Power Plus Discipleship and Ministry Practicum
Part of Calvary Schools’ mission is to “Build Christian character and develop servant leaders.” This was the guiding principal in the construction of a substantial program called Power Plus. This effort is our discipleship/ministry practicum that occurs every Wednesday afternoon for every secondary child enrolled in our school. It has become the distinctive for our school program. Initiated 9 years ago, it now is a central part of the educational process, and serves as a defining element both in and outside of our school in our community.
The program occurs every Wednesday. Our secondary students attend three regular academic classes. Despite the perceived loss of the academic time, our students continue to test well and our program excels. After the last class they are dismissed to a chapel time, or our “large group discipleship” of roughly 45 minutes. This includes student-lead worship singing, and the areas best speakers.
Following this all students meet with an assigned small group for 45 minutes, this is called “Power Plus Time.” These groups (called Power Plus groups) are gender specific and remain consistent throughout the student’s career. The groups’ adult leaders are committed to the discipleship of the students’ and weekly work through discipleship exercises.
Next, each Power Plus group is assigned a ministry for 9 weeks. Nine teams are bussed from our campus to various community ministries, or service organizations to serve for 90 minutes. These ministries include: our local Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army, assisting a local public school program for the mentally handicapped, nursing homes, tutoring in a charter elementary school, hospice houses, child care for a mom’s bible study, creating and executing our own elementary chapel, and many more.
By the end of each year, each secondary student is discipled for 45 hours beyond chapel and bible class and will have at least 60 hours of hands-on ministry experience. So our seniors graduate with 315 hours of discipleship time with 420 hours of ministry experience.
Goals and Objectives. The vision of PowerPlus is to develop adults with strong character and a heart for servant leadership who are able minister in any environment and demonstrate true servant qualities. Supporting goals for students include:
· Developing a hunger and thirst for servant oriented activities.
· Developing loving relationships with individuals through experiencing the rewards of sacrificial service.
· Developing an ability to relate to individuals of varying age, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds.
· Developing an awareness of community needs coupled with personal experiences outside individual comfort zones.
· Experiencing activities promoting teamwork, encouragement, and personal growth.
Assessment. CSH assesses program performance in three areas: 1) immediate student impact; 2) community impact; and 3) long-term student impact.
1. Student Impact. At the conclusion of each semester, a Spiritual Diagnostic Survey is administered to every student. This survey is based on Galatians 5:22. Each student is evaluated by their facilitator and mentor alongside the fruits of the spirit to develop a snapshot indicator of the fruits demonstrated by the student. Students receive a pass or fail evaluation from the adult leader of the group.
2. Community Ministry Impact. Each partner agency is surveyed at the conclusion of the year to gain feedback on the performance of the students and their relative impact on the organization.
3. Long term Student Impact. We conduct a survey for alumni, at three and five years post graduation, to gauge long-term impact on career and community service habits of past students.
AWARDS: This program was awarded the ACSI Exemplary School Program Award.
Calvary Schools of Holland . 518