The Ewell (B)Log - Our Lutheran Schools in Mission

I will soon begin my 25th year in the Lutheran teaching ministry. With each passing month and year, I become more convinced that our Lutheran schools are the best outreach ministry we have in the LCMS to reach young families that are unchurched, dechurched or nominally churched.

Over the past ten years, more than 40,000 students have been baptized as a result of attending a Lutheran school. Over 600 of these students were in the English District. To God be the glory!

I believe that there are three keys for the continued vitality and growth of our Lutheran schools in the future whether we are talking about educational ministry at the early childhood, elementary, secondary or university level. They are:

1. An ever increasing missional focus. The Christ-centered nature of our schools is why they exist. Our schools are needed both to reach the lost and to continue to assist Christian families in faith development. If our schools are not missional and Christ-centered ministries, they should not be open.
2. Our schools must increasingly become academically excellent (including the critical area of instructional technology). If our schools are not programatically excellent, they will struggle to be competitive and in some cases to stay open.
3. Our schools need to be able to financially fund the mission and ministry, possess strong leadership and have a variety of careholders and stakeholders who "own" (believe and support) the mission and ministry of the school.

Our Lutheran schools are needed more than ever. By God's grace, our Lutheran schools are ABLAZE! The mission fields of North America are in our Lutheran school classrooms and before and after school programs. The future is a bright and exciting one filled with so much missional and ministry potential!

In Christ,

Tim