The Workshop of the Holy Spirit

The reaction from an outsider can be powerful, can’t it?

A couple days ago, we had a visitor on campus.  The first words out of his mouth were, “Wow!  It’s nice to be back on the campus of a Christian school!  I can’t believe how friendly your students were when I was trying to find the office.  That would never happen at other places.”

This gentleman immediately recognized something about our ministry that we often overlook or take for granted.  Our classrooms, our hallways, our athletic fields – they are all workshops of the Holy Spirit.  And the Spirit’s work is evident in the lives of our students!  Praise God!

Please continue to pray for the SLHS ministry.  Pray that the Christian lives of our students are not simply evident through their actions, but that they also seize every opportunity to share their faith in their community.

What do Guests and Visitors Think of Shoreland?

Alicia has visited the Shoreland campus before, but we didn't realize until recently how powerful of an impression she walked away with the first time. 

Alicia works for a Foundation that graciously supports the operational funding at Shoreland.  She gets to travel to many different schools and non-profits throughout the year.

When she visited this week to discuss our ministry, we talked about the school culture and climate at SLHS.  That’s when she gave us her view of Shoreland based on what she saw at her first visit a year ago.  I’ll paraphrase her encouraging words to us:

“The last time I visited with my co-worker, we spent the majority of the ride home discussing how happy and smiley all the teachers and students seemed to be.  We were amazed.  We have visited many, many schools, but none of them had such a positive school climate as Shoreland.”

It is encouraging to hear how evident it is to our guests and visitors that the light of Christ is on display at Shoreland.  What a blessing!  

Service.

Teachers serve students.
Students learn to serve others.
SLHS serves families.
Students serve one another.

We all serve Christ.  He perfectly served us.

Some service projects are very public and obvious, while other "personal service projects" (at SLHS, we call this lives of Christian service) are rarely seen.  It is a real blessing to see this in action!

One such service opportunity happens every day in an effort to guide the international students who are a part of our SLHS family.

Each day, a group of American students, mainly those who have indicated an interest in serving in the public ministry, share their faith, academic knowledge, and guidance to some of the newest members of our international student group.

Students serving one another.  That's definitely Good News at SLHS worth sharing!

What Does Christian Education Mean to Me?

Thoughts from one of the freshmen that our SLHS faculty and staff is privileged to serve:

My Christian is very important to me because I am one of the people who didn't get the advantage of going to a Christian grade school. In 2014 I started my freshman year at a private Lutheran school. And let me tell you there is certainly a huge difference! There's a difference in the way people act, the way the classes are, and even in the way I learn. The people here are not only helpful Christians; they are incredibly friendly and they don't make me feel alone. Instead, they make me feel welcome and wanted. Some of them even make me feel like I'm family to them. And I'm not learning about evolution in science all the time. No... instead the teachers are always putting God into the lesson. And I have a religion class where I hear God's word everyday, and where I learn about his wonderful grace and mercy. At SLHS I'm growing in his grace every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Each day after our second class, the whole school goes to the gym for chapel, and we sing him praises and hear his word. Most people would say, "Yeah, big deal. We do that every Sunday," but to me it is a big deal. ~Julia Duensing, Class of 2018

God's Stupid Plan at SLHS

“Nothing in life is free.”

Most would agree with this statement because it is proven true over and over again.  But the Scriptures tell us about a plan for sinners to get to heaven through absolutely no work of their own and absolutely free of charge.

That sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it? 

From a standpoint of logic, it really is stupid!  Logic doesn't fit with the idea that the Creator of the universe would die for the people he created.  Logic doesn't fit with the idea that belief can be given to someone through words and water.  Logic would call that stupid.

We call it grace. 

And it’s wonderful to witness in person.

Recently, a handful of our SLHS faculty and staff were able to observe a baptism of Chris, a sophomore at Shoreland.  It was a miracle of faith (although it probably would have looked stupid to any onlookers who don’t recognize this as a blessing from God).  Praise God that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom!”  (1 Cor 1:25)

Over the past 18 months, the Holy Spirit worked through the Word being taught at SLHS and brought Chris into his family of believers.

Thanks be to God for his free and “stupid” plan!  

"School is Where You..."

I recently had the opportunity to overhear a conversation that melted my heart.

I have 3 children.  My oldest, Luke, is a kindergartner, and my youngest, Jonah, is about 6 months old.  As the oldest brother, Luke was - in his most mature, caring, brotherly voice - explaining to his fairly new brother what school is and what happens at school.   (After all, he is an expert, now that he's in kindergarten.)

How would you describe the purpose of school?  What happens there?  Why do students go there?

Here's the part that put a smile on my face.

Luke whispered, “Jonah, school is a place where you learn about Jesus.”  No mention of recess...or math...or science...or reading.  It's not that those important parts of the school day were lost on Luke. Instead, it's that the MISSION of his school - one of our federation grade schools - is unbelievably evident to this 5-yr-old!  Praise God!

I thank and praise God that my children - and hundreds of others - are able to sit at the feet of their Savior in our federation preschools & elementary schools as they learn about God's world and what he's done for them on a daily basis.

And I'm thankful that the same mission is evident at your high school as well.  Shoreland trains students in math, language arts, science, PE, fine arts, etc.  But ultimately, what is Shoreland Lutheran High School?  "It's a place where you learn about Jesus."

~Pete Gumm, Mission Advancement Director

Disciples make Disciples make Disciples make...

7000 miles away, a friend of one of our international students is hearing about Jesus.  Why?

Because this SLHS student, who flew across the ocean to come to the strange and foreign land of the USA to receive an excellent American education, learned about something that she couldn't help but share with her friend back home:  Jesus saved her from her sins.

Becoming a disciple of Jesus makes a person want to share that message with others.  Disciples make disciples make disciples make disciples.  Plant the seed in all sorts of places, and let the Holy Spirit do the heavy lifting!

It's exciting to learn of this international gospel-sharing stemming from the biblical teaching at SLHS. Now the question is...who else in your life (in or out of the country) needs to hear that same message?