Starting with the End in Mind - Part 1 of 5

​I am not a good golfer (unless you count mini golf), but I do know at least one thing that separates mediocre golfers from the great ones.  Mediocre golfers stand at the tee and look toward the green. They hit the ball as hard as they can in the general direction of the pin, and with each subsequent stroke, they try to get closer and closer until finally, they tap it in. 
 
Great golfers approach it differently. They start by visualizing what their last shot will look like. And then they work their way, mentally, back to the tee.      
 
Great golfers start with the end in mind. ​

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I am not a good golfer (unless you count mini golf), but I do know at least one thing that separates mediocre golfers from the great ones.  Mediocre golfers stand at the tee and look toward the green. They hit the ball as hard as they can in the general direction of the pin, and with each subsequent stroke, they try to get closer and closer until finally, they tap it in. 
 
Great golfers approach it differently. They start by visualizing what their last shot will look like. And then they work their way, mentally, back to the tee.      
 
Great golfers start with the end in mind. 

We do the same in Christian education. At Wilmington Christian School, each day is full of activity. Teachers are teaching and students are learning; athletes are competing, and artists are creating. But amid all of the busyness and activity, there is an end product in mind.  There is an articulated goal that we want for each of our students. Not just while they are enrolled with us, and not just upon graduation. We have identified what we want our students to be, both now and long after they have graduated from WCS. We have a vision in mind for the lives they will lead when they are in college, when they are 35 years old, and 52, and 78.    
 
We want our children to be mature godly influencers. Specifically, that means we want them to be:

• Faithful disciples of Christ
• Servant leaders
• Lifelong learners
• Creators and cultivators

In the next few editions of Influence, we will explore each of these goals and some of the ways we set about to achieve them with our students.  
 
The historical record of Gideon is a great example of this. When we first meet him in Judges 6, he is hiding in fear from the invading Midianites. He is so timid and afraid, that he is threshing his wheat below ground in a winepress. Yet, when the Angel of God greets him, the angel says, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor" (Judges 6:12).
 
Mighty man of valor? Are you kidding? Gideon is not mighty!
 
But God is speaking with the end in mind. 
 
God is not describing Gideon’s present state. He describes what Gideon will eventually become, with God’s sovereign help and his simple obedience.
 
Here at WCS, we are doing the same each day. We are planning lessons, mentoring students, cultivating learning environments, and providing educational experiences – all with the end goal of seeing our students as God has designed them and preparing them for a lifetime of being a mature Godly influencer. 
 
Next month: Part 2 – Forming Faithful Disciples of Christ.
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Educating for Eternity,
Jonathan Nazigian
WCS Headmaster