Covenant Magazine, Issue 2

covenant ISSUE 2 | FALL 2018

Jane Taylor Celebrating Failure to Ensure Success | Page 7

The Art of Servanthood: How volunteers at Covenant make the impossible a reality | Page 2

The Art of Worship: Honoring God with the talents He has given each student | Page 13

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Welcome.

Greetings,

Andy Goodwin Principal & CEO

When people ask me what is going on at Covenant, sometimes I am not sure where to start. Should I tell them about our precious volunteers who dedicated 12,522 combined hours of their time last year alone? Would it be best to share a few stories from the thoughtprovoking, heartfelt, Scripture-filled morning assemblies presented by our students, faculty, and staff? How could I not lead with the joyfilled, relational teaching from our ubertalented and Christ-committed faculty? What about the nearly 71% of our student body that participates in either music, visual art, theatre, or all three? Could I not share multiple stories of the successes of our 18 varsity sports?

And where would Covenant be without the testimony of and the connection to its 1,500 alumni?

All of those stories would be fun to tell.

Collectively, they reveal a great story yet unfolding. But the story to tell always is this: God is God, and we are not. By His provision alone we participate in this precious stewardship of young minds and hearts in the context of Covenant Christian High School.

So, rather than telling you the stories myself, I am humbled to offer them to you in the words of those who live them. I hope you enjoy them in the second installment of Covenant.

Thank you for sharing in the pursuit of providing an excellent, Christ-centered education for a life of scholarship, leadership, and service.

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index

Parents and students serve alongside each other.

The Power of Servanthood 2 Morning Assemblies 5 Jane Taylor 7 Hearts of Covenant 10 Covenant Calendar 11 The Art of Worship 13 Scholarship. Leadership. Service. 15

production team DESIGN Kristina Cook PHOTOGRAPHY Rick McIntyre Rich Unland Christopher Colson

OUR MISSION Covenant Christian High School is dedicated to providing an excellent, Christ-centered education, equipping students for a life of scholarship, leadership, and service.

OUR VISION Covenant Christian High School will be a leader in 21st century education. We will accomplish this through the total preparation of the student, influence in educational, ecclesial, and cultural communities, and the replication of the Covenant model.

The Power of Servanthood How volunteers at Covenant make the impossible a reality

Covenant families volunteer in different ways for different reasons.

Facilities manager Scott Voehringer has been working with Covenant volunteers for 20 years, so he knows the stories best. They range from simply taking care of the building to people truly taking care of each other and using volunteering to make going to Covenant a reality when it otherwise couldn’t be.

“We use a lot of volunteers,” he said. “They clean the building before and after school. People will walk into our building and see our school through those front doors and be blown away that we don’t have a full-time cleaning crew or a contracted service to clean.”

Covenant has a work-study program that allows families to opt into a 100-hour service commitment for tuition help. Voehringer said that the bulk of volunteer hours from his maintenance department tend to be cleaning and athletic concessions help, but volunteer hours can also come from other work in the school, such as grounds maintenance or supporting the Fine Arts Department for various productions.

According to finance director Stan Bryan, who oversees the log-system for hours, approximately 12,000 volunteer hours get logged a year. Some families work well over their 100-hour commitments, and some of those families will donate hours to families in need. In Voehringer’s opinion, those donations are some of the stories that make Covenant special.

“A grandfather of a current student worked so much that he covered two years worth of volunteer hours in one summer just by mowing grass and cleaning in the mornings,” Voehringer said. He had done so much extra work that he had a surplus of 40-50 hours.

For the Kingdom,

Voehringer, an administrator who works closely with our families, knew of a family in dire need of volunteer hours, but due to a family tragedy, it had become impossible to cover their hours. The grandfather donated his extra hours to the family in need. His blessing helped the family in a huge way, but the story doesn’t stop there.

Andy Goodwin

“The family who received the donated hours was so touched by his generosity that the father took over the grandfather’s morning cleaning duties. He eventually finished 80 hours over, and then donated his extra hours to another family in need,” Voehringer said. The combination of the hard work of one man, along with the knowledge that Voehringer had and the volunteer system at Covenant, helped supply the volunteer hours for families that otherwise couldn’t have been met.

