“We have a totally separate group called Child Evangel Fellowship. We are going to be real careful — our thrust is reading and math. Obviously, if there is an interest in just who and what First Presbyterian Church is we’ll respond to it but this is more about reaching out to help our community with a very pressing need.”

It has now been proven that if a child cannot read nor do math in the 70th percentile of the third grade the chances are overwhelming that child will never catch up and will likely fall through the cracks in our educational system. Tim Tinsley, the pastor of Chattanooga’s First Presbyterian Church, is convinced our God wants us to do something about that.

Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged time and time again to treat our brother as we would ourselves. We are told to pick up another man’s yoke, to go the extra mile. Matthew 25:40 reads, “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

Soon the predominately white First Presbyterian Church will launch a virtual army of Christian soldiers on the predominately black Orchard Knob Elementary School in what will be a very sincere attempt to help children read, write and master simple mathematics. Members of the church will arrive every afternoon to tutor, mentor and befriend some kids who want their help and attention.

No, they won’t try to save souls and, if a child is a Muslim, he’ll obviously be invited to get the same help as everybody else. If a parent does not want their child tutored, there is any easy out but, in the words of Pastor Tinsley, “We feel like this is a start in a dream of making sure every third grader in our city has the educational tools to advance to the fourth grade.”

Tim, who hopes other local churches will adopt nearby elementary schools, believes a snowball effect one day assures that one in four of today’s children never graduate from high school. “If a child doesn’t graduate from high school, it costs their family. It costs the city. It costs the state, and it costs the country in everything from welfare, health benefits and everything else. They can’t get a job!”

“It has been shown that the third grade is the key,” he explained. “If a child is ‘promoted’ to the fourth grade and can’t keep up, what happens? They are troublesome because they are bored…

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