For 10 years, the Cypress School has presented Sabbath services for our constituent churches. Today we were at the Edmonds (Wash.) Church.
The K-2 choir sang, the bell choir followed with two pieces, and the ten upper-graders performed a Scripture drama. During the sermon, I shared a few ValueGenesis2 statistics. I was proud of our Cypress School kids. They did a super job. I was not prepared, though, for three dramatic responses.
A teacher in the audience approached me. “I walked in today at an all-time low,” the teacher began. “I was discouraged with my job. In this last hour, I’ve recaptured my sense of mission and my desire to teach.”
Then a man told me about his bout with cancer. Dissatisfied with his treatment at a local hospital, he obtained care at Loma Linda University Medical Center. “This morning I decided to visit an Adventist church,” he said. “I knew you Adventists had great hospitals. I had no idea you had schools. Your students were wonderful. I’m coming back here next Sabbath.”
Another individual shared these words. “I went to academy in the legalistic age, it was just rules, rules, rules. My buddies and I vowed to never darken a church door again once we got our diplomas. I’m the first to venture back. Where can I get more information about ValueGenesis? I want to know how things have changed.”
These encounters reminded me why the mission of Adventist Christian education claims my life. There is something far more powerful and wonderful than our feeble human efforts that drive it. God is very present in it.
The bell choir of the Cypress School, located in Lynnwood, Wash., plays for the Sabbath services of the constituent churches.
