January, 2010. Within the last twelve months, more than four hundred Christian Schools in our nation have closed. Their closure profoundly saddens me, but do you know what troubles me more? My personal struggle with a sense that they needed to do so.
In an effort to educate young people "Christianly," many well- intentioned and God-fearing people across the globe start Christian schools. However, too often, they financially manage these schools poorly, underfund them, overextend them, and hire unqualified faculty to run them. I believe this hurts the very heart of our God; there is nothing pleasing to Him about mediocrity.
If we are to fulfill Christ's calling for Christian schooling, we must pursue excellence in all things. We must hire the most highly qualified staff, pursue the highest accreditation standards, develop excellent curriculum, and sustain an overall excellent, continually improving program. When the name of Christ is attached to a school, those who lead it must settle for no less than being a beacon of excellence to other educators--both Christian and non-Christian alike. Does this mean that a Christian School can and must be perfect? Of course not. Does it mean that it must not stop trying? Absolutely.
I look forward to the day when North Hills Christian School will be a resource, model, and light for other Christian schooling ministries. In fact, I'm beginning to taste it. We should become a resource for other schools not because we want to be superior, but because we can and should be an institution that equips other ministries for kingdom work.
North Hills has a tremendously qualified and strong faculty, competent leadership throughout, and excellent curriculum. Even a quick perusal of this newsletter is telling: we are on the verge of some tremendous breakthroughs. Great things are happening.
As we continue to press forward with the vision the Lord has given us for NHCS, I want to call our community to a few things. First, I call you to settle for no less than the best. We must have a mutual commitment to see NHCS become a school that fully achieves its mission to "equip hearts and minds of students to impact the world for Christ." That means that we must not only provide a biblically centered approach, but that we must also provide a first class education. North Hills Christian School has a great program, but it can always be better.
Second, I call you to get involved. The best schools in the world are communities where the various stakeholders come together and work to create a phenomenal educational community. Many hands make for light work!
Third, I call you to an opportunity to give to the Lord's work. Excellent schools are bathed in prayer and surrounded by a community of believers, but they are fueled by money. God does not suspend the laws of economics for Christian Schools. If we are to move NHCS forward, we need to fully fund the school's programs.
Finally and most importantly, I call you to prayer. Where God is at work, Satan attacks. He does not like what the Lord is doing in our midst, and he would desire nothing more than to see it come to a screeching stop. Pray for His hand of protection on North Hills Christian School, its teachers, its students, and their families.
It has been a blessing to serve the NHCS community over the last seven years, and I look forward to working together, shoulder to shoulder, to continue the Lord's work in our increasingly excellent Christian School ministry.
If we are to fulfill Christ's calling for Christian schooling, we must pursue excellence in all things. We must hire the most highly qualified staff, pursue the highest accreditation standards, develop excellent curriculum, and sustain an overall excellent, continually improving program. When the name of Christ is attached to a school, those who lead it must settle for no less than being a beacon of excellence to other educators--both Christian and non-Christian alike. Does this mean that a Christian School can and must be perfect? Of course not. Does it mean that it must not stop trying? Absolutely.
I look forward to the day when North Hills Christian School will be a resource, model, and light for other Christian schooling ministries. In fact, I'm beginning to taste it. We should become a resource for other schools not because we want to be superior, but because we can and should be an institution that equips other ministries for kingdom work.
North Hills has a tremendously qualified and strong faculty, competent leadership throughout, and excellent curriculum. Even a quick perusal of this newsletter is telling: we are on the verge of some tremendous breakthroughs. Great things are happening.
As we continue to press forward with the vision the Lord has given us for NHCS, I want to call our community to a few things. First, I call you to settle for no less than the best. We must have a mutual commitment to see NHCS become a school that fully achieves its mission to "equip hearts and minds of students to impact the world for Christ." That means that we must not only provide a biblically centered approach, but that we must also provide a first class education. North Hills Christian School has a great program, but it can always be better.
Second, I call you to get involved. The best schools in the world are communities where the various stakeholders come together and work to create a phenomenal educational community. Many hands make for light work!
Third, I call you to an opportunity to give to the Lord's work. Excellent schools are bathed in prayer and surrounded by a community of believers, but they are fueled by money. God does not suspend the laws of economics for Christian Schools. If we are to move NHCS forward, we need to fully fund the school's programs.
Finally and most importantly, I call you to prayer. Where God is at work, Satan attacks. He does not like what the Lord is doing in our midst, and he would desire nothing more than to see it come to a screeching stop. Pray for His hand of protection on North Hills Christian School, its teachers, its students, and their families.
It has been a blessing to serve the NHCS community over the last seven years, and I look forward to working together, shoulder to shoulder, to continue the Lord's work in our increasingly excellent Christian School ministry.
That's real sad. :/
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