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I tried to hide my irritation as I waited for the rest of the high school students to show up to my math class. It was the period after lunch, and many students were tardy. I knew the reason for the delay. We had allowed a group of eager students to spend their extended lunch off campus with a teacher and other adults to share their Christian faith with others. The floor vibrated as the overdue load of students finally entered the building. They burst into class with uncontrolled enthusiasm, disrupting the calm, orderly classroom I so eagerly desired. Just as I was about to shut down their unwelcome exuberant entrance, God nudged me to listen a moment longer.
“Mr. K! You should have been there. We were talking to a college student about God. Then we asked him if he wanted to know Jesus as His personal Savior. He said yes! Right there! We knelt down on the sidewalk and prayed with him. It was so cool! God is so good!” In that simple moment so many years ago, God confirmed His plan for discipleship training at CCS. A big smile spread across my face. “That’s amazing!” I agreed. “Tell me more.” Our trigonometry lesson was quickly replaced by the undeniable testimonies of God’s redeeming power through the excited reports of teenagers. God’s design for discover-develop-deploy in our school community had become even clearer. I was "all-in" to make God's priorities our schools' priorities. For over a decade, our school community has been committed to sharing the love of Jesus not only locally but around the world. We desire our students to discover Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. We want them to develop a renewed mind and transformed heart that surrenders to His leading. Students' faith becomes even more authentic when they are deployed to testify to the world what God has done in their lives! Over the next week, 160 High School students, teachers, and parents will be deployed in His service. Each participant’s faith will be deepened as they align their actions and words with their firm beliefs. We invite the entire CCS community to join in this adventure! Whether replacing a few classes with a quick local outreach or scheduling a week of dedicated evangelism, may God’s design for discipleship expand in the hearts of our students and those around them! When I was 19, I was hired to work for a local mint still in Prineville. For about two months, I drove 12 hours a night, 7 days a week, during the mint harvest season. The job requirements included visiting the DMV and paying $10 to add a Class C endorsement to my driver’s license. In remarkable fashion, I was immediately granted the privilege of driving any farm vehicle within 150 miles of the farm. Thus began my journey of a crash course training in mastering a single-axle semi-truck equipped with air brakes, switching between 18 gears without a clutch. What a challenging but rewarding summer! My $7 non-overtime hourly wage still added up nicely.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have chosen to place our faith in the existence and redemption of God. It’s even more simple than handing $10 over to the DMV. It’s completely free! Just as adding a Class C endorsement to my license opened up to me a small part of the world of truck driving, the benefits of becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven are immeasurable. Through our initial faith, we pursued reconciliation with God. Now that we are reconciled, there is so much new life available to us. The apostle Paul describes it in Romans 5:9-11: “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” During the month of March we will investigate the Fruit of Faithfulness in our chapel times. The Holy Spirit is rooted in our hearts, and through the Spirit, God’s faithfulness transforms and develops our own faithfulness. As we pursue God with increasing faith, He affirms His approval and purpose for our lives, while developing our understanding and identity in Him. Though my truck driving days are over, I fondly remember the new opportunities my Class C endorsement provided. As adopted children of God, our days as disciples are just beginning. The early faith that placed our names in the “Book of Life” lives inside of us in increasing measure through the Holy Spirit. May the fruit of faithfulness be found in our classrooms and homes in increasing measure! |
Adam Kronberger
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