7525 West 21st Street, Indianapolis, IN 46214 Phone: 317.390.0202 Fax: 317.390.6823

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Covenant families volunteer in different ways for different reasons, but the greatest reason people volunteer is that they love this place. The grandfather worked hard because he wanted to help his grandchild come to Covenant. He worked so hard that out of his surplus, he could help make Covenant more financially viable for a family in need, which started a chain reaction of giving that trickled down to more families in need.

These stories are not uncommon.

Theatre director Krista Shields uses an army of volunteers to put on the wonderful Covenant Fine Arts production each fall and spring. Her volunteers log hundreds of volunteer hours, and Shields is confident that the time is given out of love. The hundreds of hours volunteered mattered greatly this year.

“The love that our volunteers have for Covenant Fine Arts is amazing. They are the ones who transform the spaces we use in order to proclaim God’s beauty through the arts. They are ones who create the intricate costumes the students wear for productions. They are the design, construction, and technical teams that work behind the scenes and mentor our students in their craft. They are part of our family. I can honestly say that I don’t know what we’d do without them,” said Shields. These volunteers also contribute to the giving spirit of the school.

In another powerful moment of aid, Voehringer said that one fine arts family volunteered so many extra hours this year that they made graduation possible for one student.

“A student was about 40 hours behind. She was working a job and studying for finals and it looked like [finishing her volunteer hours] wasn’t going to happen. Because I knew of her need and the other family’s 200-300 hour surplus from working with fine arts, I asked them if they would bless this student, and they were happy to do that. When we told the student, she broke down crying in relief. When we see these hard workers, they bless other hard workers that might just have difficult circumstances.”

There are plenty of stories like this. Covenant volunteers working hard to take care of the school, the students, and other families. They clean, fix, and build. They work hard to make Covenant an option for their own students, as well as others, when it might otherwise not be. These families love the school, so they donate time and effort, often beyond what is necessary, to allow others to love Covenant, too.

Our annual fundraising and awards night on

The Booster Club volunteers help nourish runners for the Warrior 5k.

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Ingenuity and a ladder are used to create a memorable moment during Fiddler on the Roof.

AT THE

NOVEMBER 1, 2018 BILTWELL EVENT CENTER ,

featuring our keynote speaker Hunter Smith.

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The whole student assembly gathers before classes begin.

“Morning assembly is one of the highlights of the week for me,“ she adds. “It is kind of a special family gathering time where we center on Christ and His work in us. I think morning assembly grows on the students ... they understand that they have something important to say about their faith that uniquely comes from their time at Covenant.”

Morning Assemblies

Burks isn’t the only faculty member who sees how valuable this regular gathering is. Mike Fightmaster, BTS department head, views morning assembly as a sacred time.

Making time to connect, focus, and grow

Morning assemblies have become part of the Covenant DNA because of that very reason—to put the power of Christ on full display, offering hope and inspiration to students and faculty, alike.

“We desire the students to see the value in coming together and taking a break from the normal routine of academia and focus on getting fed spiritually. Hearing students share their testimonies, encourage each other, and be vulnerable in front of the entire student body is quite a sight to behold.”

Feeling vulnerable is not typically comfortable for students, but it certainly shines a spotlight on their strength of character and understanding of Paul’s words: “I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me” (2 Corinthians 12:9b, NLT).

While the world seems to be in a perpetual hurry, Covenant is

pushing back with intentionality and rhythm. Every Friday morning at 10am, students, faculty, and staff gather for morning assembly—a time set aside to focus on the defining values of the community. While there are some announcements shared and an occasional highlight of extracurricular activities, there are some unique attributes that make morning assemblies special.

Each week, a Covenant senior, staff member, or alum shares for morning assembly something God has laid on his or her heart, and while they speak of personal successes and failures, they testify to the story of the entire Covenant community. We’re a family changed by Christ.

