Welcome

Welcome to Stillwater Christian School; we are so glad that the Lord has brought your children to our school and we are so excited to see how He will continue to bless their growth and learning throughout this year! Our Board of Trustees, administrative team, faculty and staff are considering three important scriptural principles related to Christian education. The first observation is rooted in what we call the “incarnation”; that is, how Jesus Christ purposefully entered the world as an infant and grew according to the same stages that govern all human development. In other words, we believe that God considers every moment of a child’s life as precious/purposeful and expects us to be “lifelong learners”. Although God could have created Jesus as an adult (remember, in the Garden of Eden, God created Adam and Eve as adults - not children), He chose instead to have Jesus Christ, His only son, progress and experience the same “milestones” as each one of us! Therefore, at SCS, we consider all of the ages/stages of our students’ growth as precious and purposeful and we will celebrate that growth as a fulfillment of our intentional mission and vision.

The second aspect guiding our program and preparation is founded upon Romans 12:1-8; this passage of scripture affirms that because we are all created imago dei (in the image of God):

1. 1. we are created to learn (transformed by the renewing of our minds),
   2. learning is a “spiritual act of worship” (our curiosity, imagination, service, etc. are all gifts we offer back to God),
   3. learning is inherently transformational (we change/grow via both process [how we think] & product [what we think]),
   4. learning fosters “discernment”; the ability to make informed, robust and just assertions based upon clear evidence/rationale,
   5. we are created to be interdependent; that is, learning occurs within the context of community; it therefore requires, and cultivates, virtues (like humility, charity, boldness, mercy, etc.).

Lastly, I wanted to share our community theme which we hope will focus and unite us all toward the essential truths from scripture as our firm foundation. EVERY WORD is the phrase we will be using to represent 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

This passage is so valuable because it illustrates these exceedingly important issues:

1. Scripture must be considered as a whole- we cannot consider it in isolated pieces like a smorgasbord; therefore, EVERY WORD of the Bible is important for us to study and know.
2. Scripture has many practical applications- in our setting, these should all be evident and important. Namely, scripture is completely trustworthy because God wrote it and it is meant to be used to teach, reprove, correct, train, complete and equip all those who study it.
3. Finally, we should see the presence and power of good work in our lives when scripture is being actively applied to our hearts and minds.

As we meditate together as a community on these important reminders, may the Lord fill us with His Holy Spirit to enliven our community so we might continue to fulfill our important mission and vision in the Flathead Valley.

Thank you again for partnering with us and for supporting us in prayer; we pray that EVERY WORD studied, as well as our thoughts, words and deeds will honor and glorify Jesus Christ today and forevermore!

I am so honored to serve as the Head of School and excited to partner with you; please join us in prayer that Jesus Christ will continue to unite our community as we work together to shepherd His precious children!

Grace & Peace,

Dr. Laura McCollum