Classrooms That Transform Communities
Our Bible-centered classrooms focus on transforming students and their families.
Founded in 2012, Access International School has helped transform communities in Aley, Lebanon, and beyond. The motto of the school is a BEAUTIFUL EDUCATION. How can education be beautiful? It can be beautiful when it produces love from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. This is well beyond stuffing heads with knowledge; it requires transformed classrooms, working both in the teacher and in the students. Ultimately, this transformation is reaching the parents and families as well.
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The Bible reveals God, who is the Creator of the universe and all that is in it. He is also the giver of life, and there is no life apart from Him. When students study the revelation of God, they can understand themselves, the world around them, and their place in it. This enables them to reach their full potential by being transformed into the people God intends them to be. It is not our desire to change anyone's religion. We respect all religions and so encourage people to stay in their own religious group. Here are some things for you to consider regarding the Bible: The Bible relates all knowledge to God, the origin of all things. This fact alone provides a context in which to place new information that we learn.
The Bible provides a way for us to love God, ourselves, and others. It becomes the foundation on which our classroom instruction and interaction are built. The Bible shows us that God loves us, and we need love, all of us. His love fills the emptiness in our hearts, and we want our students to be filled with it. The Bible shows us the meaning of life and prepares us for eternity. It helps us set our life-goals so that we take into consideration all seasons of life and even prepare us for death. The Bible transforms our hearts and minds and defends us against sin and immorality, weapons that destroy many lives. Pornography and drug abuse are ravaging our youth, and we need to teach them how to deal with these deadly habits. The Bible does that as it equips us for a life of godliness.
A Story That Will Impact Your Life Personally And DirectlyAlthough the Church denounces the world’s depravity, it has been having a love affair with it in secret. The Church and the world have used each other to negotiate the tides of change in economics and politics. This unholy union has stained the Church’s testimony enough to cause many to question the validity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In America, this scandalous affair has become the focal point in abortion, racism, and partisan politics.
At the heart of the Church-world relationship is the organizational design of churches patterned after business corporations and geared for growth and efficiency. But such a structure prevents the personal and social transformations at the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Father Abraham Has Many Sons and Daughters tells the story of relationships between God, His people, and the world from Abraham’s time. It demonstrates how the world has always had its tentacles deep in God’s community and how God has consistently saved a remnant for Himself. Given the destructive and enslaving power of the world, this book highlights a pathway for communities of believers to the kind of transformation that the apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” [NLT]
An essential part of the book is the emphasis on relationships, as outlined in Complexity Theory studies. Individual attributes and capacities are essential, but complex behaviors are driven more by relationships. I apply this understanding of network theory and complex systems to discipleship and transformation in the Church.
Testimonial
My earliest association with the term “transformation” was when as a 10-yeard old I memorized Romans 12:1-2 in Sunday school. Even though I could not have explained what “transformation” meant, I found it intriguing and dynamic. It helped me begin to understand that conversion was life-changing and called for reorientation from self-centeredness to becoming God-centered. Over the years the various dimensions of transformation have enriched and filled out my understanding. Father Abraham Has Many Sons and Daughters expands, deepens, and challenges us to embrace this dynamic concept.
In Father Abraham Has Many Sons and Daughters, Dr. Rabih Sabra puts the concept of transformation in a broader and richer context by using it to describe the Body of Jesus Christ, as a family of transformed relationships. As a member of the thousand-year-old Druze community in Lebanon, God has used him to lead in establishing the first church among this people group. The Access Team initiative has introduced and cultivated multi-dimensional transformation that is personal, social, spiritual, and communal. I can think of no place on Planet Earth where this ministry of transformation is not urgently needed.
Wilbert R. Shenk Professor Emeritus School of Intercultural Studies Fuller Theological Seminary Pasadena, California
Into His Presence
Into His Presence is an app designed to help you worship Jesus Christ. It gives you Bible verses that are organized under categories and topics, all about God. Use these verses to meditate and pray to God. You can also use the app to share your insights with other users, or chat with your group. Available for Apple, Android, and Desktop. Download it now!
Bible-centered education gives our students access to a good life and a successful career. Education is a great way to alleviate poverty. It is also a great way to counter terrorism by providing a spiritual foundation for the young and removing them from communities where they may be recruited to terrorist organizations.
A 2017 UN Report determined that the average monthly income for a family of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon was $70. In 2020, Lebanon’s economy collapsed, and Lebanese families joined with the Syrians in poverty status. $5 can make a difference in our students’ and their parents’ lives.
Our goal is to provide good salaries to our local teachers. We also want to open more schools in different areas. You can take part in defeating poverty and terrorism. Please donate any amount.
