Abundant Life: The Core of What We Do

 

 

 

 

Superintendent’s Blog – October 1, 2015 – Abundant Life:The Core of Who We Are at Parkview

Luke 2:52 states that, “…Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”

This verse is quoted in our school’s mission statement. We do not often think of Jesus having to grow as a human, but being the God-Man, he was both God and human. This verse talks about how in His human nature He had to develop just like the rest of us. Not only does this tell us that he developed as a human, but it tells us how He developed – mentally, physically and socially.

At Parkview, it is our desire that each student would grow cognitively and physically in a positive manner. I have often heard from parents that they desire not just a private school environment, but a Christian school environment. In keeping with those desires and the directives of our mission statement, Abundant Life is one of the three major categories of our strategic plan.
This summer, I introduced our school family to our new strategic plan, which you can read about here. Remember that the plan contains three major areas – Abundant Life, Academic Excellence, and Support for the Future. I want to focus a little more about the section on Abundant Life.

Under Abundant Life, we have three areas of development for Parkview students: Service and Missions, Worship, and Biblical Integration.

Service and Missions

We are off to a great start with opportunities for our students to grow with an attitude of service to their community and to the world. Last year we began requiring service hours for our students as well as offering both domestic and international mission trips in partnership with Parkview Baptist Church. Our students have completed close to 5500 service hours since the beginning of the program last year.
Under our new strategic plan we are looking to expand our service hours and improve our system for students who really want to go above and beyond. I have been so encouraged at the stories I have heard from local businesses and ministries about how well our students have represented the school. I have also been very impressed at the participation of our faculty and coaches alongside our students for many of the service hours.

Worship

Nothing is more gratifying and corporate worship of an Almighty God. Here at Parkview, we have the blessing of being able to take time out of our day and worship God in freedom. My desire is that our students be exposed to, participate in, and grow from genuine worship. Putting intentional planning into our chapels along with student involvement will continue to be a focus for us.
It is hard to quantify worship and the effectiveness of a chapel service, but I can tell that I have seen growth and excitement at every level in our chapels. Without fail, I could be having a difficult day and walk into any age group chapel and immediately feel uplifted and blessed. Chapels are also open to our parents, so come in and join us for a midweek worship service. High School worships on Tuesday morning, and Early Childhood, Elementary and Middle are on Thursday morning. You will be blessed every time.

Biblical Integration

Being at a Christian school is more than just taking a Bible class. A Christian education should entail biblical integration in all subjects and activities. We want to stay true to our founding purpose of “…seeking first the Kingdom of God (Mt 6:33),” which is also in our mission statement. We want to be intentional about opportunities for our students to grow in biblical knowledge and application. We want to provide professional development to our teachers to model how to integrate biblical truths in all disciplines.
Under this directive we will be further strengthening our Bible department and making sure we are purposefully seeking to meet the spiritual needs of our students. The wisdom found within the pages of Scripture is timeless and vital for every generation. Here at Parkview, we want to be faithful in our efforts and never neglect the main reason we exist.

I am thankful that so many of our parents and faculty have voiced their support for including the spiritual aspect of Abundant Life into our strategic plan. I agree wholeheartedly and look forward to seeing where God will lead us in this area. (You can download a full copy of our Strategic Plan here).
Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!”
#parkviewstrong,

Don R. Mayes, Ed.D.
Superintendent