Leading to Serve
At Illawarra Christian School, we want to help our students grow into people who know God, understand the gifts and opportunities he has given them, and use those gifts faithfully for the good of others.
For some students, this will include formal leadership. They may serve as student leaders, captains, prefects or in other positions of responsibility. For others, leadership will look quite different, or may not be a significant part of their future at all. Our hope is not that every student will become a leader, but that every student will learn what it means to live faithfully and serve others.
This is an important distinction because leadership can easily become associated with position, influence or being noticed. The Bible gives us a different starting point. Our identity does not come from the positions we hold or the influence we have. We belong to Christ, and our lives are to be shaped by him.
Jesus gives us a striking picture of this. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus washed his disciples' feet. He was their Lord and teacher, yet he willingly took the position of a servant. He then said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15).
We don't all have the same responsibilities, gifts or opportunities, but we are all called to follow Christ in serving others.
That service often begins in very ordinary ways. A student helping a classmate, including someone who is alone, taking responsibility for their work, encouraging a teammate, caring for a younger student or faithfully completing a task that has been entrusted to them may never be described as leadership. Yet these things matter. They reveal something of the character God is forming in us.
This is why we seek to develop character, conviction and competence in our students. We want them to grow in character so that they become people who can be trusted; in conviction so that they increasingly understand what is true and good; and in competence so that they can use their abilities wisely and effectively. These qualities matter whether a student eventually leads a team of hundreds or quietly serves others in ways that few people notice.
For those students who are called to formal leadership, these foundations are particularly important. A position does not make someone a Christian leader. Instead, a position provides an opportunity to exercise responsibility in service of others. We want our student leaders to understand that leadership is not primarily a privilege to enjoy or a platform from which to be heard. It is a responsibility to carry faithfully.
Ultimately, however, Christian service is not simply about trying harder to be good people. Jesus is not merely an example we are expected to imitate through our own strength. He is the King who came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). His sacrificial service is at the heart of the gospel, and it is from knowing his grace that we learn to serve others.
As we welcome our 2027 Secondary Student Leadership Team, we are thankful for the students who have been willing to accept these particular responsibilities. We pray that they will serve with humility, courage and wisdom, recognising that their position is an opportunity to bless others.
And for every student at ICS, whether or not they ever hold a formal leadership position, our prayer is the same: that they would know Christ, grow in his likeness, faithfully use what God has given them, and increasingly look beyond themselves to the good of others.
Not every student is called to lead. Every student is called to faithfully follow Christ. And following Christ will always have something to do with how we serve others.
