Welcome Back!

A new school year is upon us and I am so excited to get our middle school students back in the building – it is far too quiet and clean in here without them! As the staff prepares for our middle school students, we cannot help but be excited to see what God will do in their lives this year.

Theme – “Rooted”

The theme for this new school year is “Rooted” taken from Colossians 2:6-7 which says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ROOTED and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” There are a couple important details to note in this passage. First, the command given to us is “live your lives in Christ” or “walk in him” as another version puts it. As we continue in the passage, we see that the word “rooted” is describing how we are to live. We are to live as Christians who are rooted, firm, secure, confident, unwavering, unshakeable. This is what I want for my middle school students, for them to be secure and confident in their understanding of, and commitment to, Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior.

The next question that must be asked is, “How can I (or a middle school student) get to this point? How can I become rooted?” I think the answer lies later on in the verse. The phrase “in the faith” is massively important. Faith is how we become rooted. As Christians, God uses our faith to root us in himself. As our faith grows, so our roots grow deeper and deeper into him, and we become more and more secure. Therein lies the issue, how can we as a staff help these students strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ?

This is why Northwest Christian exists – to continually point students back to Christ. This happens every day in every class. We point to Christ in Science class as we study the world he created and sustains. We point to Christ in History class as we study his sovereign rule over past and current events. We point to Christ when we deal with student issues as we talk through commands Jesus gives us to put the needs of others ahead of our own and couple that we the forgiveness he offers when we mess it up. Every part of our day should be an opportunity for our students to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.

We know that this is not an easy task, in fact, it is impossible without the Holy Spirit’s work in the students’ hearts. Our call is to be faithful to the task laid before us – to provide a Gospel-centered (which is to say Christ-centered) education to every student, every day and to trust that God will transform our students so that their faith will strengthen and they will become rooted in him. And the best part about it happening this way, is that God receives all the glory – which is exactly how we want it.

God has been so faithful to Northwest Christian over the past 70 years and so it is with great excitement and great confidence that we embark on the journey of another school year together.

All for the glory of Christ,

Scott Ferguson

MS Principal