Welcome – A Word from Our Head of School
Read Weekly Words from Mr. McClain on Biblical worldview, Christian education, and more.
Welcome to Friendship Christian School! As you become familiar with our Falcon Family, I want to introduce you to the three pillars that serve as the foundation of our education philosophy:
to learn about Christ
to love like Christ
to serve like Christ
… all for Christ!
Even in today’s culture and art, we can see common themes that point us to the need for this foundation as believers.
A Quiet Place: Day One is now in theaters. If you have not seen the now trilogy of movies, they center around aliens that come to earth and hunt by sound (echo location essentially) thereby requiring the survivors to live in almost complete silence.
While I am not recommending you watch the films (they are pretty intense) there is much that can be drawn from the storyline, and one of the key elements is our human need for connection.
Good stories use the crisis and survival scenarios to highlight this raw truth – we were not made to be alone.
Isolated survival is simply existence not life. Throughout all three films, there is a gripping example of someone making a great sacrifice for someone else.
In the most recent film, Day One, a man finds himself in the middle of an extremely harrowing situation (no spoilers here) all to retrieve a cat. Why? Because the other person he has become linked to cares deeply about the cat. It’s that simple. Human connections require sacrifice.
While there is some life here at the school, the hallways are mostly empty and the classrooms sit silent. A school is a strange place with no students. Just like a life lived alone without the complications of relationships.
This school year, the hallways will fill with almost 300 students and staff. Life will ensue, and conflicts will arise, but these buildings will once again be filled with purpose.
As God’s creation, we are meant to be among not alone.
Jesus’ life illustrates this. Continually surrounded and among His creation, He taught his disciples (and us) that life is meant to be lived among. Yes, there will be difficulty, betrayal, hurt, and disappointment, but the Father’s will is for us to wade into it and bring truth, love, peace, and restoration by living life His way according to His word.
Peter’s focus was an isolated one: “I won’t leave you like others,”“ I don’t want … to happen,” “I will…” etc. However, denying Jesus, he realized the frailty of his self. After the resurrection, eating with Jesus on the shore, Jesus asked him three times “Do you love me?” After Peter insisted “Yes, Lord” each time, Jesus followed with a phrase that instructed Peter to live outside of himself and among to “Feed my sheep.”
Following this command required seeing the need and then sacrificing self to meet the need. As we now know, Peter finally got the point and became one of the most dedicated disciples in history.
One of our key pillars at FCS is To Serve. We desire our students learn to live a life in Christ among this world and its darkness. Not becoming like the world, but standing out as a stark example of a different way to live.
We are praying for each of you as we head toward a new school year and look forward to being among each other again. We are excited for 2024-2025!
Together, we look forward to growing academically, spiritually, and socially to train our students to impact this world for Christ.
Serving Christ,
David McClain, M Ed
Psalm 108:1
About Mr. David McClain
“I was raised in a Christian home but did not accept Christ as my personal Savior until I was nine. While traveling to a friend’s house in a snowstorm, we ran off the road and were stranded for some hours. This is when the concepts of death and an eternity in hell for my sins became real for me. Later that day, my mom sat down with me as I confessed my sinful state and called on Christ to be my Savior.”
Soon after his birth, David’s parents went to Iran to serve as missionaries. After the revolution forced them to leave the country, God led his dad to start New Testament Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. David grew up serving in the ministry with his family. While he wasn’t aware of it, God was working in his heart to prepare him for the ministry.
Initially, David pursued a missions degree. At the beginning of his sophomore year, God began to clearly reveal the calling to be a teacher. He graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and went on to earn an M.S. in Educational Administration.
After meeting each other in their freshman year at college, Kathryn and David were married and have been serving the Lord together since 1998. God has blessed them with three wonderful children: Jeremiah, Andrew, and Sara.
David serves as the Head of School at FCS. God has given him a passion to see young people find their only source of joy in a personal relationship with Christ and then to find a solid footing for life in the doctrines of God’s Word.
David is a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan, and he also enjoys reading, hiking, camping, and spending time with family.