It’s rare to find people with the courage to speak up about matters of faith. This could be said for people of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences, but Covenant students do so boldly in front of their peers and teachers at morning assembly. We live in an age of cynicism, and yet, as students model what it’s like to let God lead and heal in their personal stories, the faith of both their peers and teachers has a chance to be strengthened.

GOD DOESN’T LEAVE US ALONE WHEN WE ARE STRUGGLING. WE NEED TO SHARE OUR HURTS WITH OTHERS SO WE CAN FIND HEALING AND HOPE.

No one knows this quite so well as Danny Smith, biblical and theological studies (BTS) teacher. Danny helps each student who speaks at morning assembly by meeting with them ahead of time, troubleshooting any problems they have, and offering his prayer and encouragement.

“I always remind them the best talks are not ones that are overly practiced; but rather, they come from people who really believe what they’re saying—so they should focus on believing what God has led them to say,” Danny says. “I think one of the reasons our morning assemblies work so well is that Spirit-led students say things to their peers that shatter the ‘wisdom’ and thoughts of this world.”

The library manager, Laura Burks, is still touched by the testimony of a former Covenant senior: “Some students are able to beautifully communicate how God is changing them. Two years ago, one young lady (a senior, Macy White) shared her story of God’s transforming love from severe anxiety and no faith, to a new life in Christ where she could experience his peace and love. I will never forget her story.”

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Truth from Morning Assembly

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COVER STORY

Mrs. Taylor poses with just a few of the wonderful words her students use to describe her.

Taylor herself cares deeply about how students learn and she views her classroom as a place where students don’t only learn math; they learn what kind of student they are and how to best take ownership of their own education. “I provide a ton of online resources like a college class would since I have upper-level students. I also introduce solution keys, and teaching kids how to use those wisely is so important. They could copy [answers] and learn nothing, or they could try themselves and use it as a resource. It’s been a real joy to watch students embrace that and to see how they best learn.”

She has printed-out axioms about work ethic and academic processes posted over her whiteboard in the front of her classroom as a constant reminder that she has high standards for all academic pursuits, not simply the math courses she teaches. But being a math teacher, she does know that the subject can be a polarizing one, so she puts her own teaching methods to work in getting feedback about her successes and failures for the individuals in her classroom.

Jane

Taylor

Celebrating Failure to Ensure Success

“I reward kids for making mistakes. We celebrate wrong answers and say ‘oh that’s wonderful. I’m so glad you made that particular mistake. Thanks for being willing to take a risk.’”

“I want kids to feel relaxed because kids can feel tense in math class. Earlier in my teaching career, I used to give anonymous surveys and ask kids: how this is working for you, what should I do more of, what can I do to help you learn, what do you like or not like?” said Taylor. She admits that she won’t get perfect results from all students with her methods, but “I’ve gotten good feedback over the years so I’m pretty confident that I’m going to get most students.”

Taylor also knows that math can be a subject that presents difficulty to students. “I make a special point to identify strugglers early on and have one-on-one talks very early with my students and make myself available.”

Taylor is well known as a teacher who will stay late after school to help students, and her classroom is always busy during SRT (student resource time) with students seeking help.

She sells her subject to students with a combination of her investment in their process and what she calls “cool math things.”

“I love to show them that .9 repeating equals one. Not just close to one. Equals one.” Taylor also gets to be a singer in front of her students, performing a song to show them real-life applications for sine graphs.

For Taylor though, the most important things are that students know math and know their identity as students so that they can be successful in their future academic endeavors. She sums it up simply: “They leave my class equipped—ready to study and ready to learn.”

It may seem strange for a teacher to encourage mistakes in a student’s work, but Jane Taylor isn’t your normal teacher. She builds mistakes into her lesson plans and loves when her students mess up in math. She promotes the virtues of growth and learning from mistakes—and students eventually almost always find success in her classroom.

A small sample of the alumni wall of honor in Mrs. Taylor’s room.

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Mrs. Taylor firmly believes that “being willing to make mistakes is when you learn to persevere through a tough problem,” and she pushes students out of their comfort zones. “That willingness [to make mistakes] and to know that frustration is a part of the process to learn something hard is what makes anyone learn it deeply.”

