Jessica De Wit is the Director of Instruction and Learning at Sioux Falls Christian School, where her deep hope is to spark curiosity in thinking, inspire creativity in instruction, and promote a joyful community of learning. The most compelling part of TfT for Jessica is that it invites learners into God’s story, not “someday, when you graduate,” but as active participants, right NOW, no matter the grade level or subject area.  

One aspect of TfT that has been fun for her to see blossom at her school is the  invitation for everyone–students, teachers, administrators, and even non-teaching staff alike–to be active participants in creating Deep Hopes and recognizing their roles in God’s story.

Jessica shares this storyline from Sioux Falls Christian’s Middle School Principal, Jake Pettengill.  Last year, his deep hope inspired him to create weekly Inside Out (I.O.) groups, SFC Middle School’s unique take on CREW.

My Deep Hope is for us, as God’s ambassadors, to reflect His Kingdom from the inside out, and eagerly choose to share His love wherever we go!

Each I.O. group is made up of 10-15 students and is led by a teacher. One goal of these groups is that every student has a relationship with a trusted adult and is seen, heard, and encouraged in their faith development weekly. Groups meet once a week and have different words they learn about each month–words inspired by what it means to be Kingdom Ambassadors. Qualities like perseverance, kindness, confidence, encouragement, honesty, and respect are just a few examples of some of the principles the groups have focused on. Each month includes a FLEx service activity related to the theme word. Inside Out groups have been a fun way for Jake to see his Deep Hope come to life and invite everyone on the middle school to see and live their parts in God’s story.

Quarterly newsletter: sent to parents and students.