All of my students live in a remote country. All of my students get daily Bible instruction and have heard the Gospel. Almost all of my students are the children of missionaries, and all of them could name dozens of historical or contemporary missionaries.
And yet, we just finished our first ever Missions Week. It might just be my favorite new thing at NCA. Our staff has been planning it for months, and we have a vision to encourage a lifelong passion for the multitude of ways that God is working across the world. Missions Week came about partly because of a recommendation by our accrediting agency to highlight other mission organizations represented by our students’ parents, partly because of an observation that our students don’t get exposure to the range of jobs available to them after graduation, and partly because of an increasing awareness among our students of world events.
This year we chose to focus on humanitarian missions. Every student heard the Biblical basis for humanitarianism and explored examples in big groups and in every class. In grades 7-12, we had chapel every day (such a sweet way to start the days!). We heard from a medical missionary with ABWE just down the road. Her clinic had 3500 visits last month; she told stories of how time with each patient includes both medical care and evangelism. They have been able to reach into many communities near town because of this care. (Her husband graduated from NCA several decades ago and all of her children have attended NCA. It was extra special to know more about this connection.) One of the men that works on center in maintenance and construction has also worked with Samaritan’s Purse in the US, Canada, and Greece. We heard stories and saw pictures that told the drama of disaster relief and refugee care. Students also spent one day of chapel surveying and reflecting on five areas of humanitarian missions (clean water, hunger, disease, refugees, and trafficking). They interacted with articles, images, verses, and one another. On the final day, we challenged the entire school body with a practical project to help humanitarian missions across the world.
By the end of the week, the weight of the world’s need was heavy. People are hurting physically, emotionally, and spiritually. At the whole-school assembly on the last day, we also sang a children’s song, “Our God is so big. Our God is mighty. There’s nothing our God cannot do.” This was not a coincidence. The needs are indeed great AND we do have a God who does the impossible. I can’t wait to see how God does the impossible through NCA students!