Thank you for lifting up the role of education in your homes and at your churches and for celebrating Education Sunday along with us.

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1 7-Day Devotional

2 Education Sunday is the kick-off for a yearlong focus on raising up Christ Ambassadors (2 Cr. 5:20) who are both spiritually and academically equipped for God s call on their lives. You, along with thousands of other churches across our nation, are setting aside at least one Sunday at the start of the school year to challenge students to answer the call to love the Lord your God with all their mind (Luke 10:27) and to pray for your school teachers and administrators. This 7-Day Devotional is made available as part of our Education Sunday Resources ( to use as you see fit. We pray that it blesses you and inspires you to see the role of public education, and education in general, in light of our relationship with God. Thank you for lifting up the role of education in your homes and at your churches and for celebrating Education Sunday along with us. Text MEMBER to to receive the latest on scholarship opportunities and parent/church resources for encouraging students and ensuring their academic success throughout the year. For more information visit: Day 1 Who Your Child Represents at School Day 2 Every Student, God s Student Day 3 Freeing Students Bound by Chains of Injustice Day 4 High Standards for Students: Tough but Fair Day 5 Would You Watch Their Steps? Day 6 Living in Light and Understanding Day 7 God Asks One Thing of You: Everything Contributors: Dr. Carlos Campo, Ashland University Pastor Juvenal Cervantes, St. Johns UCC (CO) Sis. Lourdes Delgado, Leadership Advisory Council-FEC Dr. Gus Reyes, Baptist General Convention of Texas Rev. Girien Salazar, Faith and Education Coalition-NHCLC Pastor Dr. Dee Stokes, Unity United Methodist Church (NC)

3 Day 1 Who Your Child Represents at School Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us. - 2 Corinthians 5:20 Do you remember the kinds of things your mom used to tell you before the first day of school? You are a GARCIA This mean you behave in a way that makes your family proud and that you do your best in everything that you attempt. She would also say things like, when you go to school, sit on the front row, raise your hand, be the first to volunteer, pay attention, respect the teacher, and follow the rules. Now, she probably didn t say these things exactly this way. But, these concepts are burned into my memory. My last name is Reyes. However, my mom was quick to remind us that we were also part of the Garcia family (her maiden name). She wanted me to understand that I was a representative for the Garcia family. (Yes, Reyes too!) Now that I m older, I realize that mom was teaching me how to be an ambassador. She helped me realize that I represented the family. She wanted me to represent the best picture of the Garcia s as possible. My behavior, my actions, my attire, my words, my grades, and my attitude would reflect in a positive way or in a negative way on the Garcia family. As followers of Christ, we are encouraged to be Ambassadors for Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:20. Paul reminds us of this responsibility and privilege. We have the privilege to teach our children that they are part of a family of faith. We can help them to be Ambassadors for Christ as they relate to other students, teachers, and school leadership. We can help them represent Christ in how they treat those around them and how they look out for anyone being mistreated. This is a new school year. What a great opportunity to challenge your son or daughter to consider how to represent Christ at school. Take time today to pray for those you are sending to school. Please pray in front of them. Pray for their teachers and for the new friends they will meet. I m so thankful for a mom who prayed with me. I am thankful for her instruction on how to represent. Thankful for how she taught me to represent the Garcia s (and Reyes too). This helped me to learn how to represent Christ as well. - Dr. Gus Reyes

4 Day 2 Created Good to Create Good For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10 I grew up in San Antonio, TX, and some of my most memorable moments as a child were when my dad and mom would pack the whole family in the Astro van, and we would drive down to the beach, either to Galveston Island or Corpus Christi. As a little boy, I enjoyed playing in the sand and I was particularly excited to build sand castles. I remember getting my hands into the sand, forming walls and corner towers, surrounding the castle walls with a moat, and building nearby forts and villages. I would use my hands and my creativity to build something I thought was the greatest thing ever: a sand castle! When I read Ephesians 2, it takes me back to Genesis when God created the world and when He created man. In Genesis 2 it says, The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground. He was creating what he thought was the greatest thing ever; not a sand castle, but mankind. With God s hands in the sand I imagine he uttered: Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Then He blessed his creation and said, Be fruitful. Then God saw all that He had made was very good. (Genesis 1) Parents and pastors, as we send our children back to school let us not forget that they are God s treasured creation, created in His image and for His glory. Or as the book of Ephesians might say, our students were created good to create good. We can encourage our students to show God how much they love Him by doing the good works that he has prepared for them to do in school. Parents, remind them that God created them in Christ Jesus not to be a bad student but to be a good student, and not so that they could bring home bad grades but good grades. Pastors, let your students know that God is saying over them, I am sending you to your school, not to be a curse but a cure, not to be a bully but a blessing, not for you to fail but to finish, not for you to quit but to conquer, and not just for you to get by but to fly. God created our children in his image so that they could do the good works he has prepared for them to do. Let s pray that our students will love and worship God with good works as they head back to school. - Girien Salazar

