Starting with the End in Mind -Forming Faithful Disciples of Christ: Part 2 of 5

​Christian parents choose WCS for a number of reasons. Primary among them is the desire to see their children grow to be faithful disciples of Christ. But is that something we as parents, or we as a school, can really control? As much as we desire for our children to follow after the Lord, isn’t that something that each individual student must decide for themself? 
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For example, I love hiking in the mountains, swimming in mountain lakes, playing and watching basketball, watching western movies, and cheering for the Phillies and the Eagles. Autumn is my favorite season (but summer is a close second!) and I love BBQ ribs.

But as much as I would love for my boys to love all of those things as much as I do, I cannot force them to, can I? Doesn’t each person need to decide that for themself? Of course. But what about spiritual matters?  

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Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” As parents, what do we do with this promise? While this statement is a general truth and very wise counsel, God did not intend it to be a mathematical guarantee. While in most cases a child who is raised by loving parents who follow the Lord faithfully will grow up to do the same, Scripture is also full of examples of men and women who had well-meaning parents who trained them to follow God, but who chose to rebel against God sooner or later in life. So, what should we as parents do? 
 
Hannah is a great example to follow. For many years, she had prayed that God would give her a child, specifically a son. She promised God that if He ever did so, she would immediately give the child back to the Lord. When God enabled her to bear a son, she immediately honored her word and placed the young boy, Samuel, into the high priest Ely’s full-time care.  (You can read this amazing account in 1 Samuel 1-3.)  While Hannah could not predict with 100% certainty that Samuel would grow to follow after God, she wisely placed him into an environment where that would most likely occur. She placed him into a school system where he would receive clear instruction in God’s Word and be surrounded by mentors who would model discipleship on a daily basis.   

Here at WCS, we are doing the same. We teach our students to see God’s Truth in every subject and surround them with godly mentors who model a faithful walk.  That is the environment that parents are choosing WCS to provide.  

Each day, we are planning lessons, mentoring students, cultivating learning environments, and providing educational experiences . . . all with the end goal in mind of seeing our students as God has designed them. Preparing them for a lifetime of being mature godly influencers, while we cannot guarantee that every student will be obedient to God's call in their lives, we rest in the fact that most will, and that we are obediently sowing and watering the seeds of truth and allowing God to grant the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).   

What a privilege to be a part of that process!
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Next month: Part 3 – Shaping Servant Leaders.
Educating for Eternity,
Jonathan Nazigian
WCS Headmaster