Summit Principal's Blog

Luke 14:28-30
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

For the last several weeks I’ve been talking in chapel around a theme of “Hiking to the Summit, how to live and learn with Christian character” One of the visuals I’ve put up on the PowerPoint is that of “Bob the builder”. I really like Bob because he always has a “can do” attitude, he always asks his crew when faced with a job, “can we do it?” and they always reply “yes we can!”

Five months ago a group of parents sat down in a living room and agreed to undertake the building of a new ministry called Summit Christian School. In the initial discussions one of the commitments that came from that early steering community was unanimous agreement that this new school would be transparent and forthcoming in its operations and finances.

As the school’s development progressed over the next several weeks the finance committee portion of the steering committee met and used the best information that was available to develop a projected budget, with several different scenarios based upon different enrollment levels. The projections indicated that we could function as a school with 60 students, if we raised additional funds of $60,000 over the school year at our current tuition levels. With 85 students we would be able to operate with a balanced budget and as the enrollment increased we could expand.

After some discussion the steering committee agreed to go ahead with the formation of the new school believing that we could raise the necessary funds if enrollment ran short of our goal. Now that we have been in operation for four months I can report the financial condition of the school based on our real experience. The great news is that our projections were very close to target! However because we are currently at 69 full time students we need to raise money to balance our budget over the next eight months. And that currently appears to be $45,000 to $60,000 (or an additional ten to fifteen students).

So because I’m an optimist and believe on setting high goals I’ve selected $60,000 for our target! We have a number of exciting fund-raising opportunities planned to help us achieve our goal that I encourage you to participate in. Please watch the Trailblazer’s upcoming editions for more information and updates on our financial status with ways that you can support Summit for free! Can we do it? YES WE CAN!

Goal: $60,000
Raised to date: $00,000
Needed: $60,000

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in thekingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-5)

F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,

“Oh excuse me please” was my reply.

He said, “Please excuse me too;

I wasn’t watching for you.”

We were very polite, this stranger and I.

We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,

How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,

My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.

“Move out of the way,” I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.

I didn’t realize how harshly I’d spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,

God’s still small voice came to me and said,

“While dealing with a stranger,

common courtesy you use,

but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,

You’ll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.

He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,

you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.”

By this time, I felt very small,

And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;

“Wake up, little one, wake up,” I said.

“Are these the flowers you picked for me?”

He smiled, “I found ‘em, out by the tree.

I picked ‘em because they’re pretty like you.

I knew you’d like ‘em, especially the blue.”

I said, “Son, I’m very sorry for the way I acted today;

I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way.”

He said, “Oh, Mom, that’s okay.

I love you anyway.”

I said, “Son, I love you too,

and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.”

FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company

that we are working for could easily replace us in

a matter of days.

But the family we left behind will feel the loss

for the rest of their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more

into work than into our own family,

an unwise investment indeed,

don’t you think?

So what is behind the story?

Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

-anon

2 Peter 1: 1-4

“¹Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  ²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord”

Greetings to all you! ^“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”  I thank God for you every day as I walk around the campus and see you and your children! Summit Christian School is open and running to the Glory of our God as His divine power has worked to bring about this miracle called Summit Christian School!

As I was speaking to our Junior High students the other day I was telling them that I believed that they were not here at Summit as the result of some chance occurrence, but rather as a miraculous work of God’s providential hand. And because it is His hand we know that He has a special and specific plan for their lives. Likewise I believe that God has called you, as a parent or supporter of Summit, to the work that He is revealing to us as we develop the ministry of Summit Christian School.

One of the blessings that I have enjoyed as principal is to see the hand of God on a daily basis as Summit has been formed out of nothing. I can still recall the totally empty buildings on June 1^st this year. And I have been blessed to watch the miraculous hand of God provide as He has given to us furniture, office supplies, computer equipment, curriculum and classrooms supplies and the outstanding teachers and staff.  God is performing a miracle before our eyes!

Please remember our school in your prayers so that we have “grace and peace multiplied to us” as we move forward in pursuit of the “knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord”. We need His guidance and provision as we build upon a new foundation.