May His Kingdom Come

As we enter the Christmas season, we are reminded that many years ago, a  Child, Christ Jesus, was born. Because a great darkness covered the earth, this Child came into the world, as the Prince of Peace, to restore the rule and reign of God, and to build a kingdom that would last forever. As the prophet Isaiah foretold, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This Christ, literally King, brought the promise of a new Kingdom, one that wouldn’t be governed by violence, selfishness, and greed. He called us to humbly repent and follow Him. He showed us what it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God.  He challenged us in the Sermon on the Mount to follow Him and live as He lived. In the end, He took up His cross, and gave His life a ransom for our atonement. And in so doing, He conquered death and sin, achieving the resurrection of the dead, and founding the Kingdom of God on earth as it also is in heaven.

Here at EMS, our very first core value, Kingdom Citizenship, is anchored in a “Kingdom” understanding of the good news. This holiday season, instead of being sidetracked with gifts, sleighs, fat red men, or parties, we aspire, to more completely live out the principles of the new Kingdom. To more faithfully be disciples of Jesus Christ. To more completely lay down our lives and take up our cross, as Jesus did, and in so doing also “attain the resurrection of the dead.” And so we do celebrate the coming of Jesus and we pray for the manifestation of His Kingdom. We joyously proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God being brought to the earth by Jesus so many years ago.

As Isaiah also wrote, and we believe in faith, Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Mr. Joshua Good

Administrator

Ephrata Mennonite School is on a 2-Hour Delay for Friday, November 16.

Ephrata Mennonite School will be dismissing early at 12:30 today (Thursday, November 15). All after school activities are canceled. Parents may pickup children at anytime as buses will not be running.

In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul wrote this prayer of praise, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” We echo that prayer and praise today. We are happy to announce that, as of Thursday, October 25th, 2018 the EMS School Board signed a contract to purchase, from First United Methodist Church, 28 acres of land, an ⅛ of a mile north of our present location. Praise the Lord!

Because of our continued growth, approximately 2 years ago, the board began re-exploring campus expansion plans. Though initially we had investigated the possibility of expanding at our current location, the challenges with this approach quickly became apparent. At one pivotal Board Retreat, in August of 2017, after a time of prayer, a  pastoral advisor suggested taking three months to see if there is any other suitable land that God might make available for an EMS campus relocation. A tract of land that could adequately handle all the children, the parking needs, the Christmas programs, etc., that our community needs.

Today, miraculously, God answered those prayers. We are embracing the vision that this land will be the future home to EMS. We are praying we can build upon the foundation that has been laid (for nearly 75 years at 598 Stevens Rd) and that we can continue, for many more years, from a new location, the work of teaching and disciplining children in the way of Jesus. And in so doing, build the Kingdom of God on earth as it also is in heaven.

There remains a long road ahead of us as we look to design, build, and raise the funds for the project. And while the price tag associated with this project seems almost impossibly high at times, we know that “if God is for us who can be against us,” and that “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” And so we are rejoicing today in God’s abundant gifts.

Joshua Good, Administrator

The first Ephrata Mennonite School SNP "Student Newspaper" of the 2018-19 school year is available! You can find the September 2018 Edition on the School's Student Information System "SIS" under documents or on the School website under the "About" section.

The Ephrata Mennonite School Team Store is officially open! Check out the website for clothing with the Ephrata "Legends" logo or the Ephrata Mennonite School logo. 

Theme: What are the Anabaptist essentials? How is Anabaptism distinctly different from other Christian traditions?

Two years ago we discussed why a Christian education is important and last year we discussed the role of higher education and college with Dr. Kuruvilla, Dr. Zook and Mrs. Zook, Mr. and Mrs. Yoder. This year we want to consider more broadly the question of what Anabaptism is? How are we different than other Christian traditions? How can we create a compelling vision for what Anabaptism is for our students? Have we done this well? Join us for an interactive conversation between Mr. Joshua Good, School Administrator and Daniel Ziegler, EdD - Executive Director of Koronis Ministries. Dan previously was Administrator of Blue Ridge Mission in Haiti, President of Rosedale Bible College, and Executive Director at Spruce Lake Retreat.

