Our school recently introduced our new mission statement:
“Our Mission is to inspire students and families to know, love and follow Christ through an aspirational education, founded on biblical principles and nurtured by a passionate and dedicated college community.”
Yes, it’s a lot of words and a few big ideas. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue but the underlying vision is what counts. Here is a personal reflection from College Chaplain, Matt Pampeyan, of what these words mean for us as we live them out day-to-day as a school community.
Because our students and their families give our work daily purpose, our mission aims three specific actions at one ultimate object: Jesus Christ.
As a staff at a Christian school, we aim to know, love, and follow Jesus ourselves so that we can inspire that same response in others. Having a right relationship with Jesus is the entire point.
Sometimes, life feeds us useless information. (My social media algorithms recently handed me a list of “useless quotes”: “No one can use you if you are useless,” “With great power comes electricity bills,” and “Water is wet, provided it hasn’t turned into a solid block of ice.”)
Knowing, loving, and following Jesus is the exact opposite of useless—it is the ultimate anchor.
Scripture repeatedly boils the essence of faith down to loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. I once worked with a pastor who shifted his preaching focus every two months across these areas: Heart (Love), Soul (Devotion), Mind (Knowing Scripture/Theology), and Strength (Following/Acting out the mission). While “Heart” and “Soul” often overlap, breaking it down into Know, Love, and Follow covers the entire spectrum of a living faith.
Crucially, an authentic relationship requires all three:
KNOW (The Mind): This is our understanding of God through Scripture and experience. As theologian J.I. Packer wrote in Knowing God: “Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord.” 1 John 2:3–4 reminds us that knowing Him naturally leads to keeping His commands. Knowledge is the foundation, but facts alone are incomplete.
LOVE (The Heart): When we truly know someone, love naturally follows. A.W. Tozer noted: “To love Him is to love truth, beauty, goodness, and every right thing.” Jesus stated in Matthew 10:37 that love for Him must hold primary place over all other worldly attachments. When our love for God is primary, our love for everyone else actually improves.
FOLLOW (The Action): True love demands movement. Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote: “Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes… love for Him is the only force that makes the burden light.” When Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?”, His immediate instruction each time was: “Feed my sheep.” Love propels us into His mission.
In our classrooms we have to evaluate our approach continuously. Are our devotionals and lessons all head-facts? Are they all emotional feelings? Or are they strictly rules and action? Balancing knowledge of Him, love for Him, and active following of Him creates a healthy, reproducible pattern.
UP NEXT: An ASPIRATIONAL Education: Refusing to Settle