Let the Children Come!

I am not sure how many people can relate to this as I know that often times it takes quite a while before many settle into a job or career. However, for me, I can never remember not wanting to be a teacher, and true confessions, -I ‘played’ school before I even started school. In fact, when I was only seven years old, I received the TEACHERS’ copy, complete with all the scripts and prompts, of my grade two reader for Christmas. My parents tell me that was all I wanted!

Fast forward many years since that Christmas and I am just as excited as ever to be in the education field. Raised in Ontario, I have taught on both the east and west coasts of Canada; firstly in Nova Scotia and then in BC. I have always felt called to the Christian school and am so very, very grateful for the opportunities I have had to teach and lead.

I am equally grateful to now be a part of Surrey Christian School. I was drawn to the mission and vision of SCS and more powerfully, the purposeful and intentional application of that vision and mission in all aspects of life at the school. Educating for wholeness by engaging God’s world in the servant way of Jesus greatly motivates me and I am SO excited to work alongside a committed team of leaders and teachers intent on seeing this vision and mission more fully recognized and more fully lived out.

Now, musing on the word wholeness…

What is wholeness and how can wholeness be achieved in a broken and fallen world? What does wholeness look like in the classroom?

The Oxford American College Dictionary defines wholeness as ‘completeness’ or ‘in an unbroken or undamaged state.’ Turn on the TV, check a Twitter feed or carefully examine hearts and we all know the reality of living in a world that is far from being unbroken or undamaged. Brokenness permeates our world. Yet, all we aspire to do at Surrey Christian School stems from the core idea of “educating for wholeness.”

‘Wholeness,’ being complete or unbroken, can only be accomplished through Jesus. Our fall into sin, to do things our way apart from God, leads only to brokenness and damage. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus makes it possible for us to become whole and complete and as Jesus followers we have the amazing privilege to live out that reality and to bring it into the classroom. Seeking to see each student, each staff member, and each family flourish as followers of Jesus is the raison d’être.

While on earth, some parents brought their children to Jesus eager to have him touch them. Jesus’s disciples thought this was a waste of his precious time, so they scolded the parents for their presumption. I can only imagine that they felt that matters of the kingdom were beyond the capacity of a child and not worthy of Jesus’s time and effort.

I am sure that Jesus’s response shocked his disciples as he called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”(Luke 18:16-17, English Standard Version)

So, we have the amazing privilege of inviting each child into God’s kingdom as kingdom builders. Learning to read, discovering ecosystems, analyzing characters, studying history, making music and so much more are done through the lens of seeing “all things in their created place doing what they were created to do in a loving relationship with our Creator God. And, amazing grace, it is a story into which God invites you and me as characters”1. I desire to see children view themselves as coworkers in God’s kingdom doing ‘real work for real people for real needs’ as they bring joy, light, blessing and service to their communities.

I am SUPER excited to partner with you and to see the light of the good news of Jesus shine brightly and vibrantly in our classrooms, halls and in all our spaces!

Grace upon grace,
Patti Thomas

• Taylor, Dan. “The Life Shaping Power of Story: God’s and Ours.” 27, Sept. 2008, desiringgod.org/dates/2008/messages?page=4&sort=oldest. Accessed 24 July 2020