02/10/2018: Educating for Eternity

Educating for Eternity

From a small start in 2008, a school promoting true education has grown into a light to the community.

It was the year 2007. I had just graduated from the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton. I had a wife, three young children, and an earnest desire to serve God. We had also just moved to a rural village, and we soon began to notice a great need in our new community – the need for Seventh-day Adventist education, not only for the village children, but for our own as well.

As we read God’s counsel to the church, our desire grew to start a school that was firmly grounded in the principles of education that God had given to us:

“No work ever undertaken by man requires greater care and skill than the proper training and education of youth and children. There are no influences so potent as those which surround us in our early years…. The nature of man is threefold, and the training enjoined by Solomon comprehends the right development of the physical, intellectual, and moral powers. To perform this work aright, parents and teachers must themselves understand ‘the way the child should go.’ This embraces more than a knowledge of books or the learning of the schools. It comprehends the practice of temperance, brotherly kindness, and godliness; the discharge of our duty to ourselves, to our neighbors, to God….

“The will must be trained to obey the dictates of reason and conscience…. So far as possible, every child should be trained to self-reliance. By calling into exercise the various faculties, he will learn where he is strongest, and in what he is deficient. A wise instructor will give special attention to the development of the weaker traits, that the child may form a well-balanced, harmonious character.” Child Guidance, 39.

Grasping hold of God’s promises, we stepped out in faith, and Kingsway Preparatory School was born in 2008 with one teacher, seven students, and many challenges on the horizon. The facilities were in such terrible condition that parents hesitated to enroll their children. Those who took the risk were poor, and we could not scrape together enough tuition money to meet the expenses of running a school. Finding transportation is still a challenge, and many children have to walk as far as two miles to get to school, in good weather and bad.

Despite all the difficulties we have faced, today Kingsway is a shining light in our community. Our academic standards are high, and we are dedicated to meeting the spiritual needs of our students, staff, and the community. The children are involved in Bible studies, preaching, singing groups, Pathfinder clubs, and Sabbath School programs. We believe that this is the highest form of education that we can give our children and youth.

“In all our churches there should be schools, and teachers in these schools who are missionaries. It is essential that teachers be trained to act well their part in the important work of educating the children of Sabbath keepers, not only in the sciences, but in the Scriptures. These schools, established in different localities and conducted by God-fearing men or women, as the case demands, should be built on the same principles as were the schools of the prophets” Child Guidance, 306.

Over the years God has guided and provided, and we are overjoyed to see that, through our efforts and those of the precious children given into our care, the influence of Kingsway now extends far beyond our campus and deep into the surrounding communities. It is our prayer these children will inspire future generations to walk with God, and to share His love with those around them.

AUTHOR

Pastor Daniel Bett

Pastor Bett is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister. He is the president and founder of Kingsway Preparatory School.

 

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Pray for the young people who are attending the school at Kingsway school and for the teachers who are leading these young people to the Lord.

Give. Funds are needed to help improve the facilities of Kingsway Preparatory School. If you would like to support this educational work, please mark your donation “Kinsgway Preparatory School” and send it to:

Mission Projects International, PO Box 506, Republic, WA 99166-0506

For electronic options, visit: missionspro.org/donate

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