Gospel Values
"But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"- Matthew 6:33
We speak of "Gospel values" a lot in our Church Schools. Put simply, they are what Jesus said, what He did and what He told us to do. They are the principles of faith, respect, forgiveness and service (to name a few!) that proceed from our daily prayer "your kingdom come your will be done".
If our young people are to strive to live like Jesus amidst a world increasingly bent on ignoring Him; so too must we strive to model these core values in the classroom, to articulate them in the assembly hall and to reward their practice in the playground.
For it is these values that should define Church Schools. Gospel values are our greatest asset and our strongest legacy. They provide a moral foundation and basis of positive culture that is recognised and applauded by secular society.
For let's face it, community schools can offer just as good facilities and often just as good teaching as church schools. However what they cannot offer is the spirit of grace, generosity and community born out of a school that not only acknowledges the gospel values as admirable biblical qualities, but is willing to unpack them, promote them and live them out in day to day school life.
That is our greatest challenge and privilege, our witness and vocation. For whilst church attendance may be dwindling, our schools are in higher demand than ever.
If we are to be genuine in praying for God's Kingdom to come and His will be done in our country, we need to get serious about the promotion of Gospel values in our schools. For as expressed by Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel & Brighton: "Increasingly the only contact a person may have with explicit Gospel values and the person of Christ is within a Church School".
Emmaus Leadership exist in order to help Church Schools reach their full God given potential; that they might be schools that embody gospel values and point towards Jesus. For if our young people do not meet Christ in our schools, where else will they meet Him?