 This is a very special month for Wilmington Christian School.
It was 80 years ago, on the night of February 12, 1946, when a group of dedicated Christian parents gathered at the First Independent Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of 14th and DuPont streets in Wilmington. These parents realized that, to raise their children to seek after Christ, biblical instruction in the church or Sunday school alone could not compare with the hours spent in school, particularly when that instruction contradicted, distorted, or even omitted God’s truth.  Matthew’s account of the birth of Christ includes the historical record of “wise men from the east” who came to worship the newborn King Jesus. The Greek word for these visitors is magi, and while their gifts are very well known, their origin is less clear. Who are they? (They are never named.) Where exactly did they come from? (Their exact country of origin is not mentioned.) How did they know of a Jewish king’s birth (aside from the appearance of a miraculous star), and how (and why) were these men so well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures and ancient prophecies?
 December is here, bringing with it (for many people) the annual mix of excitement and anxiety. The holidays can be a joyous time, a stressful time, or sometimes both. In the chaos and confusion of a fallen world, do the words of the angels declared that first night over the Bethlehem fields still ring true?
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11)  One of our latest innovations here at Wilmington Christian School has been the new greenhouse, a place where our students can get their hands in the dirt (literally) as they explore God’s creation and his world of plants and soil. The new greenhouse, located just outside the lower school entrance, will be a great learning environment and a wonderful enhancement to our science curriculum.
 For this month’s edition of Influence, we pass on an important lesson that WCS alumna and new lower school principal, Dr. Emily Eveland, recently shared with our faculty and later with our high school sophomores.
During my time as a public-school educator, I would often hear the phrase “college and career readiness.” It was the focus of most professional development sessions and the banner over many of our goals. Today, I want to share how our calling as followers of Christ goes far beyond college and career readiness.  As we enter our 80th school year, we are thrilled to reflect on all that is new and exciting at WCS. Listed below are just some of the innovative new things that our students will experience this year.
And while we continue to improve the educational experience for our students each year, there are some things that haven’t changed since our founding.  It’s an ongoing struggle for our young people, and not necessarily a new one. They want to fit in. And yet, they also want to stand out. They want to blend in, belong to the group, and avoid doing anything that might embarrass themselves or draw attention to something that might alienate them from their friends. And yet, they also want to be different, to exceed expectations, to make a difference, to be celebrated and recognized, and to be known as the unique person that they are.
This is a natural tension that we all have experienced. And it gives our school an excellent opportunity to capitalize on this teachable moment. Each year at WCS, we select a theme to focus our students and staff on a deeper truth from God’s Word. This year, we are exploring Romans 12:2. Transformed: Designed to be Different.  As parents and grandparents, we are many things for the children in our lives: Protector. Provider. Nurturer. Advocate. Encourager. Disciplinarian.
But have you ever considered yourself a fletcher? A fletcher is an individual who prepares an arrow to be ready for flight, able to fly straight, and equipped to achieve its purpose on target. The wise poet Solomon acknowledged this metaphor in Psalm 127:3–5. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!”  Have you ever been part of an exit interview? It can be eye-opening. Poised to leave a job, many feel free to share their honest opinions of their time within the organization.
Recently, the WCS community gathered to observe our 47th Commencement Ceremony and celebrate all that God has done in the lives of the Class of 2025. What an exciting day to see our students—many of them having been at WCS since kindergarten—walk across the stage, receive their diplomas, and join the global fellowship of over 2,000 WCS alumni. On April 30, Wilmington Christian School announced the appointment of our new Lower School Principal, Dr. Emily Eveland. Dr. Eveland is a 2007 graduate of WCS and knows firsthand the impact a Christ-centered learning community can have in a student’s life. She brings a wealth of educational experience, expertise, and enthusiasm, and you can read more about her background and credentials HERE.
To get to know her better in a different way, I thought I’d share Emily’s answers from a recent interview.  The other morning, I saw something precious that most people rarely get to see. As I was leaving the lower school library, I heard a little voice calling out excitedly, and I turned to see one of our students running into the building. Before her teacher could even react, the little girl had crossed the lobby and thrown her arms around her teacher’s waist. “Good Morning!” she squealed in delight. Her teacher returned the side-hug and matched the little girl’s enthusiasm, “Good morning to you, too! How was your weekend?” As the two began to walk down the hallway, their joyful “interview” continued: “Are you ready to learn today?” Wow, I like your stuffed bear!” and so on.
When was the last time you saw a student excited to be at school, excited to see their teacher, or excited to learn? Hard conversations are usually the most important ones. Whether or not our children ask the questions, sometimes we feel inadequate in our conversations about important matters. I hope what follows will help equip you to have “The Talk” with your child.
Don’t worry, this isn’t the awkward “birds and the bees” talk (as crucial as those talks are). This conversation is potentially even more impactful because it goes to the heart of our worldview, our approach to parenting, and all that we want for our children.  Many years ago, a friend shared a perspective I have never forgotten.
It had been a few years since his youngest son graduated from our Christian school, and he was reflecting on his and his wife's choices. He said, “When our two boys became school-age, my wife and I prayed about where to enroll them. We chose Christian education. When we think back to all those years of tuition payments, and add them up, it was a pretty big number! And we realized we could have purchased some really nice cars then. But today, where would those cars be? They would probably be rusting in a junkyard somewhere. Instead, we chose to sacrifice and invest in something eternal. And now, as we look at our boys' godly characters and career successes, we know without a doubt that we made the right choice.” 
