By Pat Baer
Being the director of a Christian preschool is a unique and wonderful experience. Most of the dedicated professionals I know entered the field for the same reason I did—for a ministry opportunity. I have been the director of a small Christian preschool in Scotts Valley for twenty-one years. I always felt my ministry was rich, both to the children and their families. Our school proudly teaches the Bible daily and maintains a wonderful testimony to the community. However, year after year many people come and go through our doors, never having experienced the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
The year before last God challenged me to trust Him in a greater way than ever before. It all began by simply setting time aside with my staff to pray and study God’s Word. We started a Bible study and began praying the prayer of Jabez at the same time. We boldly prayed for God’s blessing on our school and for expanded borders. The following school year, we witnessed the miraculous hand of God. The owner of a small school located a mile away approached us in order to sell her struggling business. She made us an offer we couldn’t resist. Three months later we had completely remodeled the building, selected staff members, and had children attending our new preschool.
Watching the evolution of the new little school was humbling. Countless donations were made from unexpected sources. The community wholeheartedly embraced the new center. The city bent over backward to accommodate our rushed permit issues. It was clear that God was behind the venture. Amazingly, it was months later when we realized that this expansion was exactly what we had prayed for during the previous year. The question was, How could we assure that effective ministry would take place on our campuses? God was doing a new thing in our midst, and we wanted to align ourselves with it.
One of my teachers knew exactly what we needed. She had come from a Christian school in southern California that had a dynamic ladies Bible study ministry, and she had been hounding me to start one for a year. I urged her to get a name, logo, mission statement, and teacher. Then I would go to the board.
In two short weeks, Baymonte’s Bible study for women was born. Heart to Hearts ran successfully for 12 weeks. Many women visited the study just to check it out. We had approximately thirty-five women attend faithfully. Six women came to Christ as a result of the ministry of Heart to Hearts. Women that would never have considered attending a church-sponsored Bible study felt comfortable coming to a “school event,” and their lives changed as a result. The commitment to creating a “whosoever will” atmosphere was appealing to a wide range of women who had varied levels of spiritual maturity.
In our school we see a much higher percentage of non-Christian families in the preschool than in any other department. Many parents are planning to enroll their children for the preschool years and then to move on to the public school system. Each year we have a mission field coming right onto our campus! Offering a safe place where women can meet other women and enjoy solid teaching from the Bible is a recipe for success. The Word is very clear that it is our job to lift up the name of Jesus Christ and that then He will draw men to Himself. We can’t wait to see what He has in store for next year! To God be the glory!
Ministry Beyond the Classroom 4.2