Mrs. Taylor never misses out on Spirit Week!

Math graphs were used to create these memorable characters.

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Two recent Covenant graduates celebrate with honors.

Heart of Covenant

Excerpts from H. Davidson’s Speech | HEART OF COVENANT This school is such a place of love, community, and exploring. Here is the new beginning you’ve probably yearned for. I encourage you all to open your eyes to what the world and God are offering you. Seek truth. Be receptive.

My hope and prayer for you is that you take your hope of new beginnings with you for the rest of your life. But also, that you realize how important the process of getting there is.

PHOTO CREDIT: HANKE PHOTOGRAPHY

Two graduates share their parting words to their classmates The following are excerpts from two different seniors of the class of 2018 as they bid farewell to their high school experience at Covenant and move forward to life beyond, heading into unfamiliar waters and brand new adventures:

EXCERPTS FROM I. BOSTICK’S SPEECH | VALEDICTORIAN It’s time to articulate what YOU truly believe. Incubated in your house, your family’s church, your circle of friends, in Covenant, it can be easy to allow your mantras, your political ideas, even your faith, to mold to someone else’s. But, whether you like it or not, in a few short months you are going to be forced to strip yourself from these comfortable molds. You’re going to be placed in new circumstances, forced to look from new or different perspectives, and without YOUR beliefs firmly in place, you’re standing on shifting sand. Unless you intentionally seek out answers to tough questions, unless you personally seek and engage in a relationship with Christ, you’re relying on an idea you’ve always heard, but never truly understood.

The community we share in Covenant has become a comfortable place. Together, we have launched rockets and built robots that rival others on the global scale. We have competed in soccer, volleyball, and basketball at the state level, and we have proven to be resilient in tennis, football, and golf. We have lost powderpuff, lost it again...and again, and then, finally, we won powderpuff. Together, we had a clean sweep in Homecoming this year, and our dodgeball skills have proven to be unsurpassable. Together we have debated constitutionality and the ethics of business. We have performed in countless theatrical shows and concerts and have created a multitude of masterpieces. We have exchanged testimonies, prayed over one another, and worshipfully served side-by-side. We even survived physics, worldview, and biology together. In the midst of each others’ company and the environment that Covenant has cultured for us, we have grown comfortable.

We’ve witnessed each other grow, change, and bloom, coming to the comfortable place that we are currently in. But, Class of 2018—my friends, it’s time to put your old, comfortable shoes in your closet for good. Pull out the new ones. Break them in. Walk in Light.

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How many people do you know get to be in a place where love is the center. A place where teaching isn’t just a job to the teachers, but two passions - a passion for what they teach and a passion for who they teach. A place where you know the names of the office and maintenance staff. A place where they know yours. Yes, I’m glad you opened up to what Covenant has to offer. It offers learning in a place of love.

My hope and prayer for you is that this joy and community carries over to your new environments in life and that you continue to grow and let your mind be enlightened, your heart inflamed, and your life transformed. You’ve discovered a bit of how exciting and beautiful that process can be. It can only get better. Stick with it.

Quickly, you discovered that you loved this place and the people in it, but maybe you didn’t know why until your upperclassmen years. It was those years where we started to see the big picture of why it all mattered. And why it still matters. You started to see how all of the classes connected, and how the knowledge that we gained promoted wisdom, empathy, and gratitude, which our world so desperately needs. You participated in discussions where we were actually interested in bettering ourselves and making an impact on our school and the world.

“Learn With Your Eyes Open” If you keep your eyes open enough, oh the stuff you will learn!

The most wonderful stuff!

You’ll learn about…

Making useful outlines and integers and sines the periodic table and sketching your designs Reading Bibles And Bible Readings The Constitution You’ll learn about…

Hallway walking and doing laps That SRTs are not for naps In our two hallways no one needs a map Be ready for Mrs. Kurtz’s German rap You’ll learn that…

Relationships matter here Friends come and go But each shapes your character Each helps you grow If you keep your eyes open, the most wonderful stuff is what you will learn, then you can’t get enough!

