Monday 21 October 2013

October 15, 2013 Preparing for a life of Christian Service -


Since we hosted the Special Olympics at our school we have continued our learning related to this event.  One of the themes of our learning has supported and explored the notion of servant working.  If in our mission statement we desire to prepare our students for a life of Christian service then we need to provide opportunities for our students to become engaged in those activities through their learning.  Our grade 6, 7 and 8 students were heavily involved in servant working when the Special Olympics came to town.  This easily follows the path of shalom that we talked about last week.  If we do want our students to be salt and light then we want to afford them the opportunity to work to actively heal brokenness and bring joy to individuals and to culture.  These are biblical themes that we want to integrate into our curriculum so it becomes rooted in our students’ worldview.  We want our students to learn through those service tasks before them.  We are called as individuals and communities of grace to make a difference in our world, in our neighbourhoods and on our streets.  We do this not just through personal behavior but through intentional, biblical acts.  As Graham puts it in his book, Teaching Redemptively, “We are also called to the restoration task as communities of believers. As redeemed image bearers we should be making a difference in the culture.” Every good and perfect gift has been given to us by God.  As we see in the Teaching for Transformation publication from our sister organization the Prairie Center for Christian Education, God wants us to use the gifts of ideas, skills, materials, and awareness in order to make an impact for His kingdom. That’s what we need to cultivate in our students and ourselves: the desire and ability to offer hope, healing, and restoration to this world and its people. Blessings on the Journey.  ~Mr. Bouwers

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