By Sandra Figueroa-Torres
At Life Academy our mission to “Build Minds...Transform Hearts...and Change the World One Life at a Time for Christ” is what drives all that we do.
We welcome with open arms and an open heart every child who walks through our doors. We feel a strong conviction to be the hands of Christ reaching and teaching children who have not had this lifechanging experience.Yet Jesus, who did nothing by mistake, had a specific purpose as He broke bread with those who did not fit the mold.
I am reminded that Jesus made it a point to sit and fellowship with those who were viewed as “sinners” and as people “unworthy” of His company. Yet Jesus, who did nothing by mistake, had a specific purpose as He broke bread with those who did not fit the mold.
He told us that He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10, KJV) and “to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18, KJV). He modeled that mission in a very real way as He moved about the people and visited the cities and towns.
Every day at Life Academy we serve children who have never before heard the good news of salvation. Their families have not experienced the Father’s unconditional love in their lives. Because many of them have been betrayed and hurt in the past, when they come to our school, they are very suspicious and guarded. The children themselves do not trust adults and can be very defensive and angry.
But we know that Jesus calls us to walk in His love with others. He commands us to love, bear, believe, hope, and endure! It is this kind of radical love that makes the difference in the lives of our children. It is this unconditional love that breaks the strongholds of anger and heals the pain of rejection in the hearts of our children. Thank God for His favor and grace as we endeavor to reflect His heart.
Jesus left us a very clear model for how to go into the world and make disciples (Mark 16:15). As we follow His example, we are able to assimilate more children into the kingdom. I would like to break down the discipleship model that I believe the Father has left for us to follow as we train up generations for Christ through Christian education.
Talk the Talk
As Jesus walked with His disciples, He taught the Word. In the synagogues, cities, towns, and villages, He always took the opportunity to speak the Word in a real way. At Life Academy we identify children who do not have a Christian spiritual foundation, and we begin the process of teaching the Word through relevant and meaningful application. It is at this level that we lay the foundation upon which to build as we move children toward a deeper understanding of who God is and who they are in Him.
Walk the Talk
It is our strong conviction that we are to be living epistles that can be read by those who watch us.
It is our strong conviction that we are to be living epistles that can be read by those who watch us. In other words, we must really live and breathe what we teach! It is here that everything we do as a team must answer the question, What would Jesus do? Walking the talk requires close examination of the overall operation of the school, including policies, philosophies, initiatives, programs (instructional and noninstructional), projects, and financial stewardship, to ensure that every area reflects our desire to live out what we are called to teach.
Jesus walked with His disciples, sharing hope and abundant life with all who listened. I often envision Him taking their hands, much like parents firmly hold the hands of their children who are just learning to walk, and leading them as He gently explains each step according to His Father’s great plan of salvation. This is how we must walk with our children and families who do not know Him.
This level of commitment in terms of time, consistency, and, most of all, personal sacrifice is great. It is here that we are forced to reflect on our own actions and constantly reevaluate our relationship with our Father. I never cease to be amazed at how children and young people have a keen sense of seeing right through hypocrisy, the term Jesus used when referring to the religious leaders of His time.
As adults who are accountable for the lives of children, we are to daily depend on the Holy Spirit to create in us a clean heart and to renew a steadfast spirit within us. We must remain before the Father and pray for holiness and be grateful for His mercy when (not if) we fall short.
Walking out what we are teaching others, as Jesus did, is possibly one of the most powerful ways in which we can make an impact for the kingdom in the lives of people. We are His hands, and we work to reflect His very heart to the children and their families.
Release to Reach and Teach Others
This is the step where we prepare to send our children out, either literally or figuratively speaking, to make disciples and share the hope they now have. We are confident that Christ has watered the seeds we have planted and that they have taken root. Our children are now better equipped to share Christ with those who are in darkness. There is a true inner transformation that is reflected in the outer man. We witness the miraculous change as the characteristics and the integrity of Christ become more evident in our children and their families.
Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure as He assured them that although He would no longer be with them physically, they would have the Comforter to guide them and continue to teach them. This is how we should prepare our children. One day we will release them to walk in their purpose and to fulfill their God-given destiny, and they must believe that they will never be alone! They will always have the Holy Spirit within them, and the seeds that were planted will bear much fruit for the kingdom!
We have found that we cannot touch the lives of children without making a direct impact on their entire families. Parents and family members are changed as they see the difference in the lives of their own children. It is awe inspiring to see how God can transform a life from the inside out when we are willing to be His hands, His feet, and His mouth.
At Life Academy we continue to stand on the promises of God as He gives us new strategies and creative ideas to reach and teach the children so that they can then go out and make disciples of the nations. I often say that it is truly humbling to be a part of the master plan of the Father as He uses us to train up “a people … great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations” (Joel 2:2, NKJV).
Let us continue to be committed to build, transform, and change the world one life at a time!
The Meantime Volume 6 Number 2