As students were finishing up their summer reading projects and shopping with their parents for school supplies, NRCA’s faculty and staff sat in the high school gym on the first day of In-Service Week, listening to the superintendent, Dr. Kevin Mathes, as he cast the vision for the 2024-25 school year.
Among the inspirational words Mathes shared in the opening session was the announcement that Campus Life Director Joshua Leonard would be stepping into a newly created role this year: Dean of Spiritual Formation and Discipleship.
“Dean of Spiritual Formation and Discipleship is a new role at NRCA that’s designed to be incredibly intentional in developing and executing a discipleship strategy for kindergarten through 12th grade in the holistic view of Christian education,” Leonard said. “The intentionality will come in a discipleship plan for teachers within the classroom as well as within our athletic department and our fine arts department. We are going to begin developing this strategy that not only takes into account the current cultural moment but also the developmental stages of our students."
The goal of discipleship is not just information distributed from teachers to students and administrators to parents; the ultimate goal is transformation into the likeness of Jesus.
“The first foundational piece of understanding is that the shift in hearts of people can only come through the Holy Spirit. For us, this process is completely open-handed to the work of the Lord in the hearts of our students and our families,” Leonard said.
To join in the work the Lord is already doing in our community, NRCA hopes to pair the discipleship focus in academics, athletics, and fine arts with parent resources to support families as their children grow through various stages of development.
“What we would like to do at NRCA is to come alongside families, particularly parents, as they are the primary disciplers of their children, and resource them with wisdom and practical application from a variety of voices that we partner with, both in our community and around the country,” Leonard explained.
The first step in mapping the comprehensive discipleship plan will be to compile data to gain insights into the developmental stages of students. Then, working with NRCA teachers, staff, and partners through ACSI, Leonard said the school will seek to develop “a strategy that’s going to best execute what we’re hopeful for, which is fostering an environment where students are able to engage with the Word of God, hear the voice of God, and hopefully begin to live out the calling that God has placed on their lives.”
NRCA built its foundation on biblical truth and has continued to integrate biblical worldview instruction into its curriculum throughout the years. However, significant cultural shifts in recent years have highlighted the need for intentionality in making disciples as cultural values move further away from the truths established in God’s Word.
Leonard shared, “We’re in a time in this current moment, where there is never a lack of an opinion or a thought or a belief system that you can latch on to. And for us, we want our students and our families to constantly be engaged with the truth of God’s Word.”
To educate, equip, and encourage NRCA’s families, Rooted Resources began in 2023-24 with the launch of the Rooted Rhythms podcast. In its inaugural season, the podcast featured conversations between Leonard and guests who spoke about how Christians navigate life in a world opposed to their beliefs. The Scriptural foundation for the Rooted platform is Colossians 2:7 — “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.”
To partner with families and foster conversations between parents and students about Chapel topics, Leonard also sent “Conversation Starters” at the beginning of each series, beginning last year.
This year, NRCA will add written resources to the Rooted Resources platform on NRCA’s website. “We will partner with different people, both NRCA staff members and those outside of our school community, who will share great insight and encouragement into what it looks like to intentionally pursue Jesus in our daily lives. They’ll cover a variety of topics that speak specifically to things that our students are walking through, not only teenagers in middle and high school, but also in what it looks like to train littles in our elementary division,” Leonard said.
As the Dean of Spiritual Formation and Discipleship casts a vision and charts a course for student discipleship and family partnership, the role will also afford NRCA the opportunity to best equip its faculty and staff to meet the challenges they face in their classrooms, across arenas of competition, and under the spotlight of the arts.
“We have encountered many instances where teachers are being asked to engage in conversations with students, particularly on topics where the world’s influence weighs heavily on the minds of this generation. We have heard from teachers who have expressed a desire to grow in not only their understanding of these topics, but also for training in ways to best engage in these conversations faithfully according to God’s Word. Our heart at NRCA is to ensure that our teachers are best equipped to serve our families, and especially our students through those conversations, by continually encouraging them to rest in the truth of Scripture and listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit throughout their lives,” Leonard explained.
Discipleship-focused professional development for teachers will empower teachers to serve in the ways the Lord has gifted them, equip them with resources to engage in conversations rooted in the truth of God’s word with grace and love, and encourage them to minister out of an overflow as opposed to running on fumes. “Because when [teachers] pour out of the overflow that comes from the Spirit,” Leonard said, “then our students are best going to be engaged with who Jesus is and the calling that He’s placed on their lives.”
To learn more about NRCA’s spiritual formation focus and the resources available now, please visit the Discipleship tab on the homepage of the website and the Rooted Resources box in the Family Portal.
Comments