At Living Word, one of our core values is to honor Christ in all of our relationships, be it teacher to student or student to student, and through those relationships, our community is formed. Our mission is to provide a quality Christian education for lifelong leadership and service in God’s kingdom and through that mission, we ultimately honor Christ in everything that we do. So, the question is, what does a Christ-centered community look like at Living Word?
Our Community’s Foundation is Christ
In order to have a Christ-centered community, we must be clear on where our foundation is laid. We look to 1 Corinthians 3:11 for our foundation, which states, “For no one can lay a foundation other than which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Our foundation is built on Christ, our Rock and our Redeemer and is solidified by what Christ won for us on the cross –forgiveness and eternal life.
At Living Word, we believe and teach that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Our educational and disciplinary methods are founded on Biblical truth and modeled by Christ’s loving and forgiving relationship with us. We want our students to be able to understand the reason for their faith, to respond to conflict with grace, and to serve like Christ first served us. Our goal is for our students to be prepared to win hearts and not arguments.
Worshiping as a Community
Chapel is a high priority at Living Word. We meet on Tuesday and Friday mornings to honor God and hear the Word together. Most chapel services are led in song by our praise and worship band, BasiC (Brothers and Sisters in Christ) or by our music department. Messages are given by teachers,guest speakers, local Pastors or students and are applicable to our student’s lives. It is an opportunity for the entire school to gather as one community bonded together by faith in Christ.
Learning as a Community
Our classes are designed to be a safe environment for students to have thought-provoking discussions about the Scriptures, their faith and the day-to-day application. Every staff member at Living Word is a Christian and they are all able to connect the message of Christ to the material, regardless of the subject matter. The message of Christ was never meant just for religion class, but for all subjects and disciplines. Our teachers are here to not only teach, but to be discerning sound boards and positive role models for our students.
Serving as a Community
We hold true that Christ is the ultimate example of service and we should strive to model what He did for us all. We want our students to be servant leaders in the classroom, on the athletic fields, on the stage and out in the world. At Living Word, we don’t limit our engagement with Christ to the classroom; it extends to everything we do.
In our athletic programs, prayers and devotions are spoken before practice and games. Coaches strive to go beyond the “X’s and O’s” of the game, but dig deeper, knowing that developing strong Christian men and woman is the ultimate goal. Music is an opportunity to share the Gospel through voices and instruments. Every year, we set a day aside for a Spring Service Day, where students go out into the community to help and serve those in need. Some students choose to go on mission trips to South America and around the US.There are countless other opportunities to serve for our students and our culture revolves around service for Christ.
With God’s help, our Living Word community and family will continue to grow stronger as we learn, worship, serve and build each other up in Christ’s love.