When school started this year at Adventist schools in the Upper Columbia Conference (UCC), prayers had been answered. They were the prayers of many parents whose children might not have been able to attend an Adventist school because of financial challenges.
For many of these families, the answered prayers come in the form of the KEEP (Kids Educational Endowment Program) scholarship. This special scholarship, founded in 2000, has helped families keep their children in Adventist academies and elementary schools.
The endowment fund continues to grow with gifts from church members. The scholarships have provided funds for families with a range of backgrounds, including one family in southeast Washington that has a good income but, with four children, finds paying for private education a challenge. To add to the difficulty, the family is also dealing with a family member's serious medical problem. "The only way we've managed is with the Lord's help," the father says, acknowledging the ways the Lord continues to bless the family. "People invest in the fund, but it is the Lord that prompts them," he says.
God works through humans to prompt His people to give. KEEP ambassadors are in every conference church and these special people serve as boosters for Christian education and provide first-hand advocacy for qualified students in their area needing financial help. M.C. Torkelsen, College Place Village Church ambassador says, "Every Adventist child should have opportunity to attend an Adventist school."
The next opportunity for UCC church members to follow God’s prompting to help KEEP kids in our schools will be on Sept. 27. Please pray that God will prompt many to join hands to KEEP kids for His kingdom.