5 Day 3 Freeing Students Bound by Chains of Injustice Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice? - Isaiah 58:6 Fasting is a spiritual discipline that sometimes gets overlooked in Christianity because many feel it is too difficult to accomplish, but a fasted lifestyle can and will accomplish much. Not only can we hear God s voice much clearer, but in this passage in Isaiah, God Himself is telling us what our goal in fasting should be: to loose the chains of injustice. Just as many are not freed from demons except by prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29), so many chains of injustice will not be broken without the same. The chains of injustice in America s school systems must be broken. In 2015, only 1 in 4 Hispanic students were college-ready upon high-school graduation. The numbers were worse for African American students: around 1 in 10. One reason for this is that many times a student s access to high-quality education is based on family income, ethnicity, or zip code. Black and Latino parents have high expectations of their children and know that if they are challenged in school they have a greater chance at succeeding in life. Churches must get off the sidelines and involved in the school systems. We must engage with school boards, educational systems, and the influential individuals within each city if we are to make a difference. Along with raising educational standards throughout the system, day to day we must increase parental involvement with school teachers and administrators. We, as the Body of Christ, must make a concerted effort to do something. But there is one other thing we must do if we hope to make a lasting difference, if we wish our children to be free of these demons and chains of injustice: we must fast and pray! It is as simple as that. We must fast AND pray. We need both. This will be the difference for us in America. Consider these types of fasts to break the chains of injustice in America s school systems: the Disciple s Fast (Matt. 17:20-21) to free us from addiction/bondage and sin; the Ezra Fast (Ezra 8:21-23) to help us solve problems; the Elijah Fast (I Kings 19:2-18) to break crippling fears and other mental problems; the St. Paul Fast (Acts ) to gain insight and decision making (no food or drink for 3 days); and the Esther Fast (Esther 4:16) to protect us from the evil one (no food or drink for 3 days, night or day). Also, follow the fasting guidelines given to us in Isaiah 58 and do all the Lord requires. This is how we can break these chains of injustice for our children in America. Amen! - Dr. Dee Stokes

6 Day 4 High Standards for Students: Tough but Fair It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach. - 1 Timothy 3:1-2 In the church, the higher the office you desire to achieve in ministry, the higher the standards you must hold yourself to. This is no different for students who desire to do great things for God, particularly when those great things require higher levels of education. A set of clear and consistent high educational standards has been adopted by nearly every state in America. These standards are designed to prepare students for college, the workforce, and life. They are tough, yes, but they are also fair. High expectations can make all the difference for students. Neither of my parents completed high school, but they knew the power of a good education and made it clear that they expected me to work hard and complete my studies. College was an expectation, not just a dream. They made education a priority for our family, spoke to me about my studies and my progress nearly every day, and taught me the incredible wonder of learning something new. Their high expectations opened a whole new world of opportunity for me. Unfortunately, being held to high standards is not the reality for all students at home or in the classroom. I visited many high school classrooms where students who were college material were directed to honors and AP classes and students in less rigorous classes were often simply watching videos or having empty group discussions. Once I began teaching college-level English, I met many students who were not adequately prepared for the rigors of college study. They had been passed from grade to grade, but they never really learned the material they needed to be successful in college. The expectations had been set too low, and they were missing out and not prepared for learning opportunities that their peers were enjoying. Let us pray that this pattern of social promotion and a lack of preparation be broken now. No longer will we have one standard for children living in wealthy suburbs and another for students in the heart of our largest cities. No longer will we have one set of standards for college bound students and another for students destined for the workforce. Instead, let us pray and work to see that all students be held to higher and equal standards which will challenge them and prepare them for not only real-life and academic success, but the places of influence God has called them to. - Dr. Carlos Campo

