Why?

"I thought you wanted to go to Africa. Why are you going to spend another year in Texas?"

Good question.

"Those five reasons you're excited about SOTB sound great, but pretty personal-growth centered. How is this missions? Where does this fit into your vision for missions in the future?"

Also good question.

Answer:

First off, here's my vision: To disciple nations through the education of children
(Yes, those nations are hopefully African ones, but if God calls me somewhere else, I am not saying I won't go :) )

That's a big vision.

In Uganda the greatest need I saw within the church was the need for good discipleship. There are so many people who have such passion for serving and following Jesus, which is awesome! However, there is a HUGE LACK of good teaching, and of sound doctrine. Many pastors have never really learned how to study the Bible. Tradition, weird theology, and beliefs from past tribal religions have been mixed together. A Biblical view of God's nature and character is ESSENTIAL for right relationship with Him.

Children are the most receptive age group to the Gospel. 80% of people who come to Christ do so before the age of 12. Long-term they are the most effective to disciple as well, as they have their entire life ahead of them! They can meet Jesus at a young age and choose to follow Him, making wise decisions as they grow avoiding so much unnecessary baggage and heartache. Also, I absolutely ADORE children and have been blessed to already spend so many years teaching them about Jesus.

Education? Math, Reading, Spelling, Science kind of school? Yes! Why?
Do you know how many hours a week children are in school?
6 hours a day x 5 days a week = 30 hours of influence per week.
30 hours per week x 31 weeks of school = 930 hours of influence in 9 months.

Wohoo! Now can you imagine if children spent those 930 hours learning not only how to read, write, reason, do arithmetic, and science, but seeing God as the author of each subject? If each day, in each subject they saw how it revealed WHO GOD IS (aka His character and nature)? What if the motivation for going to school wasn't just so you didn't end up flipping burgers for the rest of your life, but to know God and love Him more and to be more like Him? Sound impossible? It's not. That's the kind of school I got to student teach Kindergarten in last year, and where I'll get to teach Latin this year!

So, how does School Of The Bible (SOTB) fit into all of this?
If I want to be a teacher in a school that aims to base every subject on the truths of God's Word, and reveals His character and nature, I'd better have a solid, Biblical understanding of God's nature and character, and a solid knowledge of how to study the Bible and interpret things IN CONTEXT!

If I am called to disciple others, I'd better make sure that my own foundation is secure and surely founded on the Word of God. I had better make sure that my vision of God is correct, before I say "follow me as I follow Christ".

Doctors need years and years of training before they fully begin their work. Why would missionaries, who are doing a job that is just as important, think that they need hardly any training? I want to be the most effective and successful that I can when I finally am back in Africa (or wherever). I want to be trained well, and this is an EXCELLENT place to be trained.

As a bonus, I get tons of extra teaching experience and an opportunity to put this whole Biblical foundation of education into practice!

Any more questions? I am happy to answer them!