You’ll learn about...

Beauty, Goodness, and also truth How to love one another as Christ has loved you How to ask, “What is true? Who am I? Who are you?

And that each question’s answer is a question times two You’ll learn that…learning and love here is not at all small As we seek the boundless riches of Him who gave all

In the fashion of Dr. Seuss, who suggested that learning must happen with your eyes open, I’ll leave you with a Seussinspired poem:

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covenant calendar DECEMBER

NOVEMBER

21-23

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COVENANT CELEBRATES

Covenant Celebrates 2018 will be held this year at the Biltwell Center. Our keynote speaker, former Colts kicker Hunter Smith, will highlight an evening that celebrates the wonderful things God is doing at Covenant and in our community.

DECEMBER

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Experience

COVENANT

FESTIVAL OF CAROLS AT THE PALLADIUM

Covenant Christian High School Chamber Chorus will collaborate with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir as the Spotlight Choir for Festival of Carols 2018.

For more information, visit indychoir.org/performances/ festival-of-carols.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

Share the wonder and miracle of Christmas with us at our Christmas concert. With traditional melodies that span the decades, it’s an experience which will be sure to delight and encourage you!

COVENANTCHRISTIAN.ORG/VISIT Flyer-Master-2018.indd 1

HAVE QUESTIONS? VISIT OUR SITE OR CALL OUR ADMISSIONS TEAM AT 317.390.0202

DECEMBER

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November 6 & 15

From infants to grandparents, everyone is invited to celebrate at Covenant Christmas! There are games, food, and so much more with something for everyone and plenty of holiday cheer!

We love staying connected with our alumni!

If you have a story you’d like to share with us, contact our Alumni Coordinator at tommyfeatheringill@covenantchristian.org.

Follow us on social media:

FLV

@cchsindy

SHADOW DATES

COVENANT CHRISTMAS

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10/9/2018 9:28:01 A

December 4 & 14 January 31 February 15 & 28 March 7 April 12 & 23 May 2

Shadow for a day.

Interested students are invited to shadow a Covenant student.

This is the best way to experience the Covenant culture firsthand and determine if it is a good fit for your student.

If your student wishes to shadow a particular current student, simply make a request.

We are also able to match your student with someone who has similar interests.

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Fine Arts Music Director Mr. Daniel Watson welcomes the audience.

The Art of Worship Honoring God with the talents He has given each student Scripture tells us that in the beginning, God created. Thus started

the greatest story the world has ever known. At Covenant Christian, students involved in the arts are given the opportunity to experience a small part of that story by creating something special, something considered a prayer or an act of worship.

processes like that.” Sparks also said that he integrates Scripture into the start of his class periods as a moment for students to potentially have inspiration for their creative process for the day. “I want more and more for the Holy Spirit to be a part of this place and a part of my classroom.”

Fine Arts Music Director Daniel Watson aims to help his students see that participating in music is communing with God in a very special way.

“God is our creator, he created us in his image, and as we are created in his image, we are also creators,” said Watson. “He has made us to be creators and to worship him in that way, in everything that we are doing, and by participating so directly in what he has done and is doing, it is like we can connect with God’s first act by creating and looking at it and saying, ‘Yes, it is good’.”

Watson works with students to connect with their singing in ways that only song can.

“What’s most satisfying is when there is this discovery of how the text and music marry together in a way that is truly holy. Whether [the song] is sacred or secular, certain imagery only occurs through music. Experiencing it in that moment, you’re not a part of time, time disappears, you’re wholly present in that moment. It’s a uniting of souls; we are spiritual beings in physical bodies and that is something that music really speaks to.”

In all of Covenant’s art classes and productions, teachers and students work together to make their final productions a resonating and holy “amen,” signifying the work as an act of worship for God, the Creator of all creators.

