08/12/2024
This is the story behind Lock the Shields over our schools. The Ministerial Alliance has been praying over the Big Sandy Schools for many years now, and if you missed it last night (August 11th), you can still go by the school and pray over every student, every teacher, every athlete, every administrator, every staff member and lunchroom worker every single day this coming school year. Prayer over these does not stop just because we are past August 11th.
By April Lynn Newell, The Beacon, August 11, 2024
Local prayer movement spreads internationally in efforts to protect and bless our children in school
She awoke in the night to roaring metal banging together over her. Waking up and shaking her senses, Keli Caraveo dreamed of the sound of shields—faith and prayer—locking over the next generation in San Antonio.
Keli Caraveo
Keli Caraveo, Founder,
Lock the Shields.
It was 2019. Keli and her husband were preparing to send their sons to public school for the first time, and the prayer shield continued to echo in her mind. She established the ministry—Lock the Shields—which she envisioned turning into a prayer movement locally and across the nation.
Prayer is not just for the pastor or teacher; it’s a weapon for the whole Church. Every believer can take a stand against the schemes of the enemy for our children. Now more than ever, we need to lock shields over our children and teens as they face massive increases in depression, su***de rates, and drug use.
“I encourage people to pray as David did from Psalm 24, ‘Lift up your heads, you gates, and be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!’ because where the presence of the Lord is, and anywhere Jesus comes in, He brings order, healing, peace, hope,” Keli says.
“We want to invite Jesus into our schools.”
Lock the Shields is an easy and unique way to come together in prayer over schools. To adopt a school, click the link below and fill out the JotForm to sign up for a school in your community or your children’s school. On Aug. 11, prayer warriors are encouraged to stop by the school they support in small groups and pray onsite over the campus. Throughout the year, participants will receive monthly email prayer guides and encouragement to continue praying over the school in their community.
Prayer at school 2
Churches and small groups can sign up to
pray for the schools in their community.
Keli and other prayer warriors all over the U.S. have experienced the effects of inviting Jesus’ presence on school campuses. Last year, before the start of school, Keli joined her friend from Youth for Christ on a prayer walk around a San Antonio high school that was resistant to any Christian clubs or activities. This high school had the highest su***de rates in the Northside District, and the ministry leader was desperate to gain a foothold for hope.
Not only was there a change in leadership with a new principal, but that principal allowed Youth for Christ to hold a student-led Bible club on campus. For this upcoming school year, the students and staff have requested to start a Fellowship of Christian Athletes ministry in their school.
Keli says revival is coming from the most unlikely of places. That’s the power of prayer. It can move mountains, change an atmosphere previously dominated by darkness and hopelessness, and raise up a generation seeking the truth and grace of Christ.
LTS map
Lock the Shields has seen God move miraculously
and grown to almost 600 schools across the nation.
“I kept hearing God say, ‘I want watchmen on the wall.’ That word, watchmen, is from the Hebrew word Shamar, which means to guard, to watch over, and to protect,” Keli says. “I saw families and the collective Church, uniting as one to pray over schools. My heart was for San Antonio with the goal of covering San Antonio schools, but God expanded my vision. However, I had no idea how to get the word out across the U.S.”
“The Holy Spirit moved on The Beacon’s heart to promote Lock the Shields locally last August by providing a featured article on their community website, and the word spread across San Antonio. Then, multiple national Christian news sources contacted me and began promoting the article on their social media pages and websites. This additional coverage led to participants signing up for schools across the nation. We even had requests to join from Canada,” Keli adds passionately.
Last year, a small group gathered to pray over their local school after signing up for Lock the Shields outside of Texas. The principal was enthusiastic about the spiritual covering but was disappointed she couldn’t attend the prayer gathering. The following day, as she walked into the school building, the shift in the atmosphere was palpable. His glory and His love were weighty. The woman leading the prayer at the school emailed Keli and relayed the principal’s shock. She asked the prayer leader, “What did you do”? She knew something was different in her school, and she knew God was already working before any child even stepped foot on campus.
Prayer at high school
Parents taking authority over the entrance
to their children's school.
About 240 schools and districts, including some college campuses, are currently covered locally in San Antonio. As a result of the articles and publicity last year, one or more schools in over 40 states are now being covered in prayer, with a total of almost 600 nationwide. This year, an updated Lock the Shields website will include the option for any country in the world to sign up and lock prayer shields over their children and schools!
“God is moving people to pray,” Keli says.
“He is moving people to start prayer movements and initiatives; they’re popping up everywhere; we’re one of many, just doing our part.”
Locally, Lock the Shields has united with other ministries and prayer initiatives, including Faith and Blue, Canines for Christ, Collegiate Day of Prayer, One City Collective, Nueva Alianza, SA Ora, Lighthouses of Prayer International, and SA Impact Ministries. As the start of school approaches, Keli believes that the results in our schools and children will be miraculous.
“I was very honored to speak at Nueva Alianza, an association of Spanish-speaking pastors, to thank them for leading the way last year in San Antonio,” Keli says with gratitude and awe in her voice. “Many who participated last year were smaller churches and church plants, and it goes to show you that a small church is no less powerful; they really ran with this initiative.”
Keli acknowledges that many people are already praying. If you have children or grandchildren in school, you’re probably praying now for the upcoming school year. But seeing shields locking together on a map as families, churches, and organizations adopt schools in their community and provide on-site and off-site prayer uplifts the whole Body of Christ. God is moving.
“We started in 2019, on the heels of multiple school shootings, and I, like many other people, was just praying about what the Church can do,” Keli recalls. We’re great at coming in and restoring hope after a tragedy; the church is really gifted at that, and that’s wonderful. I just kept thinking we should take the offensive, mobilize, and be more proactive, spiritually speaking.”
On Sunday, August 11th, the “Lock the Shields Over Schools” prayer event will occur here in San Antonio and across the nation. The event encourages people to show up at a school campus in their communities, lock shields with their neighbors, and claim this next generation for the Lord. You can sign up and adopt a school here: https://form.jotform.com/242036817761155. Together, we can usher in revival and awakening in our schools and across our cities and nation.
LTS Invite
Lock the Shields Over Schools
Sunday, August 11, 2024
Your School Campus
Adopt a School Here
NOTE: If you read this article after August 11, 2024, you can still sign up to pray for your school by clicking the link above.
Lock the Shields
www.locktheshields.com
[email protected]
Facebook and Instagram
Adopt a School Here
Send a message to learn more
