Tonya Snyder Head of School
We have the privilege of teaching our upper elementary students (Grades 3-5) the principles of being a "young peacemaker." We use a 12-lesson program called The Young Peacemaker by Corlette Sande. The principles are incredibly simple, yet the competing desires within us can often make the principles of being a peacemaker so incredibly difficult to follow.
Sande summarizes James 4:1-2 in Lesson 2 by writing, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it." The root of confict is always found in the heart. When we want something more than we want God, we will find we are prone to living in a state of perpetual conflict.
I think the most difficult aspect of teaching children the principles of being a young peacemaker is that, when they have not yet decided to follow Jesus as His disciple, then we are asking them to follow godly principles by the power of their own strength and will. In truth, the first step to living the life of a peacemaker is to choose to love God with ALL one's heart, soul, mind, and strength--with all that we have through the power of the Holy Spirit in us. We must love God above all else.
Unfortunately, our natural tendency is to be self- centered, self-seeking, self-preserving, etc. This is true of all of us--both children and adults. However, Jesus models for us an entirely different way of life with a vastly different focus. His focus is completely set upon His Father--never upon Himself (John 6:38).
Although it can be difficult to teach young children to want to be peace- makers, it is a game changer when the adults in a child's life are committed to modeling what it means to strive to be a peacemaker who loves God above all else. We certainly won't ever do it perfectly, but when we convey to our children how deeply committed we are ourselves, and how profoundly needy we are of God's strength in us to be peacemakers, we are showing them life in the Kingdom of God!
Tonya Snyder Head of School
LOVING GOD ABOVE ALL ELSE
from the Desk of the Head of School
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Coastlands Consultants provides spiritual emphasis weeks to Christian schools across the Northeast, and we’ve partnered with CCS for many years. One of my favorite parts of this “job” is when young people that I’ve known for many years grow up and make the transition from students to partners in ministry. This January, we were very blessed to have CCS alumni Mason Hoover, Julia Williams, and Billy Gray join our team for a week of ministry at Manhattan Christian Academy (MCA). Billy led the worship team, and all three of them poured into the MCA students through helping in chapel, journaling with the 8th graders, providing solid answers during Q&A times, engaging the students in conversations, playing in gym and at recess, assisting in basketball drills during practice, and even traveling across the city to cheer on the middle school girls’ basketball team. Mason, Julia, and Billy were great teammates and represented the CCS community excellently; I’m very grateful for their service. I look forward to returning to CCS in March for the middle school spiritual emphasis week--perhaps some of the current students will join us at MCA or other schools in the future as well!
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THE LION'S ROAR
FEBRUARY 2023
THE LION'S ROAR
CCS ALUMNI AT COASTLANDS CONSULTANTS
By Matt Huffman of Coastlands Consultants