 As a school, we endeavor to cultivate a Christ-centered environment inside the building. Our hope is that this will inspire students to independently cultivate a Christ-centered environment within their own hearts. Whenever possible, we desire to take that Christ-centered environment outside the building as well. This is our goal during mission week.
For the past three years, Bill and Nicole Norris have lead a team of high school students and adults to serve families at Give Kids the World Village. While they are faithfully and tirelessly loving children and families in Florida, the rest of the high school students stay back and serve the community at home. The GKTW mission team flies out tomorrow morning and the team staying home begins their mission week tomorrow as well. Nicole will share more with the Waterbrook family about the GKTW team when they return home. I would like to share a little bit about the team that stays behind. Last year we set out to assist local churches. There are several churches in the area who offer us the use of their facility for various events at no charge. We sent out teams of students to wipe down pews, wash windows, clean up the outside property, and perform any work needed to be done. At times it was messy work, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. This year our focus is not to help with the church buildings, but rather help the church body. Our partner churches have given us lists of individuals who would welcome assistance in cleaning up their yards or performing other work around their homes. So, we are going to take care of those needs. We will be doing other things throughout the community as well, but our focus is on helping individual members of the Body of Christ. Please pray for both our teams this week as we endeavor to carry a Christ-centered environment outside our school building through the humble posture of our hearts, smiles, words and actions…wherever we find a place to lend a helping hand.  Hello Waterbrook!
My name is Char Toomey and I teach Jr. High and High School here at our awesome school. I was recently thinking about how long I have been teaching. I graduated from Bob Jones University in May of 1992. I started teaching that fall, and have been involved in some sort of educational field ever since. I have been a classroom teacher, a substitute teacher, a Sunday School teacher, a Youth Ministry leader, a homeschool mom and a tutor. In every single job, the one thing that never changed, was the fact that I was a student first. I had to learn what my kids were learning if I wanted to be able to teach effectively. I think that holds true in every aspect of our lives. If we want to be successful, we have to be a willing student. This year I stepped into the role of Director of Student Ministries at Davison Missionary Church. On top of making sure I knew my grammar rules and history facts, I now needed to research and develop weekly Children’s Church lessons. I was humbled by the beauty in the simple truths of God’s Word, and I quickly learned that my Jr. High/High School style of teaching wasn’t going to work with Kindergarteners. I had to do my homework! While studying the story of David and Goliath, I came across a different approach to teaching this well-loved story. We’ve all heard that God will help us defeat the giants in our lives, but there is much more to this lesson. You see, David was fully equipped for this battle. We know that he was a shepherd and responsible for the care of his father’s flock. We know that he had killed different animals with his sling and was obviously a “good shot.” When we think about his battle with Goliath, we tend to forget that part. David had spent his whole life preparing for this day. He didn’t walk up to Goliath with no clue how to win. He had confidence in his abilities and was willing to trust God to use him. God reminded me - that’s what my job really is. I’m preparing modern day Davids to face the giants of this world. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” That’s true for my own life, and the lives of all my students. History, Math and English are all important disciplines to master, but the goal of Waterbrook has never been only book knowledge. Yes we strive to provide an excellent education for all our kids, but we would fall so short if that was all we were providing. I praise God that I can speak freely about His love and His grace on a daily basis. What a privilege to be able to know God and make Him known. In a world where Christ has been forced out of education, we can boldly proclaim: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. That whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. I love our school! Please pray daily for the teachers here at Waterbrook. Pray that we never stop learning. Also pray that we can focus on the true goal of education as we prepare our modern day Davids for the giants they will face. |
AuthorWaterbrook Christian Academy Staff Archives
September 2023
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