Over 310 Year 7-10 pupils from across New Zealand attended the Middle School Leadership Conference, held last Thursday and Friday at Hillview Christian School. The theme of the Leadership Conference was ‘Lead with Hope’, such a crucial and relevant topic for our young men and women. My gratitude to Matt Barlow (Head of Middle School) and Dean Stanton (Head of Senior School, Hillview), for the huge amount of work and time put into organizing the conference. It was a conference that will have a significant impact on our pupils.

Hope is such a pivotal truth in our Christian life, it is one of three foundational aspects of the Christian life that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 13:13 “Now these three remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Hope is such an important truth for our pupils to hold onto, especially in a world full of uncertainty and anxiety. This hope gives stability, a sure foothold and a confidence that allows those who hold it great comfort.

Biblical hope has NO DOUBT or UNCERTAINTY in it. It is not the same as the world’s “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” That hope has doubt, uncertainty. This type of false hope offered by the world is of no value for our pupils to hold on to as ultimately it is no hope at all.

The hope the Bible speaks of is 100% sure, without doubt, not even a hint of uncertainty. How can this be simply because the source of true hope is found in God. We read in Romans 13:15 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” That type of hope is ‘signed, sealed, delivered’.

Can I encourage you to chat with your children about true hope and where it is found when they are feeling anxious or uncertain. Discuss with them:

· true hope is found in the God of hope: because it is from God, we can be 100% confident in it. His promises to us can be trusted. When he says he will never forsake us, we do not need to be afraid or discouraged (Deuteronomy 31:8)

· this hope gives us joy and peace – exactly what our children seek in an uncertain world

· we must place our trust in God – he is the source of true hope

· we don’t just get a small dose of hope – we get so much it overflows from us, such that people will see us full of hope and wonder why we have such joy and peace! They may even ask us why and how we have this hope in todays world! (1 Peter 3:15)

· we don’t generate this hope by ourselves. God does not leave us to our own strength, no, the Holy Spirit is the means by which we feel and receive this hope

Parents, your children will at times have a sense of hopelessness and be anxious about school, work, friendships, life choices. This is natural, but we have an answer, a trustworthy answer that they can find hope in. As a loving parent you want your children to have joy and peace, my prayer is that you direct them to Romans 15:13 to trust in the God of hope.

God bless

Richard Vanderpyl

PRINCIPAL