Skip To Main Content

Custom Class: header-utility-outer

Custom Class: header-utility-bar

Custom Class: hp-utility-est

EST. 1976

Custom Class: utility-shield-icon

shield_divider.png

The Shaping of a Servant-Leader

Jesus’s greatest commandment comes in Mark 12 where he teaches to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and then to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). As Christians, service is not optional, but an act of obedience. How then are children and students taught to develop a love of serving one another? Any preschool teacher can probably verify that sharing is not an innate human instinct. 

Edited-8774

Serving one another is a behavior that must be modeled and learned over time. Just as academic lessons are built upon in the classroom, service is learned through observation and example with the prayer that God will transform the hearts of children into people that long to serve others. Instilling a love of service in children requires intentional modeling and active participation by parents and educators, fostering a lifelong mindset of servant-leadership rooted in obedience and spiritual transformation.

Priority of Service

Proverbs 22:6 reminds us we must pour into our children  praying they will continue on the right path once they leave our households. “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Training a child requires modeling the desired behavior;  a love of service will rarely be developed without parents getting shoulder to shoulder with their children in service. It is important to make service a priority. When students are given the opportunity to serve on campus or through our Serve Saturdays, it should be a reinforcement of what they are seeing in their homes. When we partner together and pray for God to renew our students' hearts, we begin to see transformation from within (Romans 12:2).

IMG_5285

Modeling Christ's Mindset

While serving with a local non-profit or going on a mission trip is an incredible opportunity to model this behavior, service encompasses so much more. Service is a mindset. It can be as simple as picking up trash around campus or carrying up the neighbors garbage can on a rainy day. When we begin to ask God to reveal ways for us to serve one another, it starts to become an integral part of the way we live and not a box we check to earn community service hours. The first response as humans is usually to be internally focused, but Christ came to serve. He was always looking outward, and this is the posture we hope to create within our students.

Edited-8780

Partnering with Parents and Students

Edited-0921

Mount Paran Christian School partners with the home to create many opportunities for students to serve side-by side with staff, parents, faculty and alumni. These opportunities include our monthly Serve Saturdays, Family Serve Day, food pantry nights, mission trips, volunteering in concessions stands, and many other club related service projects. Serve Saturdays and Family Serve Day give families an opportunity to be introduced to new ministries in the community. Service is not a transaction, but a way to build relationships with people living in our area who may be different from us. At times, these opportunities take us out of our comfort zone, but this is where growth occurs. James 1:27 teaches us to take care of those in our community who have the smallest voice. As Christians, we are to stand beside one another and serve in a way that honors Christ. Service is not done for a reward, but as an act of worship and gratitude for what has been freely given to us. Through these acts of service, we often see a shift in the way students view the world. When perspective shifts, behavior will follow. 

Creative Ways to Serve

High school students at Mount Paran Christian School are now required to complete a set amount of service hours to graduate. If service is a mindset, and not a box to check, many wonder why this requirement has been added. These service hours allow students an ownership vantage point to decide how they want to serve and what type of service fits their God-given skill sets. With the freedom to choose how they meet these requirements, students have found creative ways to get out into the community. They begin to see that service doesn’t look a certain way. Their perspective begins to change, and the Spirit begins to mold their hearts, shifting them into a new mentality about serving one another.

Edited-01529-1

Shaping servant-leaders will not come without sacrifice on the part of families and staff. It requires being doers of the Word, and not people who solely hear the Word (James 1: 22-25). Obedience will always come at a cost. Obedience opens our minds and our hearts, and ultimately, it brings blessing not only to those we serve but to ourselves. The task of shaping a servant-leader should not be taken lightly. It will require intentionality and a reliance on the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). When children leave their parents homes, there are few greater rewards than watching them walk into the world with a love of serving those around them. This is when we recognize that the sacrifices made to serve have brought far greater blessings than what we could have ever hoped for.

 

Jean Ann Murphy serves as the Assistant Director of Christian Life at Mount Paran Christian School. 

Click here to learn more about Christian Life service at Mount Paran Christian School. 

  

 
WingTips banner

WingTips

Welcome to WingTips, a Mount Paran Christian School Blog. The MPCS Blog features many independent school contributors and thought-leaders.

Subscribe Here!

    Recent Posts

Learn More About MPCS

Recommended Series

PRIVATE SCHOOL PRIMER:

PARENTEd. TALKS:

COLLEGE SERIES:

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK:

CHRISTIAN LIFE:

Providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment, Mount Paran Christian School unites with home and church to prepare servant-leaders to honor God, love others, and walk in Truth.