Deprecated: ini_set(): Use of mbstring.internal_encoding is deprecated in /home/public/template.php on line 3

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/public/template.php:3) in /home/public/lib/lang.php on line 38
Founding Principles - Mountain Light Institute
Language/안어: English | 한국어

Founding Principles

It is our firm purpose to model our school after Ellen White’s counsel and biblical principles. Among other things, this means the following: Our school is situated in the countryside to serve as an outpost outside the city. The setting is critically important for the mission of true education; a rural setting improves the students’ attitudes and exposes them to the environment that God intended for us to inhabit. From nature, the students can learn many lessons, and they are removed from many of the distractions and temptations inherent in city life. We also believe that our school should remain small and have a family setting, since the family is the best source of training. To help maintain the proper setting, we believe in being selective in admitting students.

Mental

We have been counseled to provide an education that combines mental, spiritual, and physical elements in order to make a whole person. For the mental component, that means an education that is practical, not merely academic. (Our goal is not test scores or admission to any particular university, but education that will be useful for the rest of the student’s life here on earth as well as in heaven.) It means that education must be tailored to each student’s individual needs. And it requires our setting and practices to be those that promote mental health and the development of strong characters. In addition, because our school will be exclusively in English, our students will have a global focus.

Spiritual

True education is not merely concerned with temporal matters; thus, our school will also emphasize a strong spiritual component. Because of the urgency of finishing the work ahead of Jesus’ return, it is our aim that our students will become workers for God throughout the world. We exist to train missionaries, whether they serve at home or abroad. Such training includes teaching practical Christianity and encouraging them to dedicate their lives fully to God. This training also requires that our students be involved in a variety of outreach projects during their time at our school so that they can learn how to win souls effectively.

Physical

In addition to the mental and spiritual aspects of true education, we believe in physical education. Thus, our program follows a work-study model. Students will spend half of each school day engaged in useful work. The work will include farm work, household duties, and other necessary chores. We also will provide students the opportunity to learn a variety of useful trades. Work provides practical exercise, which is necessary to health, and it also teaches many essential life skills.

Future Plans

Finally, because of the breadth of our mission, later phases of the project will see the expansion of our program to training missionary English as a Foreign Language teachers to serve in hard-to-reach countries and bringing students from those countries to our school to help them learn how to conduct mission work once they return to their home countries.