Lower School Students Seeking, Sharing, and Supporting Gospel Missions
At Worthington Christian’s Lower School, students are taught the essential elements of education: science, social studies, mathematics, and English.
Allie Elifritz, who teaches sixth-grade science and social studies, would like to add one more “subject” to the curriculum: service. Elifritz created the Great Commission Campaign, where students raise money and then decide what organizations the school should support.
“I want our students to look outside of themselves,” Elifritz said. “Learning to serve should be a part of the core values we instill into students, alongside math, science, social studies, and reading.”
The Lower School offers a wide variety of service projects throughout the year, including the Lifeline Christian Mission, where students mix, weigh, and package food for needy families, and Operation Christmas Child, where students pack shoeboxes of gifts for children to experience the joy of the Christmas season around the world.
The Great Commission project would take student involvement to another level. Students in grades 3-6 will have the chance to research and present on different service-oriented organizations. After presenting their research, a donation will be made to a select number of organizations the students have promoted.
At the beginning of the school year, we asked families to consider donating $20 so students can have an out-of-uniform day on the first Tuesday of every month. The money raised will go to the school’s partner organizations.
If a family is willing to donate more than $20, they can receive a tax-deductible receipt. They are just $500 short of the goal to fund the campaign fully.
Elifritz said the idea for an out-of-uniform day came from the Upper School’s benefit for raising money for the annual trip to the Dominican Republic.
According to Jake Ferrier, the school’s Director of Spiritual Formation, the goal of the OOU day is to give students a physical, visual reminder of raising money to help those in need as well as a desire to share the gospel with others.
“The importance of this project is that it establishes a beautiful blend of what I call ‘Head, Heart and Hands,’” Ferrier said. “We desire for our students to develop the mind of Christ. Thus, we teach them truths about God, His Word, and the importance of living out His Word in the context of service-learning.
“We also seek to see God’s work in giving our students a heart for service along with the practical understanding of how to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Students will play various roles in deciding where the funds go. In third and fourth grades, each homeroom will pitch an organization as a candidate to receive a portion of the funds the students have raised. In fifth and sixth grade, groups of students will present reasons why different organizations should be supported.
Elifritz believes there will be 18 organizations vying for support (three from the third and fourth grades and six candidates from the fifth and sixth grades).
“I really felt like the LORD was laying this on my heart last summer,” she said. “I had this idea of what if we had kids research and pitch organizations to which we could donate. Third graders study a lot about their local community so they can research and pitch local area organizations. Fourth graders study more about Ohio History so they can look at groups that help people statewide. Fifth graders could look at national organizations, and sixth graders could come up with global groups.
“It was like the Great Commission where we start where we are, and then we go out a little further and a little bit further, and eventually we are helping people out globally.”
Elifritz said it’s crucial to reach younger students early on to discuss the importance of developing a giving mindset.
“At the elementary school level, the kids have such a passion for life,” she said. “You’re learning about everything, and you have that passion for life.
“If you can capture kids at this young age, then hopefully they’ll keep following Jesus when times get hard, and they get older and different things to come into their life.”
Ferrier also believes that establishing “this blend of ‘Head, Heart and Hands’ early in the lives of our students” can develop Worthington Christian students to become “Kingdom leaders in the area of service-learning for the rest of their lives.”
“This begins with knowing how God calls us to love Him in the context of service, learning how serving God connects to what we learn about God in His Word and the world, and connecting with tangible opportunities for service locally, nationwide, and globally,” he added.
If you would like to contribute to the Great Commission project, you may do so here.