The 2023/2024 school year is off to a great start; the Lord provided staff and faculty to meet all of our needs, including those hard-to-fill positions in maintenance and janitorial services. In addition, we also saw another increase in enrollment, with over 50 new students this fall. We are thankful for this opportunity to serve more students and families.
The theme verse for the year is Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice” (KJV). In a society consumed with materialism and self-love, the ability to rejoice in difficult circumstances is becoming especially rare. In fact, complaining, blaming, and fault-finding are much more common, even among Christians. Of course, the kind of joy Paul describes in Philippians is not the emotion of happiness. Instead, biblical joy is a “deep contentment…based in trust in the sovereign, living God” (ESV Study Bible). When Berean students choose joy in the midst of challenging circumstances, they demonstrate an attitude that is counter-cultural and, thus, a powerful testimony to the work of Jesus Christ in their lives.
At our last Berean Christian Laymen’s Association meeting, the Berean Board updated constituents on our revised plans for the elementary expansion. The project has been expanded to 8 classrooms and will now include a tornado shelter in a 1000-square-foot basement. These changes have pushed the price up to approximately $1,500,000, but when completed, the new expansion will provide extra classrooms for future growth and consolidate our elementary program in one location for better collaboration and cooperation. Currently, we have over $850,000 raised to complete the elementary wing. Please consider giving a donation to help Berean build what will become an essential part of our campus for the next fifty-plus years.
Photo by: Arleta Wiebe