The new calendar year brings many people to a time of reflection. Some set goals and make resolutions for the new year, promising to do better at something or to achieve a personal or professional goal. Often, the reflection is toward the past—the positive of special memories or meaningful achievements—the negative of regret or wasted opportunities. But the older we get, the more universal sentiment is, “Wow, that year went by fast! Where did the time go?” The school year is nearly halfway through, and the calendar year is quickly ending. While we celebrate the holidays with family and friends, we also celebrate the Savior who has given us a common mission to shine the light of the Gospel everywhere we go. Here at WCS, we are honored to partner with you to fulfill another common mission: to train the next generation to seek after Christ and make an eternal impact on our world.
Thank you for investing in Christian Education in 2024 and for leading your children in conversation and by example to know Christ and to love Him with all of their heart, soul, strength, and mind. From the faculty and staff to each WCS family, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2025! -Jonathan Nazigian  We were in chapel the other day, and the high school worship team was doing a wonderful job leading the singing when a line from one of the songs made me very curious. The song in question was a modern rendition of a traditional hymn, and it was not a Christmas carol, so the very “Christmas carol-ly” word stood out as rather odd: Here I raise my Ebenezer . . .
Ebenezer? As in Scrooge? Why are we singing about a fictional Dickens villain?  In Part 1 last month, we looked at five of the biblical principles that we use in the Christian school setting to train our students to have a biblical worldview when it comes to politics. This month, we look more deeply at how that translates to the classroom. I spoke with WCS Heritage Studies teachers Sandy Smith, Kevin Clineff, Julia Matthews, and Lori Erdvig. It was a great conversation; here are some highlights (their responses have been blended for concision).
 It’s autumn. Cooler temps. Falling leaves. Pumpkin spice. And elections. Politics and the thoughts and emotions they evoke are nothing new. We live in a divided America and some claim we’ve never been more divided. But there have been divided times since the fall of man in Genesis 3. No matter the date or culture, there has always been tension brought on by political discourse and the political process. But as a Christian school whose vision remains to prepare our students to be “godly influencers who are well prepared for life after high school and who impact the culture for Christ,” how do we as a school handle what can be a very divisive and volatile topic? Perhaps two conversations I have had in recent years, each with a dear, Christian friend, can spotlight two, near opposite ends of the dilemma facing a Christian school.  She could have very easily kept him at home. Close to her. Close enough to hold his hand, hug him, and watch him grow into a man.
But 3,000 years ago, a woman named Hannah chose a different way.  “Follow Your Heart." “Speak Your Truth.” “You Do You.” These very familiar cliches sound great. And if they sound familiar to us, they are even more familiar to our children who are growing up in a culture that constantly bombards them with these well-meaning but objectively false aphorisms. Should you really follow your heart? The truth is: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Is my truth really different than your truth? Jesus says: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32). Should our children really live by “You do you” and simply live out whatever they feel? One of the worst periods in human history is recorded for us: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). The resulting isolation, despair, carnage, and suffering were immense, both personally and nationally. As we begin our 79th year at Wilmington Christian School, we are excited to announce our 2024–2025 theme: IDENTITY: I Am Who GOD Says I Am. Last month, as WCS celebrated its 46th Commencement Ceremony, Headmaster Nazigian challenged the Class of 2024 to live out the truth of the passage they had chosen for their class verse, Isaiah 43:18-19.
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Seniors, what a great passage of Scripture you have chosen as your class verse. And its application to you is also spot-on.  As the school year quickly draws to a close, we move into a season of celebrations. We will soon celebrate our Class of 2024 graduates, rejoicing as they head out to what God has next for their lives. We will also celebrate the milestones reached by our Early Learning Center students as they move on to kindergarten.
We will celebrate our kindergartners, fifth graders, and eighth graders as they move on to the next school division. Our students (and their teachers!) will celebrate the arrival of summer. The entire WCS community will celebrate another successful and impactful school year, the 78th in our history!  This small, wooden sign behind my desk reminds me of what is most important: Prayer. Continual connection with our Creator. Continual reliance on our Savior for wisdom, strength, patience, and courage.
Of course, we are called to work hard and be vigilant in our mission. Raising and educating children is not for the faint of heart but, as I was reminded recently, amidst the battle for the hearts and minds of the next generation, “Prayer is the tip of the spear.”  “. . . and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
– Jesus, in Acts 1:8 This month, Christ-followers around the world celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior. Here at Wilmington Christian School that message rings forth faithfully each day in the classrooms, hallways, fine arts spaces, athletic arenas, and the surrounding community. Our students are learning who God is and who He created them to be and sharing that truth with those in their spheres of influence.  More than 100 years ago, Frank W. Boreham made a powerful observation in his book, Mountains in the Mist: "A century ago men were following, with bated breath, the march of Napoleon, and waiting with feverish impatience for the latest news of the wars. And all the while, in their own homes, babies were being born. But who could think about babies? Everybody was thinking about battles. |
Wilmington Christian School provides a distinctively Christian, innovative education that effectively develops Godly influencers who are well prepared for life after high school and who impact the culture for Christ.
Wilmington Christian School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. |
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