“How many jobs have you had” asked Alvin’s adopted granddaughter recently. Alvin counted them up. “Seventeen,” he said. He’s been a hearse driver, bulldozer operator, forest fighter, and concrete worker–among many occupations. “But I finally found my niche.” More than two decades ago Alvin (American) and Fe (Philippine) began what is now Shiloh Christian School. It started as nothing more than a mentoring group. As neighbors noticed how well-behaved the Luther’s children were and how robust Alvin and Fe’s marriage was, they started asking questions. “Could you help us raise children like that? Could you help our marriages to be like that?” Alvin and Fe started offering classes in their home. Mentoring and coaching and teaching. But before they knew it, demand exceeded their humble home. So they launched the first phase of Shiloh Christian School. Today, eleven years later, the school owns a three story school building, has just purchased a nearby plot, and has plans to build a new gymnasium, auditorium and recreation fields.
The school hosts children from a dozen nationalities including Korean, Pakistani, Norwegian, Dutch, Iranian, and English. Families and their children have flocked to the school in part because of the deep problems with public education in Bacolod and in part because of the tremendous program overseen by Alvin and Fe, and now by their son Nathan and daughter-in-law Karen. Nathan used to teach science at Craigmont High in Memphis, TN and Karen was a special education teacher at Kirby High in Memphis. Eight years ago, they quit their Memphis teaching jobs and took up teaching and administration at Shiloh. The school serves 300 children and offers a student-teacher ratio that is twice that of local public schools (class sizes of 25 compared to class sizes of 40-80 in the public schools). With unemployment at about 20% in Bacolod, families are desperate to provide their children ways to get a good education and have potential for a job. Shiloh is doing just that. In fact, one recent graduate was the second highest scoring entrant on national nursing exams.
But it’s doing more than that. It’s leading people to faith in Christ. It’s connecting them to the Father of all. The Luther’s founded the school on the firm conviction that of all they could teach, the most important lessons had to do with faith and spirituality. Students learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. But they also learn faith, hope, and love.
Given their success, there’s been much temptation to expand the school and become twice the size or three times the size. But the Luthers believe their strength is their size. Smaller has proven to be better. And there’s no small school doing bigger things than Shiloh.
The desks at the school stand as visual symbols of the power of the small. They were handmade by Nathan Luther from trees planted by the first students at Shiloh. Small saplings became large trees which provided the materials for the desks at which today’s Shiloh students sit.
nice “)
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