Ministry

Inner Growth

Welcome to a new term, a new year, and a new start!

I hope you’ve had a good break from school life, and that you and your family are ready for an exciting 2021.

Over the Christmas break, I was able to take a few days to think, to reflect, and to process what was a big year in 2020. I hope you were able to do so as well.

As I reflected, the concept of growth loomed large in my mind, as I thought about how the staff, students, and families connected with Endeavour have grown, as well as the areas that I believe I have grown in throughout the past year. A lot of that growth has been what I would call ‘inner growth’.

Over the last several years, I’ve discovered that inner growth is the growth that matters most in life. What is unfortunate is that many of us – myself included – can fall for the trap of only seeking outer growth.

Outer growth is in things like our school grades, our bank balances, how important we are in our own eyes or the eyes of others. None of these things are bad, but if we only focus on these, we lose our balance.

A mentor of mine says to me often:

“Be bigger on the inside than you are on the outside.”

The question is: What does that look like?

I think it looks like this:

Being big enough to ask for help
Being big enough to admit my weakness
Being big enough to admit God knows more than I do.
Being big enough to admit I need to learn from others.
Being big enough to stop trying to control everything
Being big enough to be generous with my time, talents, and resources.

All of this is found, amazingly, in Jesus.

Jesus, God in human flesh, amazingly becomes someone who asks for help, who admits weakness, who seeks the input of God the Father, learns as he grows from being a baby, to a child, to a teenager, to a young adult, to an adult. Jesus doesn’t try and control everything – even though he could. Jesus chooses to be generous with his time, his abilities, and gave up the riches of heaven and gives them to us.

A lot of the time we seek to be ‘big’ like God in that God is all powerful and all knowing and able to do anything. But perhaps the beauty of the bigness of God is found instead in the humility of God, found in Jesus who was willing to die for us.

May we all grow this year, and especially grow to become more like Jesus.

Chris Mann

Pastor

Support for Indonesian Teachers

In 2017, Endeavour College established partnerships with 3 schools in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Groups of staff and students visited the schools in 2018 and 2019 and engaged in service activities whilst they were there. Last year, the schools commenced online learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The difference for the Indonesian teachers is that most of their students do not have laptops and therefore need to do their learning via phones, using intermittent internet services. There was also an increase in the number of diagnosed cases after Christmas celebrations and New Year gatherings. This has meant that their restrictions continue.

Lutheran schools in Indonesia depend on families paying school fees. With students not in attendance at school, school fees are not being paid and therefore teacher income has been severely reduced. Whilst we are unable to do anything about the computer or internet situation, we are able to help to support the teachers. Last year, Endeavour staff had several fundraisers and the money raised has already been used to provide food packages for these teachers.

If any families would like to make a donation to support the Lutheran teachers in North Sumatra please call Reception to donate via your credit card, or alternatively hand in a cash donation when you drop off or collect your child.

Sally Sandford-Morgan

Service Learning Leader

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me - Matthew 25:35.