This week St. John’s joins hands across the country in celebrating Lutheran Schools. Our church and school are part of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) which operates the largest protestant school system in the world. St. John’s School is a vibrant ministry that is among the LCMS’ 1,393 Pre-Schools, 899 Elementary Schools, 90 High Schools, 10 Colleges and 2 Seminaries in the United States. While having nearly 2,400 schools in the US is impressive, perhaps the statistic that is most telling is that this ministry comes out of a denomination of just 6,162 churches. Our commitment to providing children, youth and adults an education with the backbone of Christ and the support of His church is in the DNA of our denomination and certainly at St. John’s.

At St. John’s, we are not merely a church with a school. We are a church and school, united in a common mission. Meet Jesus; Experience the support of the church; Live as disciples; This is what we do across this ministry.

If children, youth and adults don’t Meet Jesus—in reading, writing and arithmetic, in the nursing home and in the youth group, in the choir and in our serving ministries—we’ve missed the mark. It is the distinctive mark of Jesus that comes across in what we expect to happen day in and out from everything that takes place here. Anything less would reduce us to a mere private school or social services organization.

Half of the children and families served by St. John’s School are not members of this congregation. Yet, we make no distinction when it comes to our belief that all should Experience the Support the Church. Those who are connected to other churches, regardless of affiliation, we affirm in their home churches. Through our school, we have blessed dozens of congregations by partnering with the good work of Christian homes and churches to equip young leaders. From the earliest possible age, we want the kids to have a positive impression of Jesus’ Church. Furthermore, we want them to understand that Jesus’ Church crosses the boundaries of individual denominations and congregations, and that we are all united under His reign. That’s true for those who attend school here and for the broader ministry of this congregation. We are committed to making the church a place of genuine support and Christ-like love.

As our kids in church and school grow and scatter across the globe, our heart’s desire is that their experiences, here and elsewhere, would affirm their calling to Live as Disciples wherever the Lord leads them. The factors are complex and challenging for parents when it comes to educational decisions. Some will choose a Christian School like ours; others will make choices for public and alternative educational institutions. What we value is every opportunity to partner with Christian homes to disciple children. As in our school, so in the church we are doubling our efforts to partner with the Christian home where our school may not be the option.

I must add, however, that St. John’s School offers our strongest, most developed partnership with the home. That’s why if you or someone you know hasn’t considered a closer look at our school, I urge you to take that closer look. Today’s open house may be a great opportunity, but if not today, call for a tour and personal introduction to this ministry. Our admissions counselor, Katrina Murphy (x. 212) will be happy to work with you. I’m convinced that you will see that we meet and exceed the outcomes and opportunities expected for today’s kids facing an ever changing world in an information age and a knowledge-based economy. Best of all, we’ll provide kids with that backbone of discipleship to prepare them to use information and knowledge for the good of society and the glory of God. In all of this, we must emphasize that we are not a sanctuary from the world. Our role in church and school is one of equipping young disciples to be sent out as Jesus’ witnesses and ambassadors to the world.

St. John’s celebration of Lutheran Schools Week is an opportunity for all of us to participate in something that is rooted in our history, enormous in scope and integrated into the ministry of our church and school. Our commitment to education is a value imbedded in our mission and our vision of reaching farther globally as Jesus’ witnesses, "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8).

(c)2012 St. John's Lutheran Church and School | 505 S Park RD | La Grange IL 60525 www.sjlagrange.com
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