Dan Ziegler is an ideal-driven leader who has served for over two decades at the helm of a variety of mission-driven non-profits, including a small college, a youth camp, a humanitarian NGO, and two church-related multifaceted camp/conference centers in MN and PA. Dan has advanced degrees in Organizational Leadership, and Management, and extensive training and expertise in strategic planning, youth camping, higher education, and experiential outdoor education.

The evening will also feature the Ephrata Mennonite School bluegrass music group, and the Ephrata Mennonite School Ministry Arts Team.

Free tickets are available from Eventbrite.com

View the 2018 Banquet Brochure for more info.

DATE AND TIME

LOCATION

This year as a school, we have selected “courage” as our word of the year. Our desire at EMS is raise up students that will be courageous followers of Jesus who fearlessly build His kingdom. Appropriately, we have selected a number of the Psalms to memorize and reflect on this year. We all know David as the hero in the story of David and Goliath and how David fearlessly faced the giant when the hosts of Israel were all afraid to fight. But from whence came David’s courage? David didn’t drum up a machismo American style bravery that then led him to heroism. Instead, his simple faith in the God of Israel gave him confidence to fight the giant. Conversely, the Israelite army, and King Saul, lacked faith in God, and therefore were afraid. At EMS this year, we are seeking to build our faith in God, and in so doing, be prepared to stand courageously, like David of old. The first psalm we are memorizing, (also our song of the year) states it this way: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?...Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. (Psalm 27:1,3)

Mr. Joshua Good
Administrator

Ministry Arts Team is gearing up for their 2018 Tour from Friday, April 13 through Tuesday, April 17. They will be giving a program in Vermont on Friday night. On Saturday, they will be performing at HIS Mansion in New Hampshire. On Sunday night, they will be giving a program in Sanford, Maine, and on Monday they will give the last program of the tour in New York City at Followers of Jesus. You can follow the tour at http://emsministryartsteam.blogspot.com

To the EMS Community,

As you saw on our text message, we are very happy to be announce that we have been unconditionally re-accredited. We are rightly proud I think, that we didn’t just “meet” the 12 accreditation standards, but in 8 out of 12 standards we were judged to be worthy of the highest rating, “exceeds the standards.” I wanted to take a minute to personally write and thank each of you for your work in this process.

Our work around re-accreditation began nearly 2 years ago, as we assembled an Accreditation Team of students, parents, teachers, school leaders, board members, and pastoral advisers. After a full scale review and rework of our vision, mission, and other core documents, we dug in to the heavy lifting around school improvement planning. In that work all of you have  invested your time through responding to lengthy surveys, participating in school focus groups, and giving feedback on our improvement plan.

In particular, I want to thank the parent volunteers that participated in the many meetings of the Accreditation Team (Jay Martin, Steve Cassel, Keith Zimmerman, Lynn Zimmerman, and Michelle Stauffer). They did this, not for money or a career, but simply for the love of excellence and Christian education. Their commitment to building an Anabaptist school that is of the highest quality will reverberate down through the generations. And it personally inspires me, as the  school leader, to live up to your vision and commitment.

I also want to thank our student Accreditation Team members (Dylan and Durrell Martin, Aleina Martin, and Dallas Good). Their contributions, from a student perspective, were insightful and appreciated. And they did an impressive job in the opening presentation (for the accreditation team who came to evaluate us). They also graciously volunteered their time in service of creating a school that brings glory and honor to God through excellence.

Additionally, I want to thank our teacher Accreditation Team members at EMS (Arlene Birt, Brieanna Heisey, Chris Brode, Alycia Weaver, Leanna Martin, Michelle Weaver, and David Schrock) who were instrumental in doing much of the “on the job” writing and “rubber meets the road” work. And a big thanks to our entire EMS staff. They have invested their very lives in Christian education. As a community we are very blessed to have them. And we value their dedication to professional excellence.

Last, and certainly not least, I want to thank all of you, the EMS staff and students that worked hard to make EMS the great school it is. We appreciate your support and patronage of EMS, which really, has made all of this possible.

I am so thankful that God brought me here to be a part of this community and work. We give him all the praise honor and glory. And we look forward to implementing our school improvement plan for the next seven years.

To God be the Glory,

Joshua Good

Administrator