DMCS Family Message Issue 10

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DMCS FAMILY MESSAGE
Issue # 10
April 18, 2000

"Consider the message and understand the vision." Daniel 9:23

The "Message" is published by the Administration and Board of Directors, Des Moines Christian School.
Enjoy it and pass it along to a friend. There is "More to Come."

NEW DMCS SUPERINTENDENT NAMED!

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Dr. Stouffer and wife Cheryl have two children: Hannah age 5 (who will be in Kindergarten), and Molly age 13 (who will be in 9th Grade).

Robert E. Stouffer, Ph.D. has been chosen as the new superintendent of Des Moines Christian School! This action has been taken by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors, following an extensive search by the Superintendent Search Committee.

The Superintendent search has been conducted over the past seven months by the search committee, made up of parents students, teachers, administrators, and board members. The search has been grounded upon seeking God's person to lead this ministry through the steps of continual prayer, publicizing the position, providing information, and exhaustive evaluations and interviews of applicants. The search resulted in contacts with over 40 potential candidates across the nation, as well as from several foreign countries. While this search was truly international in scope, God was preparing a local candidate, Dr. Stouffer, as His person to lead this ministry.

Dr. Stouffer and spouse, Cheryl, have lived in Urbandale for 8 years, and are members of Valley Evangelical Free Church in West Des Moines. Dr. Stouffer has been a College and Career class teacher, Adult Bible Fellowship teacher, and choir member as well as being active in Men’s Ministries and serving as part of the set up crew at Valley. He has been supported by an accountability team and couples group from his church that has been meeting regularly for six years. Quintin Stieff, Senior Pastor of the church and DMCS parent, notes, "He is a serious Christian in all areas of his life, a leader with great integrity, and a faithful man of God. He has a tremendous passion to do a good job at whatever he is involved with. He has a fervent passion for the things of the Lord." In addition to church involvement, Dr. Stouffer has been active in the men’s ministries of Promise Keepers, as well as the Des Moines-based Cross Trainers.

While a committed Christian, Dr. Stouffer says his faith continues to grow daily. "The roots of my personal relationship with Christ are deepening. My prayer life, devotional study, and search for the will of God are increasing daily. One of my favorite scenes of the Bible involved Thomas finally coming to an understanding of the truth of the promise of Christ when he cried out, ‘My Lord and my God’… Jesus is the Lord of my life, and He is the Creator who will finish a good work in and through me." To the question of "What is a Godly man?" Dr. Stouffer responds, "A servant leader, humble, loving, affirming, forgiving, a leader in the home, and everything I’d like to be but will never be completely until I see the Savior face to face." Dr. Stouffer describes himself as a "life-long" learner and "a voracious reader." In addition to studying the Bible, favorite authors he has recently read include Max Lucado, Church Swindoll, Steve Farrar, and Stu Weber.

Dr. Stouffer comes from a family of educators, being the third generation in his family serving in education. He graduated summa cum laude from Winona State University and was a graduate fellow at Northeast Missouri State University, receiving a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. He received a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Iowa in 1992. During his doctoral program, he was responsible for the Institute of School Executives. He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member of Drake University and teaches the class "Leading and Managing Schools" to current and future school administrators. His previous classroom teaching experience is at Mason City and Pleasant Valley. Dr. Stouffer has 11 years of administrative experience and has Iowa certification as a Superintendent. He has served most recently as secondary principal for 8 years at Urbandale High School, where he has been widely recognized in our community for his administrative leadership.

In developing goals for his leadership at Des Moines Christian, Dr. Stouffer lists glorifying God and seeking God’s will in all things as foremost on his list. Developing a vision and strategic plan for this ministry is a key goal. Dr. Stouffer states, "Vision is best created with people – not just handed down." He also emphasizes that the focus on ministry and his leadership must be on people and not buildings. Concerning his role in leadership of this ministry, Dr. Stouffer says, "I lead with people. I seek to empower others as much as possible. Even so, I am definitely able to make difficult decisions on the basis of my Christian faith. Jesus Christ leads me through the adversities of life." As to his role in the lives of principals, teachers, and staff, Dr. Stouffer says, "The superintendency of a Christian school is a ministry. I have a responsibility to lead and nurture the principals and teachers, and I also have a responsibility to be their 'accountability partner.’ In the same way, others need to hold me accountable for my growth and decisions as a Christian."

