Anchors of Hope for Christian Education

We are so thankful for the opportunity we had to gather with 150 participants representing 30 countries and 80 Christian schools and organizations in Budapest in March of 2024! It was a blessed time of learning, worship, prayer, fellowship and planning for our continued work in Christ-centered education. These pictures provide a snapshot of the 6th event of this type sponsored by ACSI Europe...

Here is some feedback from participants:

• [I was blessed by] meeting such incredible people and being inspired by their stories. I loved the diversity of those who attended.
• We need desperately HOPE in the current times. Hope comes from our anchor and savior Jesus. And we as teachers and leaders in schools get to work as hope realtors.
• The IELC 2024 was a blessed and overwhelming event full of knowledge, blessings, righteousness, and love of God. for me it was a necessary event to grow up spiritually and professionally.
• [I appreciated] the atmosphere of prayer and the deep wish of all to put Christ at the center of education.
• It was a blessing to share our faith with each other and to give God the glory for everything we do in our schools. The time of praise and worship was very special to me! I really felt uplifted and fulfilled.
• For me it was a real blessing as a hungry person on an abundant spiritual table.

• The contents of the IELC 2024 emulate the up-to-date needs of every school regardless of the participants' countries or social backgrounds. The topics were chosen adequately and comply with the mounting challenges encountering our Christian schools in Europe and elsewhere.

We are so grateful for the excellent speakers which included Laurens van der Tang (CEO, speaker and opinion maker from The Netherlands), Steve Beegoo (Head of Education for Christian Concern in the UK) and Laci Demeter (ACSI Europe Region Director, Hungary). The main session titles were as follows:

• Anchors of Hope for Christian Education in the Midst of Storms (Laci)
• Gender Ideology and the Christian School’s Response (Laurens)
• AI – Opportunities and Challenges for the Christian School (Laurens)
• Inspiring Hope as Christian School Leaders (Steve)

In addition, there were several discussion groups and breakout workshop sessions led by professional educators and experts on various topics related to the theme. Devotionals were led each morning on the theme of hope by Mike Epp (ACSI Senior VP Global) and Jerry Nelson (ACSI Chief Ministry Officer).

Another blessing of the event was the opportunity to connect with and hear from school leaders outside of Europe and what God is doing in their communities. Neil Malherbe, National Director for ACSI South Africa, particularly connected well with many at IELC and shared a report of his trip recently from his perspective here.

The storms of culture, politics, economies and ideas require us to be anchored to what is unmovable. We discussed elements of Christian Education that should be strengthened in order to anchor Christian schools and students in God's Word and His Truth. IELC 2024 provided opportunities to investigate and discuss these anchors of hope together, praying for God's grace and looking to Him for guidance.

Before the event, Paul Madsen was interviewed by CNE News. Paul admitted that hope is not to be found in Christian education itself. “Christ is our hope. Where the Bible speaks about hope, for instance, in Hebrews 10, it speaks about Christ, not about something else. But a Christian school can be an instrument for pointing to that.” Read the full article written by Evert van Vlastuin at CNE.news

The next event will be in March of 2025 as we transition to a yearly event for the benefit of Christian schools across Europe. We recognize the growing need for community, training, collaboration and support in this important ministry for God's glory here in Europe and globally.