7 Day 5 Would You Watch Their Steps? We can make our plan, but the Lord determines our steps. - Proverbs 16:9 Lord, three words are on our lips now, in our conversations and in our prayers too, Back to School. Our children are picking up backpacks and brand new notebooks, every blank page filled with possibilities, dreamed up at the tip of their newly sharpened pencils. Our kids will have enemies they can see and enemies they can't, choices to make, truths to discover, lies to reject, friendships, failures, heartbreaks, triumphs. Remind them you're by their side, Lord. They'll climb the stairs on the big yellow bus, which always say the same thing, 'Watch your step!' Lord, that is what we pray for them today, that you watch their every step, whether they walk or run, stumble or climb. These are long days and short years, soon enough they'll be flying from the nest. These are the years when we have to understand that our children are not our own and that we can't always go with them, but whether they turn to the right or left, whether they crawl or run, may they hear your voice always whisper, This is the way, walk in it. Father, this year, and every year we pray, Would you watch their steps? In Jesus name, Amen. - Juvenal Cervantes

8 Day 6 Living in Light and Understanding It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. - Daniel 2:22 My two year old granddaughter slept over last week. I sleep with her so my husband doesn't wake up, but round 2:00 a.m. I awoke to the sound of little feet running away from the bed and into the hallway. I quickly turned on the light and called to her. She ran back and I comforted her saying that she did not see me because my face was covered with the blanket and she could not see through it to see where I was. In a similar way, God not only sees where we are at all times but he at times turns on the metaphorical light and removes the hypothetical veil or blanket in our lives in a such a way that we are spiritually made aware of where we are. My prayer is that as parents and pastors we might be able to understand the importance of evaluating and understanding where are children are in life, not only spiritually but academically as well. School districts supply us with reports throughout the year, however, reporting is not sufficient if transparency is not also prioritized. Lights must be turned on and veils must be lifted so that we can see what lies under the numbers and letters in reports. For example, depending on the teacher or school, letter grades A, B, C, and D can have very different meanings. As people of the truth and light we should ask deeper questions, such as what skills, concepts, and objectives comprise that grade. I was encouraged recently when I ran into a young mother who clearly articulated to me how well her son was doing in school. She was aware of his academic growth, his standing in class, the skills and achievements he had acquired, and she was particularly excited because she had been told her son was not capable of such academic achievements. This mother, with a clear understanding of her son s academic status, was able to evaluate and participate in her son s educational journey. Let us pray that our school systems will see it as their responsibility to not only turn on the lights but to also lift up the blankets in their reporting systems so that parents everywhere can clearly understand their child s academic growth and engage along with them in the journey, especially among communities where English is not the primary language for some parents. God dwells in the light, not darkness; He lives with understanding, not ignorance. Let us, too, make our living in the light and not blinded by any veils, so that we can truly know our children and encourage them during the academic journey God has set out for them. - Lourdes Delgado

9 Day 7 God Asks One Thing of You: Everything And he said to Him, Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up. Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. Mark 10:17-22 It is possible to do the many things God asks of you and still fail to do the one thing He asks of you. For the young man in this story, Jesus asked him for the one thing that was everything to him: his possessions. You see, the one thing Jesus asked of those he met was often the most precious thing to them. Jesus asked Mary Magdalene to let go of her demons; Jesus asked Nicodemus to leave his Legalism; Jesus asked the woman at the well to give up her lies; Jesus asked Zacchaeus to abandon his thievery; Jesus asked the woman caught in adultery to renounce her sin; Jesus asked Thomas to relinquish his doubts; and Jesus asked Peter to surrender his pride. But here is what we need to understand about the one thing God is asking of us: that one thing is everything. In other words, God asks one thing of you: everything. At the start of this school year, what is that one thing that God asks of our children and students? The one thing that Jesus asks of our children will be something precious to them, just as in this passage the young man s wealth was precious to him. If God is asking for one thing, and that one thing is everything, then my prayer is that we as parents and pastors would understand that one thing that God is asking of our children and students is their education. For churches positioned in urban communities and those who serve Hispanic and African- American students in particular, as we encourage our students to give everything to God, let us pray about how we can support their academic growth without compromising a focus on their spiritual growth. And if it is true that everything we are belongs to God, perhaps our prayer must then be for God to help us realize that there is no divide between our students faith and education. Perhaps by encouraging academic growth we encourage spiritual growth, and perhaps by fostering spiritual growth we foster academic growth. My prayer is that this year our students can give one more thing to God: their education. And with God s grace and our steadfast determination, I am confident we will begin to see our students Monday achievements glorify God as much as their Sunday praise, and we will all better understand how our love and worship for God is not exclusive to the church, but essential in all that we do. And as our students give their education to God, they are that much closer to giving everything to Him. - Girien Salazar