Whether overtly proclaiming Christ's love and forgiveness, or by finding unique ways to bring Christ to school, Christian adults can influence the American school system for Christ.

It's not just about strategy. "There's no stinkin' way that we'd be doing what we're doing at Waterford," Lori insists, "if we didn't shroud it in prayer."

To read more about Lori's creative ways to bring Christ into the public schools, visit www.greatcom.org/resources/sharing_in_the_classroom.

You can contact the writer at Jennifer.Abegg@ccci.org..