Dr. Stouffer is well qualified to lead the vision for new school facility development and construction projects. He provided oversight for the recent major construction project of refurbishing the Urbandale High School facility. He also previously did major research studies of facilities at Burlington as part of his graduate work. With the addition of Dr. Stouffer, DMCS now has an outstanding leadership team in place to develop and oversee the future Timberline Campus classroom construction project.

ALL PRAISE GOES TO OUR GOD who has brought Dr. Stouffer to this ministry at a time when school families are looking for future vision! WE CALL UPON ALL FAMILIES OF DMCS TO PRAISE GOD AND PRAY DAILY for the transition of Dr. Stouffer and his family to our ministry. And, please plan to meet Dr. Stouffer, Cheryl, Molly, and Hannah at an all-school reception for them that will be held in the near future, at a date to be announced.

BANQUET IS A CELEBRATION OF GOD'S BLESSING

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

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What an awesome God we have! We are in awe of God’s goodness, in awe of His provision, and in awe of the faithfulness of His people! Our 13^th annual banquet was held on Thursday, April 6, at the Timberline Campus in Urbandale. "Tradition with a Future" focused on God’s faithfulness to DMCS and was a wonderful evening of worship, fellowship and thanksgiving. Many of you have commented that it was good to be reminded of why we send our children to Des Moines Christian School and why we invest in their education and this ministry.

DMCS students in Jazz Band, Jr. High Choir, Victory and 6^th Grade Choir presented instrumental and vocal offerings of praise to the Lord and were an inspiration to all in attendance. You had to be there to appreciate the artistic self-portraits of our 3^rd – 6^th graders surrounding the banquet area. DMCS junior Katie Jones, alumnus Scott Koziol, parent Louis Sweet and 1^st grade teacher Lisa Witzman shared powerful testimonies of God’s work in our school. And, special thanks to our friends at KWKY – Maxine Sieleman, Tamara Scott and Dick Fowler – for broadcasting the banquet live to their listeners across Central Iowa!

Keynote speaker, Del Groen, a longtime Christian school administrator and formerly regional director of Association of Christian Schools International, now founder and director of Redeemer Ranch, reminded those in attendance to consider "Why we send our children to a Christian School and why Des Moines Christian." He spoke from Psalm 119:9-16 – "How can a young man keep his way pure…" He reminded us that many of the reasons we quote, such as high test scores, finding a good job, or avoiding the cultural impact of drugs, immorality or violence, are actually fringe benefits of a Christian School Education.

Primary reasons for Christian education include:

So that our youth may glorify God.
To be an extension of Christian teaching in the home.
To ground our children in the truth in order to prepare them for the challenges of our culture.
To shepherd our children by leading them to safe pasture and feeding them with God’s truth.
Because our children’s future is at stake – we dare not send them mixed messages.
There is a leadership vacuum – we need to train our children to be the Christian leaders of tomorrow.

Mr. Groen left the audience with five challenges on how to support Christian education:

Make Christian education of your children a top priority.
Build relationships with your school’s staff so you will be better able to support them.
Count the cost of Christian education compared to the cost of education that is not Christ-centered.
Become partners in Christ-centered education.
Stand by the board, administration, faculty and staff with your prayer support.

Thank you to all who participated in our 13^th annual banquet by praying, volunteering, performing, attending and/or making a financial contribution. It took many hands, many hours, and much prayer to make it a success. Gifts and pledges are still coming in, but as of April 14, we have been blessed with over $116,000. Some who could not attend the banquet have asked if they can still a gift. The answer is YES! The ongoing needs of DMCS are many. We are in awe of the generosity of God’s people! This, in addition to GAP fundraising, brings total dollars and pledges raised during the 1999-2000 school year to over $350,000. God truly has His hand on this ministry!