By Larry Stover

I was picking up my granddaughter, Rebekah, from school the other day, when I noticedt the sign in front of Valley Grande Elementary School had a mission statement on it.  It read, “Quality does not just happen, it requires intention, effort and skill.”

This statement is not just a dynamic declaration for Valley Grande Elementary, it would apply to almost any organization that is in some way involved with people or production.

With a specific focus on Valley Grande Elementary, I see this statement as a description of the goal of every teacher as well as the administrative team.  It is hard work to produce quality in the lives of such a diverse group of students that come from a wide range of backgrounds.

This goes beyond achieving their “Annual Yearly Progress” status.  Much of that involves test scores that only give one side of the overall progress of a child.   This mission statement includes character building, personality development, and the overall spirit of a student.

As the statement reads, it “does not just happen.”  It’s the same way in ministry as with teaching school.  Churches just don’t grow by themselves.  People’s lives aren’t just changed.  Congregations don’t just happen to impact their community.  Pastors choose whether or not they want to give leadership to their city.

Successful spiritual churches spend a lot of time as a corporate body praying for direction from the Holy Spirit.  As they are led, they begin to sense the direction that God wants them to go in their community and surroundings.  Churches that are effectively impacting their community are the ones with a mission statement that includes making a difference in the lives of individuals, not only in their church, but in the surrounding neighborhoods as well.

Whatever your position or occupation in life, you decide what kind of impact you will have on your family and community.  To be the most successful will require you to move forward with “intention, effort, and skill.”

I applaud Valley Grande Elementary School for such a great mission statement.

We are very blessed to have such a great school in our community.  A school is no better than its teachers and staff.  We have one of the best.  It is exciting to see this statement become a reality in the students’ lives.

It’s another reason why Valley Grande is “Simply Beautiful.”