Our Frontline Evangelists Answer the Call
O
ur teachers are definitely evangelists in every sense of the word. Every day they are there to tell their students that God loves them and to train them to be disciples of Jesus. As Ellen White noted in her book Education (p. 30): “In the highest sense the work of education and the work of redemption are one.… The teacher who accepts this aim is in truth a co-worker with Christ, a laborer together with God.” And does that happen in our schools here in the Central California Conference (CCC)? As Dan Serns, our CCC president, discovered when he visited one of our schools in early February, there are many stories of how teachers are making a difference in the lives of their students. As Serns explained on his Facebook page, “Gage, a ninth grader, told me today that his parents sent him to Armona Union Academy last school year because it started earlier than the public school where he had been going.” He went on to explain that Gage admitted the real reason was that he had been a troublemaker—but that has all changed. Gage now “loves it at this wonderful Adventist school.” Accepting the invitation to speak to the students during their monthly awards assembly, Serns described them as “a lively group of missionaries in training!” TOP: Gage, a ninth-grader, shared with Dan Serns, CCC Carol Bovee, principal at Sierra View Junior president, why he now loves attending Armona Union Academy (SVJA), submitted to Pacific Sunrise (an Academy (AUA). ABOVE: Students at AUA interact with Serns at an awards chapel in early February 2022. e-publication of the Pacific Union Conference) what the ninth- and tenth-graders were doing, and it bears repeating. As she explained, the SVJA students joined with the volunteers from the Exeter church to provide food for the needy families of the area. The church members, led by Dack and Hope Canales, have worked with food banks and other providers since February of 2021. During the pandemic the students had limited options for service activities.
38 Pacific Union Recorder
Central California Conference
