By Joel Reyes — It took me by surprise. Not the prayer. His prayer was short and simple. “Lord, bless us today and thank you for our food.” There were a few more words I don’t remember because, at that point, I was deep in thought and gratitude for his simple prayer.
He had come to our school four years earlier. He had never seen a Bible before, but he brought one as part of his school supplies on the first day of school. He had a hard time making sense of the book. It had lots of pages and some strange words, but he seemed to like the stories.
One day, as the class wrapped up morning worship, Sam* raised his hand and asked, “Can you pray for my grandma? She is sick.” Soon, he was talking about Jesus and His death on the cross for our sins.
It is customary in our classroom to pray for our meal before making our way to the cafeteria. Students are invited to pray, but only a few will occasionally volunteer; the majority are too shy. On this particular occasion, Sam raised his hand. “May I pray?” he asked.
This moment was so significant for me because Sam’s family is Buddhists. They did not bring him to our school because of their Christian beliefs. Before entering our school, Sam knew nothing of the God we worship. Nothing about Christ or how to find books, chapters, and verses in the Bible. But on that day, Sam had chosen to participate in one of the most cherished practices of our faith: prayer. Talking to God as to a friend. Then I thought about Sam’s journey through our school and the mission of our small Adventist school.
We frequently refer to the goal of Adventist education as one of “redemption.” When we talk of redemption, we talk of evangelism to bring humanity into a relationship with God. “In the highest sense, the work of education and the work of redemption are one, for in education, as in redemption, other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Education pg. 30. But how many times do we see elementary schools as centers of evangelism? Many years ago, I attended a meeting of pastors and principals in the conference where I was serving. One of the pastors addressed the assembly to express his opposition to his church deviating precious funds to support the local school rather than investing in church evangelism. That was some years ago, and I am glad most of my pastor friends see our schools as centers of evangelism. However, I still wonder how many well-intended church members continue to see Adventist schools as financial burdens rather than the centers of evangelism they truly are.
Two years after enrolling Sam in our school, the family enrolled his younger sister. One day Sam learned about Pathfinders and wanted to join the club. His parents agreed. Not long after, his sister followed him there too.
Sam’s story sheds light on an Adventist reality: our existence. We are here for a reason: to take the gospel to all the world. In other words, our raison d’etre as Adventists is evangelism. To bring others to the knowledge of the Three Angels’ message. What better place to start than our schools? It’s not a secret that our churches are aging, and we are struggling to replace the members we are losing. Some churches are becoming empty buildings, sparsely occupied once a week on Sabbath mornings. It is time that our education and ministerial departments come together and realize that we are one, and for our churches to thrive, we need to grow together, and we need to invest in the evangelism of the young.
–Joel Reyes is the principal at Intermountain Adventist Academy in Grand Junction, Colorado; photo by iStock
*Not his real name