“With theater and with music and art, it is telling stories, so for me the most grand story is the story of God. We don’t perform Christian stories but every story we present has Truth in it and that truth is part of God’s grander story,” said Covenant Theatre director Krista Shields. Mrs. Shields said that one of the most important things she communicates to her students through the entire process, from tryouts to the final teardown, is that everyone on the team is taking on responsibilities that connect to God’s story. The lead in the play and the assistant make-up tech and everyone in between are glorifying God in their work of telling whatever story is the action on stage.

Mrs. Shields has taken an interesting approach in helping her students see the worshipful side of their productions. “[Before each performance] We spend 25 minutes worshipping God through hearing the word and worshipping through music. We read Psalm 90:17 after every prayer together. We end with that verse and we pray, but we don’t finish it with ‘Amen.’ Our performance is our ‘Amen’.” Shields helps students see that the amen, the “so be it”, is any part of the work, whether it is pushing sets, changing costumes, or singing and acting. It is all worship.

Art Director Mr. David Sparks with 2018 seniors during the Senior Art Show.

2018 Senior Isaac Huff said that being a part of the performing arts program at Covenant has helped him understand this concept at a deeper level.

Covenant Christian High School Fine Arts Presents

COVENANT THEATRE PRESENTS

Covenant Fine Arts Presents

mousetrap the

by:

“In drama, we work every day for months for three days of shows. We never say amen because we want our prayer to continue through our work. How we go out there to perform for God and not for ourselves and then when the show is over—that’s our amen because our work has been done to glorify God.”

Based on Sholem Aleichem stories with special permission of Arnold Perl

BOOK BY JOSEPH STEIN

MUSIC BY JERRY BROCK

LYRICS BY SHELDON HARNICK

Produced on the New York Stage by Harold Prince Original New York Stage Production Directed & Choreographed by JEROME ROBBINS

Art teacher David Sparks believes that his classes connect to spiritual practices, especially patience as it applies to taking the time to complete complex art projects.

“I focused on inviting God into that process through prayer,” said Sparks. “I invited the kids to take on all of their

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There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

RESERVED

SEATING ONLY

Friday, March 10 | 7pm Saturday, March 11 | 3pm at Chapel Rock Christian Church PrideAndPrejudice-Poster-PRINT.indd 1

12/22/16 3:18 PM

A few of our music & theatre productions

at Chapel Rock Auditorium

Galatians 3:28

ADELE • QUEEN • PENTATONIX • ED SHEERAN

$10

Thursday, September 21 | 7pm at Chapel Rock Christian Church

at the door or buy online at

covenantchristian.org/tickets

February 15-17, 2018 | 7pm

$5

Doors open at 6:15pm.

8/2/16 12:58 PM

$15 ADULTS $10 Pre K - College

(Children 2 and under are free.)

Advance ticket sales begin January 15 at covenantchristian.org/theatre-tickets (Tickets also available at the door.)

Reserved seating only.

at the door or buy online at

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com

covenantchristian.org/tickets TheMousetrap.indd 1

TICKET PRICES:

Fiddler-Poster-DRAFT.indd 1

1/9/18 7:25 AM

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2018 seniors during graduation commencement

Scholarship.

Leadership.

Service.

A life of scholarship, leadership, and service: this is Covenant’s mission. These three words provide the framework for how we teach our students, reach out to the community, and make Christ the center of everything that we do. All three are woven together to create the rich tapestry of faith, education, and relationship that makes up the Covenant community.

Covenant alumni are now over 1,400 in number, and we realize many are living out our mission in ways we may never know. With each issue of this magazine, it’s our desire to share some of the stories that have been shared with us.

SCHOLARSHIP “Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” Proverbs 9:9

Kala Ghooray Class of 2009

Kala Ghooray (‘09) is still in the midst of her pursuit of scholarship and can credit her Covenant education with some of the successes she has had at all levels of her post-Covenant education. A National Merit Scholar and valedictorian of her Covenant class, Ghooray went to Butler after high school, where she doublemajored in chemistry and Spanish and received a minor in religious studies. At Butler, she was awarded with numerous departmental awards for chemistry and Spanish, as well as being named a Top 10 Outstanding Butler Woman both her junior and senior years.

