Surrender. We often think of that word from a military perspective, but during staff orientation, we learned about surrender in a spiritual sense. Dr. Larry Nagengast, pastor and former principal of Faith Baptist Church and School, challenged our staff to surrender their lives to God this year. He reminded us that each school year is a fresh start, and that God gives the grace to love each family, and every child.
Some may question the need for in-service. Why do the office workers and teachers all “stop work” for a week in order to have meetings? In a word, refocus. Harvest Ministries’ mission is to help people develop a heart for God. However, if the staff isn’t personally walking with the Lord, then we will not be able to minister to the students, families, and visitors that come on campus every day. For a week and a half Dr. Nagengast and other key speakers helped our staff refocus. Yes, they did work in their classrooms preparing for the school year. More importantly, each teacher, office worker, and everyone behind the scenes had the opportunity to refocus. Now we can tell you that we are ready. We have surrendered to God. We have refocused our minds.
Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year!