Legacy

A small pipe leak produced some water damage in our basement recently. While cleaning up the mess, I came across a small metal box that, fortunately, was watertight. Very fortunate, it turned out, because inside was a series of precious documents from my family’s past, including my grandparents’ Italian birth certificates, passports, citizenship papers, and some photos. It was an amazing time capsule, a window into the lives of two children whose parents were seeking a better life for them in a new world. 
As parents, today, we want the same for our children—a better life in a culture that seems to be quickly changing day by day—a new world to be sure.
I was reminded of this again recently at our annual WCS Grandparents & VIPs Day event. Our campus was filled with parents, grandparents, and special guests joyfully getting a small glimpse into the amazing education that their precious children are receiving. Each is investing to provide their children with world-class learning grounded in a biblical worldview. An investment that is preparing them to impact the new world for Christ.
Legacy.

For 80 years, WCS has been helping parents and grandparents leave a legacy of faith and excellence to the next generation. And each year we get to celebrate with our seniors as they complete their time with us and move on to what God has next. 
On Grandparents & VIPs Day, Leah and Chase, both seniors, shared with us the special legacy and meaningful impact that WCS has made on their lives. 
Leah read Colossians 2:6-7 and shared: 
“As I read this verse, I realize that we take WCS for granted way too often. This verse speaks of walking in your faith alongside Christ and being rooted in Him. This school not only allows us to walk in faith without shame but also encourages us to do so. You see, our school isn't just focused on our education, but also on our lives. The countless devotional times, lunch prayers, worship sessions, mission opportunities . . . I could go on and on about the opportunities WCS gives us to know the Lord and be rooted in Him further, and what a blessing that is . . . . You can't walk into just any school and have teachers asks how they can pray for you or be able to lead your own devotion, or be prayed over every day at lunch, or worship with fellow believers. You can't walk into just any school and be surrounded by the love of Christ, but you can here, so again I will say what a blessing!”
 “It is so cool to see how students take charge of the faith, and to be able to look around and see how my friends and classmates are choosing to chase after the Lord and encouraging others to seek after Him too.”
“Grandparents: know that this is where you send your grandchildren. Not just to a school that focuses on learning, but one that also cares so deeply about their life, what a blessing that is! That we can walk into school every day knowing that there are so many people that are going to pour into us and in turn we can go and pour into other people, so again I say what a blessing it is that we go here!” 
Chase shared:
“This place changed my life . . . . Of course, my upbringing and my family play a huge role, but if I had been in a public school, I know that I would not be where I am today. Spiritually, I was lost and dead in my sin and I honestly liked it. I was a freshman doing things I shouldn’t be doing in places I shouldn’t be and then something happened. An incident started to make me question the goodness of God and question my identity which got me to my breaking point. Every year the high school does an overnight trip where we are challenged to grow spiritually, and this is what ended allowing me to ‘put the glasses on.’”
“What I mean is that my eyes were opened to my sin, I was put face-to-face with it, and I saw clearly the negativity in my old friend-group and the bad fruit they were producing. This allowed me to see my own sin. It allowed me to see these new friends at WCS who were following Christ were producing good fruit. I began to understand how much I needed a Savior.”
“This peace that I have now comes from the Holy Spirit and knowing I’m born again. The old man, the old flesh can’t please God, but the new man or new creation through Christ can. Now, it’s a daily battle between the two, but at the end of the day I have peace through God. Peace with God means I am blessed and forgiven by God.” 
“When I realized I needed change, God surrounded me with good community. I had godly mentors such as Coach Micah who supported and pushed me in my faith. Being on his teams and feeling the unity and brotherhood only secured it more. While attending WCS, I was deeply impacted by other godly men and women who genuinely cared. I was able to ask questions and seek guidance.”
“One of the first verses I memorized was Romans 5:1, ‘Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’”
“This verse has stuck with me ever since because it reminds me of everything that changed. I went from being separated from God to being at peace with Him. Not because of anything I did, but because of what Jesus did for me. And even though I still face struggles and there’s a daily battle, I live with the peace that can only be found in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.”
The stories of students like Leah and Chase remind us of the legacy we leave. The WCS family—teachers, students, parents and grandparents, donors, prayer warriors—have been a blessing to thousands of students over the 80 years since we began. And we’re honored to carry that legacy into the next generation.
 Educating for Eternity,
Jonathan Nazigian
WCS Headmaster