A Look into the Students of ICS

Because of some time spent in prayer with other teachers over our students, I wanted to share with you a little more about the types of students I teach at ICS and how you can be praying for them.


In total, there are 29 students in the high school. Of those 29, we have at the most 5 professing believers. So the overwhelming atmosphere at the school, from the students, is non-Christian. Many of our students are involved with drinking and smoking and have no qualms about letting us know that as teachers. They hear the gospel from us daily but at this point, their eyes are blinded to the truth and their lives show evidence of a focus on self.


However, we have so many students who are hurting. Our international students have parents who are often gone on business and they are left to be raised by the nanny or older brothers or sisters. They are third-culture kids, living in a country that for many doesn’t feel like home. They’re a mix of cultures and unsure of their actual identity. These kids are filled with doubt and insecurities and while on the outside they put on a good face, on the inside there is a lot of pain. 


As teachers, we definitely feel a burden not only to set a godly example for our students, but in a small sense, be their role model/parent. For some of them, our school represents the only Christian influence in their life. Please be in prayer for us as teachers that we could be aware of this and let the light of Christ shine through us, not through our own feeble abilities, but through the power of Christ and for His glory.


It is our desire to see those students who are hurting recognize that there is a faithful, all-loving God who desires a relationship with them. And that relationship is far more fulfilling than anything the world has to offer. I spoke in chapel several weeks ago on the wise man who built his house on rock versus the foolish man who built his house on the sand. I pray that this idea challenged the students and that they come to see Christ as a solid foundation and the wisdom of the world as temporary satisfaction. 


There is a sense of urgency in this, as my co-worker prayed this morning. We’re talking about eternal matters and it is a question of life or death. I go to work each day with a burden for these students, desiring to see them come to know Christ and experience the joy that comes in a life lived for Him. And it’s frustrating day after day to instead see a school full of students who would rather live for the temporary and knowingly reject the gospel. However, I rest in the fact that God is at work, no matter what I see. And He is the one who changes hearts. It is my purpose to be faithful to this calling. 


I also don’t want to forget that there are those 5 or so students who do desire to please the Lord with their lives. And they struggle knowing how to be leaders and feeling ridiculed for their faith. They need encouragement and guidance as they mature in their faith. 


So when you think of it, please be praying for these students. I love them so much and I want to see them set free from the unfulfilling lives they are currently living. I also want to see our Christian students have influence in the school and live out their faith passionately and unashamedly. While it’s hard at times, it is a privilege to serve them each day and have the opportunity to be a part of their lives.