Dear JWC family and friends,
Last month I reflected on the new opportunities set before us. As we begin this month, the first steps on that new journey have been taken. Classes began on August 22nd, and our students have already had their first taste of not only the Christ-centered learning of John Witherspoon College, but also the Christ-centered living we strive for as they have joined in extracurricular events and rather robust extemporaneous discussions in our fellowship area! It has been a good beginning. But our new beginnings are not completed. Our annual convocation still awaits us on September 8th. Our first chapel service lies in the future on September 15th. The students (and some of the faculty and staff!) may be excited that our first school holiday lies just around the corner on Monday!
These unfinished beginnings remind us of something very important: God is not a God of endings, but of beginnings. The Bible opens with a new Creation (Genesis 1), and it closes with a New Creation (Revelation 21). Between these two magnificent acts of creation, we find that:
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)
I pray that our students will move into new understandings with each class period, and I pray that each of us will strive to see what new things God is calling us to and to renew those things that we have let grow stagnant. As I have met more of our students in this last week and we have begun to explore God's word and world, I am more convinced than ever that John Witherspoon College is serving a mighty purpose. Jeremiah wrote the words above during a time of national destruction, and we are facing various forces that seek to destroy the integrity of our educational systems. But just as Jeremiah could see God's faithful blessings even in the midst of Jerusalem's fall, so should we look at this time not as one of sorrow, but as a new opportunity to demonstrate Christ-centered learning, Christ-centered living, and Christ-centered leading to the world.
I am excited about the new journey ahead of us, and I pray that you are as well. I thank each of you for your renewed support of and prayer for the mission and work of John Witherspoon College. May our new day be one that blesses the world for His Glory.
Sincerely yours in Christ,