A Message From the Superintendent
Love God, Love People, Go Tell 
God's great commandment is to love Him fully; then love others as He loves them. God's great commission is to go and teach obedience to His commands. Matthew 22:33-40; 28:19-20. Those of us in Christian schools are particularly called to worship God, obey His command to love Him and love people, then to move out boldly into all the world to teach the good news of Jesus Christ.
Accordingly, the mission statement of Woodcrest Christian School System is to "Glorify God by Pursuing Excellence in Christ-centered Academics". We call students to faith in Christ for salvation, lead them to obey God's Word for Christian growth, and equip them for a life of service with a vision for worldwide outreach for Christ. Our mission aims at fulfilling our expected results, which are Christ-centered wisdom, character, stewardship, and service for His glory.
Wisdom is knowing our Lord Jesus Christ and having the "mind of Christ". Wisdom is right thinking, which leads to character. Character is manifested by right choices and actions, which lead to wise stewardship and unselfish service to others. The Living Word, the written Word, the disciplines of life, and the guidance of parents, teachers, counselors, coaches, and advisors will help students become actual partakers of God's wisdom, which matures into Christian character called the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Such wisdom and character yield good stewardship of time, talent, and treasure, which blossom into sacrificial service to others. God uses students who are alive in these ways to make a meaningful ministry impact locally and around the world.
Our worldwide vision gives a global context to our local outreach efforts. At our elementary campus we teach the students to see the world as God sees it by our Missions Emphasis. Each year each class studies a different country of the world. In this way students are introduced to the people, history, geography, customs, religion, food, music, and art of many of the countries of the world. Teachers invite guest speakers and provide times of prayer for the people of each country being studied. Culminating missions activities include "a Parade Around the World" and mission chapel presentations. Students file through the classrooms to view international displays then assemble for chapel to celebrate with international mission presentations. Operation Christmas Child involves every school family in preparing shoebox gifts for children around the world. Students also participate in several on-campus service projects and local community outreaches using drama, music, and service.
To help our secondary students experience the joy of serving others,
we teach and model servant leadership and invite them to join us. Our
students willingly give hundreds of recorded service hours per year
through campus service clubs and local community centers and churches.
WOODCREST CHRISTIAN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
In 1997 our school sent its first overseas mission team to the newly founded Riverside International School in Mori, India. We found the faculty and staff in the Indian school to be born-again believers who hunger for God's Word and Christian fellowship. Our sister-school relationship was soon sealed by oneness of heart in Christ. The school is building a positive reputation in the Mori community as it ministers to upper and lower caste Hindus and Christians. We saw a boy and the town jeweler come to Christ in Mori. After the annual monsoon rains, the area around Mori becomes like a lush tropical island with over 100 degree weather, coconut palms, rice fields, and cashew trees. Like the monsoons, the school is bringing hope and life to a culture shrouded in the darkness of pagan idol worship. We have made five additional summer trips to the Mori school, which is now an ACSI school. On our 2008 summer visit to Mori, we provided instruction in Christ-centered Academics, servant leadership, and The Truth Project, while eleven of our 2008 graduates taught the Indian students songs, stories, skits, academic lessons, and Walk Thru the Old Testament.
Over 443 students have served on mission trips since 1997. In the spring of 1999 we began sending two mission teams per year to Tijuana, Mexico, and have helped build 20 houses for needy families. This outreach has not only blessed the families in Mexico, but has enriched the spiritual lives of our people and drawn some students to pursue full time ministry.
In the past three years, almost 100 students have traveled to Costa Rica to reach out to the Iglesia Bautista in the beautiful coastal town of Cahuita. A senior named Jamie called the trip “the single most significant spiritual experience in my life”. Similar student teams have ministered to a church in Guatemala to help with various building projects and child evangelism. Over 100 indigenous children have accepted Christ during these mission trips. One of our recent graduates has been so deeply impacted by her experiences overseas that she plans to study medicine to minister to people in Guatemala.
What God commands us to do, He commissions us to accomplish. Simply put, we are to love God, love people, and go tell. Pursuing Christ in faith and obedience develops wisdom, character, stewardship, and service, which prepare our students to become effective and productive in their future studies, families, ministries, and careers for His glory. Our school exists to glorify God by pursuing excellence in Christ-centered Academics.
“We proclaim Him admonishing and
teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone
perfect in Christ.” Colossians 1:28, NIV.
Randy J. Thompson, B.A., M.A., serves as Superintendent for Woodcrest Christian School System in Riverside, California. The school system was founded in 1948 as Riverside Christian Day School (K-6th), since 1973 includes Woodcrest Christian School (7-12th), and now serves over 1055 students.