Beyond Butler, she won a Fulbright Scholarship that took her to Cadiz, Spain for a year to study organic chemistry. She attended medical school at the University of California, Irvine where she was involved in a program that specifically aimed to help with healthcare in underserved Latino communities. She tacked on a Master

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of Public Health degree last year and will finish medical school at UC Berkeley next May. Ghooray’s investment in medicine and Spanish both can be traced back to her experience at Covenant.

“Spanish was the biggest thing in terms of where I am now. My Spanish education helped with getting into med school in California. That class had the biggest impact on me.” Ghooray also said that the advanced science and math curriculum allowed her to test out of numerous classes in college. Additionally, her J-Term travels to Peru and Mexico translated to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the cultures she will soon serve as a doctor.

She also brought up that the thoughtfulness and processes of her Covenant classes affected her approach to all of her academics. “Mr. Trujillo’s [BTS] classes taught me a lot of things. They influenced me to study religion more in college, and his classes taught me to doubt things, to question everything, like power structures, hierarchies, which, especially in my field, will lead you to do things like good science and good medicine.”

LEADERSHIP “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3 Nick Tranbarger (‘99) was a recent graduate sitting with former principal Brian Hudson at a local CiCi’s pizza buffet, where he recalls, “I told him ‘I want to change the world.’” Tranbarger meant it to his core. He wanted change on a massive scale.

He still wants that change, but now, as Dean of Students at The Oaks Academy’s Fall Creek campus, it’s about leading individual students toward knowing Jesus and properly adapting to any situation in the world.

“[The Oaks Academy] has a well-defined mission that I subscribe to: to be Christcentered, which is my highest calling and is the greatest gift,” Tranbarger said. This philosophy of education—the way the school leads students—is one that reflects his experience at Covenant. He believes that his ability to lead young people in a Christ-centered way started with his education at Covenant.

Nick Tranbarger Class of 1999

As a freshman, through a series of unforeseen logistical events, he needed a new school to attend, and Jim Spencer, Covenant’s first principal, and a group of freshman came to visit his school. Tranbarger said that visit changed the course of his life. “I considered it a gift that fell into my lap. Covenant came into my life because people there are committed to making the name of Jesus great and investing in the lives of young people. I experienced that. That leadership and mentorship made me the leader I am today.”

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Now, as a leader in a local Christian school, he feels his ability to lead in a Christoriented way can be traced back to Covenant. “The philosophy of education of this school chiefly rests in viewing their personhood as being something given

by God. I deal with one child at a time. When I can look at them and my eyes and heart are right, this is my opportunity to change the world. That’s my Covenant education, that’s my life experience.”

Service “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10 Bethany (Owen) McEwan (‘03) and her family are currently serving as missionaries in Leon, Nicaragua. They are approaching 7 years of service to underprivileged children and young adults there. She believes that her Covenant experience was integral in her ability to serve in Nicaragua.

Bethany McEwan Class of 2003

“Covenant was hugely important for a solid grounding for me, to show how the Christian worldview affects every part of your life. [In Nicaragua], Christianity gets really compartmentalized into how much you go to church, which that then determines how good of a Christian you are. It is foreign to Nicaraguans that you can be just as good a Christian as a doctor than as a pastor. That foundation is something we try to pass on to our students in our ministries.”

McEwan said her experience as a Covenant student helped her internalize a healthy perception of hard work, something that again comes out of the Christian Worldview education. “I [recently] met with the girls in our neighborhood and all of them have atrocious report cards. We had a whole activity based around the factors in your life that can help you fulfill your dreams and goals. We talked about Colossians 3:23, that good work is working for the Lord and not for men. What if it is not your teacher you’re working for, but for God?” She said that conversation is an ever-present one, and she’s thankful for how Covenant gave her language and motivation to have that conversation in whatever context she finds on the mission field.

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‘17-’18 ATHLETICS HIGHLIGHTS

1&

STATE TEAM RUNNER-UP SEMI-STATE TEAM RUNNER-UP

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Indianapolis, IN PERMIT NO. 2093

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