Summer Mission Success with SLAM

This summer, junior high and high school students from the Academy participated in a mission week with Students Living a Mission. The theme, REK’NIZE, drawn from Colossians 3:1-3, informed the sermons by speakers for the week’s Derek Bargatze and Gregg Garner. Students were challenged to consider their identity in Christ (who they are) and how God is asking them to seek things from above (where they’re at).

Each day began with worship and prayer before heading out to service projects all around the Nashville area. In the evenings, students shared meals together and participated in an evening session before heading to focus groups. These moments of reflection and connection helped them process the day’s mission work, fostering a deeper understanding of their faith.

The students dedicated their time to serving local nonprofits and ministries across Nashville including Project CURE, The Bridge, kids’ day camps, and visiting homes of the elderly. They worked without complaint, showcasing a spirit of service by sorting donations, organizing food drives, and assisting with community outreach programs. The following testimonies were shared by some of our team leaders and chaperones:

A Memorable Service Project for Our 7th Graders!

BY KK NADEAU

Our 7th graders took part in a truly special service project at the Madison Church of Christ Garden, a wonderful place dedicated to serving the homeless and elderly daily. Last year, this garden produced over 2,000 lbs of food to help those in need. 🌿🥕

On this cool morning under a sycamore tree, we were greeted by Nature Nate, who eagerly shared his inspiring story of faith and resilience. As we picked onions and potatoes, the students were enthusiastic about the mystery of how many potatoes they’d find under each plant. Nate taught us all about hydroponic gardening using fish poop (which the boys found especially fascinating), rainwater, and limestone. His resourcefulness and heart for teaching shone through every moment. 🌱💧

Nate's story of Obedience, Endurance, and Humility in the Lord deeply touched us all. He shared his testimony which continually pointed to the Lord. We took time to lay hands on him and pray over him, as he is having knee replacement surgery soon. He expressed his gratitude to all the students for helping him do things that were painful for him. Service projects are at the core of our program, but it’s rare to meet someone who gives so much of themselves like Nate does. 🌟

One of the highlights of the day was when we worked together to plant 500 lbs of pumpkins! Each student played a crucial role in digging, measuring, and planting, and with 18 of us, we completed the task in just 45 minutes—a job that would normally take Nate seven hours! Nate’s praise for our teamwork and unity was a true honor, and he even told us the college students who help every summer could learn these lessons from us. 🎃👏

Special thanks to Fawn and Jason Teska, Quinn’s parents, who volunteered alongside us and heard similar compliments from others in the garden. We’ve been invited back in the Fall to help harvest all those pumpkins, and we can’t wait!

A Special Moment with Mr. Odero

BY AMANDA DAVIS

What a full day of service for our crew as we served at Dandridge Towers Apartments. We cleaned 10 apartments and visited with the residents. The people we served were elderly and cleaning for them was such a blessing as we heard them say over and over how helpful we were.

One apartment that touched my heart was that of Lukio Odero a former geograpy teacher from Kenya. He is 80 years old and has been here in the states for 2 years. He suffers from severe back pain at times. He LOVES the Lord and it blasted worship music as we cleaned. Through out he would say Mrs. Amanda “I can’t tell you how much you all are blessing me.” He loved talking with Levi and answering all of his questions.

We sang two songs, “Ni Wewe tu and Yesu Ni Wangu” that the kids have learned at school and Mr. Odero said he felt so at home after we sang with him. He continued to testify and prayed over our students. God’s spirit was with us.

Below I will post a clip of Mr. Odero testifying when he mentions about being new to this land I couldn’t help but think of this verse from Leviticus! Our kids lived out these God’s word today we are so proud of them. They were the hands and feet of Jesus.

33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Life Changing Generosity - Thank You, Donors!

The Academy for G.O.D. invites you to participate in the The Legacy Scholarship Program (LSP). The LSP was created to provide national and international students with an affordable education model - one that many experts have described as “the future of education.” The LSP acknowledges student athletes, academic exemplars, as well as families with financial hardship.

The Arts Scholarship is one avenue students can receive financial support, by demonstrating noteworthy skill in the performing arts. Students are able to showcase their skills through opportunities like weely chapels, school assemblies and events.

Last year The Academy for G.O.D. gave over $170K in needs-based scholarships to students around the world. As the pandemic caused schools to close, we were able to offer dozens of students the option of online education. In the midst of a struggling economy, we also also provided scholarships to 110 students from families in need to remain in school here on our Nashville campus. These scholarships were offered thanks to the generosity of many like you, who donated to support K-12 education in our annual Giving Campaign. We THANK you. Families were impacted and blessed in truly life changing ways.

Lawrence Ssemakula , a father and educator in Uganda took the lead in organizing the dozen students in Uganda who enrolled in the Academy Remote Learning Program when local schools closed down due to Covid-19.  His children are still taking a full load of classes online with us, as Ugandan schools have yet to re-open.

“For us it was an answered prayer to our situation in Uganda where schools have been closed for nearly two years. God heard our cry, he intervened when we had no idea of what to do next and responded to our prayer. Our children are getting the best education we'd never thought of.

Secondly, the students have an opportunity to take classes which they can manage unlike in their former schools which had a broad curriculum with many subjects. The content is very adequate and mostly practical which has made them enjoy the learning, it meets their learning abilities.”

As Ssemakula noted, it has been nearly 2 years since the youth of Uganda have been out of school, and now are facing a slew of challenges related to learning gaps and a sharp rise in teenage pregnancy (1). Thankfully, his children and others who received scholarships to the Academy have had continued access to engaging and biblically based education. 

Here in Nashville many families also faced financial hardships, and were able to apply for scholarships. Because of the generosity of our donors, students were able to attend classes, participate in our Phoenix sports program, take part in talent shows and STEM Fairs, and receive 2 nutritious meals a day on campus. What a gift! 

Thank you for your consideration and continued support. We are committed to providing the best education possible to students that would otherwise not have the opportunity. Our prayer is that the Lord provides the means, both spiritually and monetarily, to continue His great work through donors like you!

Left: Educator Lawrence Ssemakula says “We appreciate the (Academy) teachers’ way of teaching. It's not easy to get students engaged in learning virtually. Our children enjoy learning due to the teachers' carefulness demonstrated through meeting the students' individual needs and even following up on individual students to ensure they are enjoying their studies.”

Right: “My family chose to use the Academy online program during a season of life that had many unexpected challenges.” says Deb Nava, of her 1st and 3rd grade students. “The flexibility of the program allowed us to quickly work through some material or spend extra time on the classes my kids loved. Our weekly check-ins with a teacher were helpful to keep them on track or ask questions about certain assignments. I felt really good about the progress they made while at home, and I knew they would confidently be on par with peers in the classroom. It’s an excellent program and I’m so thankful we had a positive experience during a hard season.”

(1) COVID-19: Education replaced by shuttered schools, violence, teenage pregnancy https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/07/1096502