Sydney McKendry

I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home with loving and dedicated parents. I had the privilege to attend a private Christian school preschool through eighth grade.  During those years, I attended a church I loved and was very much involved in its youth group and choir.  I enjoyed learning about God and finding my own relationship with Him.  It is through Him I find my strength and comfort.  I went to a public high school and soon became aware of how different a school environment can be when Jesus Christ is not at the forefront.  It is amazing that God has led me to teach children at such an incredible place as NorthPointe Christian Elementary!

The Love Mandate is to “Love the Lord your God… Love your neighbor as yourself.”  It is a blessing that I can be one of the first people in these young children’s lives to introduce them to Jesus Christ!  We learn what love is from a Biblical point of view and that love does not incorporate stuff or skills we have, but rather how we treat others.  We learn the importance of giving to others instead of wanting only to receive.  We will learn how to make new friends and show kindness to everyone.

The Mission Mandate is “Go and make disciples…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  We have an incredible responsibility to be disciples and spread God’s word, even starting at a young age.  The excitement four-year-olds have about the world around them is contagious. When they hear new Bible stories, they are eager to learn that God is at the center of it all.  We will use our Bible story time to equip the children with the knowledge they can use to share the love of Jesus Christ with their friends, family, neighbors, and anyone they meet.

The third Mandate is the Image Mandate: “Let us make man in our image…Be fruitful…fill the earth…subdue it…rule over every living creature….” God is so powerful, yet He overfills each of us with love. We will learn that God created each of us, the way He intended us to be.  We will learn that God loves us even when we make mistakes. Finally, we will learn that and if we lean on Him, trust in Him, and ask for forgiveness, we will have a life everlasting with our Father in Heaven.