On January 24 and 25 of this year (2007), the North Pacific Union Conference sponsored the first of several meetings of an Education Summit involving a select group of Northwest educators and administrators. Coordinated by Lanny Hurlbert, NPUC education director, the summit group focused on six different areas of concern that speak directly to the quality and value of Adventist education: Enrollment, Finances, Leadership, Marketing, Message & Mission, and Spirituality. Six study groups were formed during that initial meeting to explore each area and return with a preliminary report of brainstorming ideas at the next meeting.

On May 10, the summit reconvened to hear reports from each committee, and instructed that these reports be made available for broader comment and response from concerned church members throughout the Northwest. 

So here we invite your comments on the the committee reports listed here under the headings of: Enrollment, Finance, Leadership, Marketing, Mission and Spirituality. To go directly to a specific report, click on one of the report topics in the “Categories” list to the right.

To enter your comments, go to the end of each report. Click on the “comments” link, add your own “reply,” then click “Submit Comment.” If the link below the report says “no comments,” that simply means no one has yet filed a comment–go ahead and click to become the first one to comment.

Although we want to hear your honest opinions, please keep your comments constructive and non-personal. The GLEANER staff reserves the right to delete comments not in keeping with these guidelines.

Deadline for comments on these six reports is July 31. If you would prefer to email your comments, you may do so at talk@gleaneronline.org. 

Thank you for helping us better understand the concerns of parents and members around the NW, and for helping Adventist educational leaders move ahead with informed choices and a mission for positive change.

Members: John Deming, Lon Gruesbeck, Barbara Livesay, Wayne Wentland

Adventist parents are considering options in the education choices for their children. Because of that Adventist schools must stand out for their excellence in addressing the needs of Adventist families of all different socio-economic strata.

Three key areas are critical to addressing ongoing enrollment declines in Northwest Adventist schools:

Customer Service—We must provide mandatory annual training to all school personnel, board members and pastors to improve service, attitude, consistency and teamwork. We recommend that Bob Farrell’s “Give ‘Em the Pickle” leadership training materials be used across the Northwest to help our school leadership adopt an active attitude of service.

School Climate and Environment—We must create a climate modeled on the Golden Rule that provides an environment of value, respect and safety. We will train all school personnel to model the principles of this rule and intentionally teach it in all classes. We will annually assess our progress by conducting surveys of students and parents, unique to elementary, middle and high school levels.

Inclusive Enrollment—We must meet the challenge of including all families in our schools—new converts, all income levels and all ethnicities. We will promote a better understanding of Adventist education benefits to parents including results from the Cognitive Genesis study, involve pastors and teachers in strategies to increase enrollment from all groups and encourage new funding sources to support student enrollment for all families in need. We will also develop more effective strategies for integrating home-schooling families.

Members: Jeff Bovee, Peggy Fisher, Archie Harris, Joan Oxenholt, Mike Schwartz

We believe that faith, faithfulness, financial integrity and a lot of hard work will pay off. We ask you to consider 10 different areas for further work:

• Endowments—We need our local schools, academies and universities, conferences, unions and divisions to work on long-term funding solutions for education.
• Donations and Development—We must emphasize close donor relations and customer service, develop strong resources for development work from alumni and other support groups.
• Stewardship—Hire an NPUC Stewardship Director to develop a unionwide financial literacy plan that increases the tithe base by 10 percent annually. Tithe increases would help fund education needs.
• Tithe Reversion for Ethnic Churches—A 2 percent tithe reversion to ethnic churches with low per capita tithe, earmarked for helping to send children from those churches to Adventist schools with the NPUC matching the 2 percent.
• Enrollment Increases—Help our parents think of and plan for private education early with education savings accounts invested with the conference or NPUC.
• Facilities—Encourage funding of depreciation within school budgets for campus upgrades that also assist in recruitment.
• Leadership and Financial Training—Annually train school personnel in best budgeting practices, best collection practices, financial ratios and depreciation.
• Trusts and Wills—Provide Adventist education brochures as a resource for conference trust departments to explain the benefits of investing in the future of our children.
• Central Purchasing—Consider the implications of outsourcing meal purchases at our academies and centrally distributing supplies.

Members: John Gatchet, Keith Hallam, Fylvia Kline, Ken Knutsen, Sharon Searson

The challenge: It’s increasingly difficult to obtain and retain high-quality leadership within Adventist educational institutions.

