The Spartan Blog

Where there is no vision, the people perish.  Proverbs 29:18

“All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

I enjoy thinking about vision. I suppose some people are wired this way and others are more fearful and cynical.  So, I must be careful and realize that everyone has a different comfort level with pulling off big things or dreaming about the possibilities personally or for an organization.

But I think the Bible is loaded with the reach for big and audacious goals.  Didn’t Jesus tell his disciples that they would do greater things than he did?  Paul told us that greater was He that is in us, than he who is in the world. And of course, evangelizing and discipling the whole world is no small thing!!

The Christian School has a mission to teach and train students in a biblical worldview focusing on truth.  Here at Calvary, we talk about supporting Christian families in doing what God has called them to do.  Our goal is to do this work with excellence and give your sons and daughters every opportunity to experience a wonderful and rich educational experience so that they are set up for John 10:10 abundant life kind of success.

Who would not want that!?

There is work to be done.  Families and students want the opportunities academically, athletically, social ingredients, and other fun or stretching opportunities that seem to be around in other places in our culture, yes, even stuff in the public school.  We don’t want to shrink back from this. Many of the activities we are talking about can be done with a Biblical perspective and taught or coached by a biblically driven educator and can have great impact.

Our boys’ basketball team is having a great year.  They are athletic, disciplined, and very skilled.  But even better, they are coached by Lee Reinhard who is thinking about way more than wins and losses.  They are winning on the court, but they are also winning in terms of character and spiritual growth. They’re learning to be a team and work together.  A few weeks ago, they played Waynesfield Goshen.  I am not saying that this was Waynesfield-Goshen’s best ever team, but we played in a beautiful gym that could easily hold 1500 people.  To get there, I went through hallways lined with championship pictures and trophies, a very impressive sports history.  Our boys won the game by fifteen points, and we do not even have a gym!  But the best part, Coach Reinhard asked the coach and team if they could end the night in prayer at center court and kudos to Waynesfield-Goshen, they accepted!

I think the prayer was important!  But I also think playing well created credibility and respect.

I am thankful for the Lord’s goodness and grace to us.  We can have little resources, not even a gym, and still win!  But I do not want to stay there!!

The Christian School across the country typically educates around 2 percent of the school population.  Many schools have had a hard time staying open and meeting budget demands.  Christian schools can have a reputation for not having nice buildings or other extra perks.  If a Christian school grew at the rate of 4 or 5 percent, that would be considered a very good year. But I want to remind you that He who is in us, is greater than He who is in the world! You can find this in many places, but II Peter 1:3-11 is a good place to start.  Here you will see when you do things in a biblical way, focusing on Truth, you cannot lose.  This is a guarantee for productivity and usefulness.  How can we shrink back from a sure mission and be satisfied with a couple percentage points of growth when we are hardly making an impact on the Education world who basically thinks we are irrelevant!?  If we grew 100 percent in the next several years, that would be quite crazy and audacious, but would only move our impact to 4 percent rather than 2 percent!

At Calvary Christian School we believe that when students are properly trained and long-term results are prioritized, those students will flourish.  CCS intends to seek “greater things” (John 14:12, Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:19), in a quest to impact culture, join forces with the Body of Christ, and have significant impact both locally and to the larger world.  This growth is not only physical and spiritual growth of our students, but true of those who work in the school, and for the CCS organization itself.  By always improving, we will attract more families to our mission (Colossians 3:17).

When people partner with our mission, we become a valuable, sustainable school that meets needs, producing cutting edge results, and become a prosperous hub of the community. The property, the buildings, and the programs behind this vision will grow to match the demand. Is our desire for growth strictly for the sake of growth? No! What we are ultimately striving for is more change in our community as more young people are trained in God’s Word.

Thinking in the tone that Edmund Burke set, “Evil triumphs when Christians do nothing,” we will spur our students into active participation in the battle of right over wrong and be an organization that is forward thinking and actually lives out the opposite of doing nothing.

So, the vision of a new gym, school property (thanks to Calvary Baptist Church), purposefully designed buildings is not a pipe dream, but a natural consequence of following a God-sized mission.  And yes, we Christians can do much with God’s help!  We can educate well.  We can play with “anybody.”  We can shoot for the moon, and achieve amazing things.  The vision requires obedience to God’s leading, a thousand details, much excellence, the right people, good momentum, and a lot of prayer. 

We are seeing God coordinate many things this year.  We are grateful for renewed interest in Christian Education.  Calvary has a great history with many wonderful people sacrificing much to get where we are. We are thankful for a movement of School Choice across the country that is more willing than ever before to put resources in our hands.  Things are looking up!  Let’s keep the vision in mind and fight for the victory that is in our sight!

You are going to want to be a part of the meetings planned for February 22nd and 24th.  I am just saying, get involved and pray fervently.  And oh yes, hold on to your hat, it’s going to be a sweet ride!