While I genuinely loved when Jana’s and my children were small, I couldn’t help but say to myself “man, I’m glad those times are in the past” as I sat in a restaurant recently and saw a young mother skillfully handle her three children of different ages and help them navigate through their meal. I admit to getting a little tired just watching it all!

Of course, I miss knowing my children as little ones, when I could get hugs and share giggles with them every day. But they would eventually outgrow that, and Jana and I as parents were grateful to see our kids grow up to be wonderful adults.

I’ve buried the headline for this installment just a bit because I was concerned that if some might skip over this article completely if you knew what it was about right off the bat, and I was worried that still others would say, “I’m glad those days are behind me” without really listening to what I want to say. And what I want to say is very important.

What I desperately hope we never outgrow is our commitment to Christian education in the Rocky Mountain Conference.

I have heard people say, “I did my part for Adventist Education while my kids were in school. They’ve all graduated now, and it’s someone else’s turn now.”

If tuition alone is intended to cover the true costs of running a school, then very few of us would ever be able to have our own children in our own schools. The fact is that, in general, tuition only covers roughly half of the costs of running a school. Were it not for Conference appropriations in the form of a percentage of tithe, tuition assistance, and direct contributions from our churches, most of our schools would disappear rather quickly.

Humanly, it’s hard to feel the urgency to continue financially supporting our schools when your children no longer attend. I get it. You paid a lot in tuition, often putting aside other family needs or wishes to do so. And I confess to feeling that at times in my life when I was not well informed about the need for an unshakable commitment from the wider body of believers to help sustain our schools.

It wasn’t until I began to sit on our school boards and hear firsthand of the genuine needs and the surprising costs, did I begin to have a true appreciation for all those who came before who were willing to help even when their own children were no longer students. They became heroes to me because I saw that my own children benefited from their earlier determined sacrifice.

Some still wonder about the value of our efforts in our educational system. And I know there are lots of stories out there of our children who went through our schools and still didn’t choose to live a Christian life once they graduated. But as often as you hear those stories, they are still very much in the minority. Researched statistics show that 90.7% of students who spent 11 or more years in Adventist education are still regularly attending church. And Adventist academy graduates are two times more likely to stay in the church. Other than the family itself, Adventist education is the strongest factor for a person’s developing a strong religious faith. (For more detailed information about the impact of Seventh-day Adventist education, see the Role of Adventist Education)

I for one am very grateful for the teachers who teach with an evangelistic heart, who take seriously that they are evangelizing your children for some 180 days a school year while they teach them to read and write. I want to thank and salute them for their efforts.

I also want to thank and acknowledge our RMC Education Department leaders, Diane Harris, director, Paul Negrete, associate director, and Sandy Hodgson, assistant director, for their tireless efforts to continually equip and grow our teachers and schools.

So, let me be very direct with you. Our schools need your help. And while not one of us can meet all the needs in all our schools, I’m convinced that a lot of us doing what we can, will make a world of difference. Here are just a few ideas you might consider to support our schools:

  • Ask to speak to your church board about becoming a constituent member of the school closest to you. These associations are voluntary, and you can help your church take the needed steps to volunteer to do it. Be the amount you can pledge annually to the school large or small, it will matter—a lot—to the school. Don’t wait to be asked. Take the initiative. Help be the voice in your church that will make this critical connection and contribution.
  • If you are not near a school or have no children in your church who could attend, start a budget account to which members can donate. When you have saved up enough to be a nice gift, send it to the nearest school. I promise you they will be very grateful.
  • Speak encouragingly to families and students who are not yet students in our schools. Let them know that you think they would make a great addition to the student family of your school. There’s still time to enroll for the 2024-2025 school year!
  • Take the time to get to know the teacher or teachers in your school, if you have one connected with your church. You can do a lot to lift their spirits and their load by:
    • Asking them out to lunch or home to a Sabbath meal sometime just to say “thank you” for their work and to encourage them. Our teachers are a dedicated bunch whose greatest joy comes in seeing their students flourish. But an occasional “thank you” from out of the blue will do wonders for a teacher’s sense of value and can provide an oft-needed pick-me-up as they work hard for our children.
    • Take time to visit the classroom (make an appointment first!). Take notice of what the class or school has or doesn’t have, and then surprise the teacher or the principal with a special gift of supplies, equipment, or money to spend on such things that are just not otherwise in the budget.
    • Make it a point to come to school programs. Your presence speaks volumes about your support, and it will thrill the students to see you there.
    • Pray, pray, pray for our teachers, parents, and especially the students!
    • Consider yourself a partner with the 59 teachers in the 19 RMC schools who look to be teaching hundreds of our children conference-wide in our schools this next year. We are what we are as a church today largely because of the symbiotic placement and growth of our schools.

It will take resolve and sacrifice to see our schools remain viable and accessible. We can’t all just depend on someone else to do it. If it’s to be done, it will be us together who will make it happen. By God’s grace, let us all commit to keeping our schools strong so that the love of Jesus will be instilled in all of our students. Let’s commit to never outgrow our support for God’s schools!

—Mic Thurber is RMC president.