Future Plans (2008)

Barner Learning Center Philosophy of Education

A struggling little church receives a teacher trained here at BLC (Barner Christian Academy), and is accredited by the government. Then we will send these teachers to the rural mountainous areas to begin schools alongside of the churches. The two will be run separately, with the board of the school here in Laverna Hills. That way the church is not overburdened with administrative headaches (there a lot of them!).

We will be the mother school, and work closely with the local Bible College on hiring fresh graduates so they can pay off their school bills ASAP. That is it in a nutshell. The Philippine church is great at planting churches, but many are struggling, and need the oomph behind them that this new church plant in Laverna Hills has received since we opened the school.

This prototype will eventually be extended to other countries that could benefit by this approach. After the first five years of the school's existence, first grade is added, followed by one more grade each year right up through high school and vocational college for the parents and children. 

Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "Give a child a fish and he eats for a day, but teach a child to fish and he eats for a lifetime." The same idea applies here. Instead of giving charity to the poor, we are planning to train them in vocations like printing, baking, sewing, and computers. Then their services will be offered through a placement program within the churches, and the squatters can move out of the squatter villages to real homes, which they can rent with their newfound income.

The actual proposal is in notebook form, about 20 pages long. we prepared it in 1997 when God first gave us the vision to plant this church in Laverna Hills, Davao.

Keep praying!

-Paul

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Last edited September 02, 2002
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