This Blog is sponsored by Frameworks: A Biblical Worldview Initiative. Frameworks courses are online Bible classes that public school students can take for elective credit on their high school transcript! Learn more at http://frameworks.ncsaz.org.

There’s nothing more fun than asking children what they want to be when they grow up. The answers are endless – “A ballerina! An astronaut! A mom! An elephant!” A child’s imagination knows no bounds, and it’s exciting to imagine the three-year-old obsessed with planes may become a pilot someday.  

As that three-year-old gets older, the questions get more serious. “What are you going to study in college? What are you good at?” You’ll always meet students who can provide you a confident and detailed response. But for many students, it’s intimidating to think about what their purpose in life should be. 

Service-Focused

I’ve been at NCS for sixteen years, and I love that Northwest Christian is a vocation-oriented school. From preschool, students are involved in yearly service projects appropriate for their age, ranging from food banks to pregnancy centers. By the time students start middle school, they begin the “Pursuing His Purpose” plan. It’s a seven-year plan that helps students discover God’s plan for their life. Once they start high school, they have over thirty different mission trip projects to choose from. 

At NCS, we don’t see community service as something that pads a college application. We believe Christians are made to serve and that students should seriously consider either going into service-focus careers or think about how their career can serve others. That’s the same heartbeat behind Frameworks.

Looking Outward

Frameworks classes are vocationally oriented, but their heart posture is service. The classes don’t just ask, “What are you good at?” They ask, “Why are you here? What’s your purpose? How can you make the world better?” And they teach that all of these questions can be answered through a biblical worldview. 

In any other educational setting, students are told to take certain classes, go to specific colleges, enter lucrative careers, make a lot of money, and live happily ever after (hopefully). But every student is searching for something deeper. They’re asking big questions about the world and what their place in it is. The key is for these students to look outward and improve the world instead of looking within. We want the Frameworks classes to help navigate that. 

Changing the World

Frameworks classes cover a wide variety of topics that Christian students are interested in, from apologetics to worship. They can also help student consider a vocational career in fields around that subject. Regardless of the career they decide to enter, Frameworks teaches that there’s aways room for giving back no matter how you’re gifted. Whatever strength and skills you hold can be aligned with service and mission. 

When we shift the language from centering around the fulfillment of the student (“What career would make you the happiest?”) to making the world a better place, we’re helping put a Christian student’s biblical worldview to practice. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. As His ambassadors, that means we’re created to serve. Ultimately, that is every Christian’s purpose. We hope Frameworks can help students discover that. 

Samantha Maszton is the Assistant Superintendent and Middle School Principal for Northwest Christian School located in Phoenix, AZ. Northwest Christian School is one of the largest private Christian schools in the state of Arizona and the only ACSI Exemplary Accredited school in the state.