We are recommending an implementation strategy that includes five specific action plans as outlined below:

• Mentoring/Training Program for Administrators with North American Division and North Pacific Union Conference program development that provides focused recruitment, training and mentoring for individuals who have been identified as potential leaders.
• Incentive Package for Administrators, which includes appropriate sabbatical leaves, recognition and other incentive encouragement.
• Leadership Exposure in Education Curriculum involving a cooperative program with Walla Walla University in Educational Leadership.
• Board Structuring and Training, which establishes a cooperative climate, code of ethics and team protocol and mentality.
• Criteria to Identify Potential Leaders, which would be a list of desirable qualities and gifts that may predispose a person toward successful leadership.

We understand that all of these steps will take time and a financial commitment, but we feel they will more than pay off over the long run as we invest in the leadership and vision necessary to carry our education mission forward.

Members: Victor Brown, Paulette Jackson, Jim Mason, Denise White, Mark Witas

Effective marketing bridges the gap between perception and reality. Here are five recommendations we would like to see implemented in the North Pacific Union Conference:

• One-day Marketing Conferences—Conducted in locations throughout the Northwest targeting principals, teachers, school boards, pastors, home and school leaders, interested parents and volunteers.
• Annual School Marketing Plan—Recommend and assist every school in developing a plan approved by the local school board. Develop a marketing plan template that includes basic goals, philosophy, rationale and guidance to encourage easy implementation.
• Best Possible School Environments—Develop a curriculum of content and resources to assist schools in identifying and creating the best possible school environment for marketing.
• Updated Marketing Resources—Provide to every school administrator bi-annually an updated process and package of marketing resources. Many resources are available, but local awareness is limited.
• Updated Database—Provide conferences and school leaders with a database, which would identify names of potential students in local areas and would be updated annually.

The bottom line to provide clear methods of communication which would allow school leaders to effectively and efficiently share their vision with members, parents and potential students.

Members: Randy Bovee, John Kriegelstein, John McVay, Doug White, Darren Wilkens

The message and mission are at the core of Adventist education, which exists to teach not only readiness for societal success, but also to engage each student in the core mission of the Adventist Church. Because this is so crucial to the current and future relevance of our church, we recommend the following 10 areas for action:

• Strategies—Annual lesson plans and class outlines will include strategies to integrate our mission into every class and subject.
• Prayer— student in an Adventist school will have at least one face-to-face personal conversation and prayer with a teacher/administrator each school year.
• Mentors—All students who have not been baptized will be assigned a mentor who will guide that student towards a decision for baptism.
• Opportunities—School personnel will utilize “teachable moments” to convey mission to students.
• Education—The NPUC education department will develop a required mentoring/continuing education plan to engage faculty in the unique mission of Adventist education.
• Practics—Integrate into every class on Bible doctrine or Adventist beliefs practical training on personal sharing and Bible studies.
• Discipleship—Require a spiritual discipleship class or include it in the Adventist Beliefs class for all Adventist school graduates.
• Commitment—Include in the hiring and interview process for all new teachers questions about their personal commitment to Jesus and their personal application of the Adventist mission.
• Symbols—Make sure that appropriate symbols and artwork in our educational facilities exist and are compatible with our mission.
• Recognition—Create a scholarship or other recognition of students who demonstrate personal commitment to mission and message—showing that we value this as much as academic achievement.

Members: Gary Brown, George Gainer, Dale Milam, Dan Serns, Keith Waters, Dan Wister

We have assumed too much for too long. We have made the assumption that the transmission of spiritual information and growth is a natural process that is caught and not taught. Therefore, we will be intentional about an integrated process of spiritual development for our children to include the following recommendations:

• Visual Statement of the School—An annual visual statement of spiritual intent, voted and updated by the board and on the agenda at each board meeting.
• Spiritual Acountability of Board Members and Leadership—Provide a means where boards can report on a regular basis how spirituality is being woven into the framework of the school.
• Incorporate Adventist World View—Include this in all curricula and invite discussion with all NPUC area senior academy, junior academy and elementary school principals to determine where and how spirituality is intentionally taught.
• Yearly Teacher Evaluation on Spiritual Accountability—Develop spiritual benchmarks for teachers. Enable each teacher to achieve a personal spiritual retreat of two or three days alone with God.

