A month ago, I was driving my six-year-old grandson home at the end of our school day. He was a little chatterbox in the car, excitedly sharing everything he had done that day. Out of the blue, he exclaimed, “Grandma, did you know that I am your sister in Christ?”
I laughed and said, “I think you mean, I am your sister in Christ.”
Confused, he responded, “That’s what I said.”
Smiling, I clarified, “No, you are my brother in Christ. I am your sister in Christ.”
He paused, thought about it, and then agreed. What followed was a theological conversation about how God is our Father and that people of any age are brothers and sisters through faith in Christ. He was working through an understanding of relationships and belonging to both a biological family and the family of God.
I was reminded of 1 John 3:1a,“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are.”
I marveled at how his Christian education was shaping his understanding of complex concepts. At just six years old, he was engaging his mind and beginning to see his place in God’s world.
We Matter and We Belong
The conversation reminded me of two hallmarks of Abbotsford Christian School:
First, ACS is more than a building or community. It’s a family. Like my grandson discovering that Christian faith creates bonds with people beyond his family, we experience that reality every day. Teachers, students, parents, and staff share a commitment to love, support, and nurture one another as well as grow in grace as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Over my years of working at ACS I have experienced and witnessed this lived out in a variety of ways.
Attending the funerals of a colleague or student, participating in wedding and baby showers, celebrating successes, and mourning losses with staff and students alike. Students showing care for their sick classmates by writing get well cards, creating and delivering 1000 origami paper cranes to a student’s hospital room, or by organizing and producing a grade 9-12 school-wide lipdub music video to encourage a hospitalized student. The examples are endless.
In God’s family, everyone matters and belongs.
We Build and We Equip
Second, we intentionally live out our mission to engage minds, nurture hearts, and shape God’s world. It happens when a child begins to wrestle with deep truths about God and relationships. It happens when our teachers spark curiosity through hands-on learning, whether that be in the elementary outdoor classroom, mechanics shop, art class, science lab, the transportation field trip, on a SALTS tall ship, or in tents at Newcastle Island.
It happens in the classroom when my grandson is taught through a biblical worldview and begins to wrestle with deep truths about God and relationships. It happens when our students learn to see the world through the lens of faith.
I am grateful that my grandchildren attend ACS and experience the school’s mission daily. We are not just educating students, we are building and equipping the family of God.
Whether you’re a student, a parent, a teacher, staff member, or a grandparent, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and together, we are shaping God’s world.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?