From our archives. This story was first published in February 2014.
On Friday, January 31, 2014, Eastbridge's Grade 5 and Grade 6 students, together with 18 parents, some of them couples, traveled to Shercon Resort in Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas for the school's annual Leadership Training and Retreat. Every activity was designed to help students and parents understand each other better and grow closer.
Leaders who started young
School President Pastor Gerry gave two messages on leadership, both drawn from people in the Bible who began leading while still young:
- Manasseh and Josiah: two kings who both took the throne as children, but whose reigns went in opposite directions, one leading his people away from God and the other leading them back.
- Timothy and David: two young men God called to lead early in life. As Paul told Timothy, "Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12, BSB).
Two days of learning and bonding
- Team-building and pool games
- A prayer walk
- Small group discussions
- A night session of skits on parent-child conflicts, with parents and students each acting out the problem from their own point of view
The quiet, close-to-nature resort, with very few other guests during our stay, made it easy to focus on both the learning and the spiritual goals of the retreat.
What the parents said
By the end of the second day, the parents shared a common sentiment: the next retreat should be required for parents, ideally with both mothers and fathers attending.
Then and now
The Leadership Training and Retreat is still held every year. For our older students, it remains a chance to learn what it means to lead God's way, and to spend unhurried time with their parents away from the daily rush.
At Eastbridge, we believe parents are a child's first and most important teachers. Moments like this, when parents and children step away from the daily rush to listen to each other and to God, are where real growth happens. Read: Parents as Co-Educators →
Raising children with faith, love, and structure.
Visit Eastbridge, meet our teachers, and see our classes in action.
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