{"id":9834,"date":"2025-06-04T13:13:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T20:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/?p=9834"},"modified":"2025-06-04T13:13:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T20:13:43","slug":"same-chair-different-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2025\/06\/04\/same-chair-different-office\/","title":{"rendered":"SAME CHAIR, DIFFERENT OFFICE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, it\u2019s time to sign off as your interim executive director. I have the privilege of bookending our school year blog cycle and I promise this will be better than my <\/span>August<\/span><\/a> one! <\/span>\ud83d\ude09<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In August, I introduced you to our theme for the 2024-2025 school year, \u201cPress On\u201d based on Hosea 6:3:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/i>Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.<\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve sat in the same chair (although in a different office) this year and I can say with absolute confidence, that the Lord appeared at ACS this year!<\/strong><\/span> Just as surely as the sun will rise each day and the rains will come. <\/span><\/p>\n

As I reflect on this year from a different perspective, a few things will stick with me as I return to lead at the secondary campus next year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. We Support Each Other<\/h2>\n

We live in a wonderful place and have an amazing community. But there is also a lot of hardship and brokenness too. Much of it is beyond our control\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

This year I worked closely with our tuition assistance program. I\u2019m thankful that we make this a part of our annual budget, so that we as a community can support others through various seasons, and realities. We, as a community, show that the Lord will appear to members of our community in this tangible way.<\/strong> <\/span>We were also introduced to Feeding Futures this year and blessed those in our community that need support with their basic grocery needs. It\u2019s hard to comprehend that challenges we face, but it\u2019s also a testament to God\u2019s faithfulness that we\u2019ve been able to step in and support our community in these ways. Praise God!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. We Are Generous<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve spent a lot of this year getting up to speed and engaging with the Drive to Revive campaign. It\u2019s more than a $3M campaign to revitalize our ACS Elementary campus. It\u2019s a tangible expression of our thankfulness to God for ACS, and for a desire to see the flourishing of our students for the next thirty years. This is for my students’ children\u2026wow, I\u2019m getting old! <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll fondly remember our recent <\/span>Raise the Roof! Campaign<\/span><\/a>. From elementary students writing thank-you cards, building a playhouse, the epic loose change challenge, and invitation to cover a part of the roof at $20 a square foot. It\u2019s truly been a community effort, and I\u2019ve seen God appear through our community, and many new donors too! (We\u2019re still accepting donations\u2026my last shameless plug as interim executive director <\/span>\ud83d\ude09<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Those I’ve Worked With<\/h2>\n

As Interim Executive Director, I\u2019ve worked closely with a lot of different people this year. <\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cadmin wing\u201d as they are known\u2026financial, operational, development, marketing, human resources, IT, admissions, learning support services staff. These people care deeply about ACS, our students, and our community. <\/span>I appreciate how they use their gifts and passions to support our educational staff as we live out our mission to engage minds, nurture hearts, and shape God\u2019s world. I\u2019ve really enjoyed building community with them through our weekly staff devotions. <\/span><\/p>\n

I worked very closely with our school board, and I\u2019ve come to further appreciate their service expertise and passion for ACS. These are dedicated volunteers who ask thoughtful questions, seek understanding and focus on the future of the school. I\u2019ve enjoyed serving alongside them on various committees (yes\u2026I enjoy a good committee) and serving ACS together. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s Been A Great Year! <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

When I was asked to step into the interim role for this school year I said yes without hesitation. <\/span><\/p>\n

I knew that the Lord would appear. I\u2019ve seen Him through the people and some of my memories above. But I also said yes because I knew that the secondary campus would be in excellent hands. Thank you, Teresa Spyksma, and the secondary admin team for leading so well this year! It\u2019s very humbling to watch yourself be replaced. <\/strong><\/span>Their leadership was another real tangible way that the Lord appeared for me (and ACS this year).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Blessings on the last few weeks of the 2024-2025 school year. See you next year!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, it\u2019s time to sign off as your interim executive director. I have the privilege of bookending our school year blog cycle and I promise this will be better than my August one! \ud83d\ude09\u00a0 In August, I introduced you to our theme for the 2024-2025 school year, \u201cPress On\u201d based on Hosea 6:3:\u00a0 \u201cLet us […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":9845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,29],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-9834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership","category-shaping-gods-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9834"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=9834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}