• Role of Teacher—Encourage and provide options for an intentional Bible reading program for teachers which emphasizes spirituality.

• Student Conversion—Design ways to help every student to have a conversion experience. Facilitate a personal spiritual growth tracking plan (i.e. Grace, Growth, Group, Gifts, Give it Away).

• Spiritual Formation Curricula—Develop a graduated curriculum on spiritual formation and growth to be used in grades 1 through 12, including special integrated guidance for parents and pastors.

• Test Sites—Develop specific test sites throughout the NPUC to test an approach which integrates family, church and school in the process of spiritual formation in children.

In the physical world there is actually a formula of sorts for Momentum. As I understand it (and, yes, my high school memories are increasingly fuzzy) Momentum describes the relationship between the Inertia and Velocity of an object. Inertia is the state of being–either of inaction or action. If an object is standing still, it takes a great deal of energy to change that inactivity into motion. On the other hand, once an object has been placed in motion, it takes a lot of energy to stop it. The more mass the object has along with increasing velocity, the harder it is to stop it. The greater the Momentum, the harder it is to deaccelerate. It’s sort of a natural consequence of Newton’s first and second laws of motion.

So, what is the state of Momentum within our Northwest churches? What is our state of Momentum as individual believers? It takes a great deal of energy to get any one of us to move beyond status quo–a inertia of inaction. But once a few of us move beyond status quo to motion, our mass is increased, and hence our Momentum is increased.

You can see this principle enacted in negative ways, as in a mob mentality, where individuals, who wouldn’t normally commit a crime, do so because everyone else is. But can’t that also prove true in positive ways–where the timid soul realizes that they are not alone in wanting to do something noble and good?

The Northwest is labeled as having the greatest number of “unchurched” people. What would it take to change that state of inertia?   That’s a question best answered first in our own hearts, in our own churches. Status quo will never do what an increasing sense of Momentum jmight.

Instead, there were captivating tones, whimsical, humorous, poignant, intense, along with amazing dexterity of both technique and wit. The connection between performer and audience was automatic, as if it were, a gift.

The spotlight shown on an unassuming tousle-haired young man, in T-shirt and jeans. And …. a guitar. He played each song, secular or sacred, as if it were an offering. In between, he talked about how every good thing comes from the One who made it. He deflected any accolades of his talent, preferring instead to talk about the gift he had been given to share. He and his wife travel the country, the world, ministering to real people in real-world ways. There’s no pretense here. There’s no Armageddon message, no prophetic trumpets or Three Angels. There’s no theological parsing or key proof texts. But those of us who listen are cut to the heart without even realizing it.

He’s not well-known. No billboards and full-page ads in the paper. Those who come to hear, do so because a friend has invited them word-of-mouth.

As I listen, I picture myself sitting on a Galilean hillside, long ago and far away, listening, captivated by the message of another unassuming young man with tousled hair. And I wonder if this is how real evangelism takes place. Not with an expensive series of meetings, but with word-of-mouth contacts, in small groups and gatherings, in real-world places, where inspiration falls naturally like the rain.

There’s no preacher in sight, yet I’ve been inspired by an incredible talent and a simple testimony. And I can’t wait to tell someone else about it.

Check him out for yourself: www.tracebundy.com.

Members around the Northwest are hearing about a program called Momentum. It’s an effort to help members understand their role in Christianity. Being a Christian means far more than getting up and going to church once a week, then calling it “good” and going back to “normal” life. Momentum is a term that includes the daily lifestyle of a Christian in being a witness to the life-changing power of God. As more and more members embrace this lifestyle “evangel-living” concept, Momentum will build.

And, perhaps, they will look at these upcoming meetings as a target, a goal, if you will, of developing relationships with their friends and neighbors who are looking for something better out of life. These meetings become a gathering point in which to bring these friends to a better understanding of God and His goal for their lives. Before these meetings, the relationships are developed. After these meetings, those relationships continue as each person grows in their understanding of the Christian life. And they continue to develop new friendships as they discover an “evangel-living” lifestyle. In that way, the cycle of relationship building, trust and commitment continues.

Evangelism is not something a Christian does once in awhile. Evangelism is something a Christian is, inside and out. It doesn’t make us into Amway Christians. It does make us sensitive to the needs of our friends that can be answered further by a relationship with Christ.