The church itself was in decline and aging, but the school program was vital and promising. With the panic of pandemic, how would church leaders respond? The response was a relief:<\/p>\n
- \n
- The church wanted to keep the staff on the payroll through the shutdown.<\/li>\n
- They understood completely when the then-director resigned to stay home to protect her newborn from an unknown virus.<\/li>\n
- They enthusiastically embraced new leadership from Ember Mandell, who had served previously as interim director and agreed to come back and run the school.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Crisis contained, if not averted. The church could weather the shutdown through June 1, when reopening was allowed, and tuition would flow in again.<\/p>\n
But when school reopened, enrollment had dropped from 140 children to just 30. Many parents opted to wait out the pandemic to learn more about the threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to lose staff \u2014 let go people who had been there so many years,\u201d Sharon said, recalling that her own 16-year-old grandson had attended the school as a toddler. \u201cBut the tuition wouldn\u2019t be coming in\u2026 Without the school tuition income over several months, well it was beginning to threaten the longevity of school itself.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Meanwhile, new director Ember saw the crisis as an opportunity for the school to pivot and emerge from the pandemic stronger and better. Her vision: to carve out a niche in the neighborhood among the other preschools located just north of the Astrodome, near Rice University by shifting to a Christian Montessori program.<\/p>\n
On the one hand, it was ingenious: When better to retrain staff than during a very slow season? But on the other hand, how to pay for it?<\/p>\n
Sharon said what transpired next was no accident.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this case, I think things happened for a reason,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Craig Walls<\/a>, Building and Capital Services Advisor, had been in town shortly before the pandemic to help a congregation that was meeting in the FCC facility. The pastor of that congregation suggested FCC reach out to Disciples Church Extension Fund<\/a> (DCEF) for funding<\/a> ideas.<\/p>\n
Sharon admits to being skeptical at first.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving bought homes and cars and helped finance school buildings as a school administrator, I know it\u2019s not always a positive process.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But working with DCEF was different.<\/p>\n
\u201cCraig came up with several options that he thought might work,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThere were Zoom calls for hours with the board and church leaders, working through questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen his initial suggestion didn\u2019t pan out, he went back and put together a program tailor-made for our church and our group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he spent time helping us work through our questions in the congregational meeting \u2026 so everyone in congregation knew what was happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd everything that happened just like he said it would. Paperwork \u2013 all of it \u2013 and no hitches.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/First-Houston-3.jpg\")
DCEF helped the congregation return to focusing on the mission: First Christian School.<\/p>\n\u201cAs our congregation got older and declined, the school kept thriving as a vital part of the church community.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Today that relationship is deepening. The congregation has invested in the future of the school, not just to weather a crisis, but to emerge on the other side a viable mission project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Elders have pivoted towards looking at the school as a point of ministry, reaching out to the families of the children who are there to be a point of ministry to these folks,\u201d as much as possible and still observe CDC guidelines, she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Associate Pastor Nathan Tenney now provides Christian instruction, alongside the robust academic program.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmber knows when it reaches a certain level, then it\u2019s time to add a new classroom and a new Montessori teacher. It\u2019s very exciting.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh, and did she mention that Senior Pastor Dr. Michael Dunn, resigned in February 2021 for another position? So, the church plans to call an interim, and see what other changes might be afoot in Houston.<\/p>\n
With a partner like DCEF, not much scares them anymore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When a retired school administrator went from serving as financial officer at her church to chair of the board, the \u201cfit\u201d was obvious. The church\u2019s biggest mission: a preschool teeming with children. Relatively new to Disciples of Christ, Sharon inherited her post on Mar. 1, 2020. But when First Christian Church of Houston ceased in-person […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[33,49,88,89,25],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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