“Tell Me Again, Why are We Doing This?”
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New training course provides inexpensive, flexible professional development that boosts teachers’ enthusiasm for life-on-life influence.
We are Christian educators because in our hearts we know that it changes lives—and can ultimately change the culture. It is in this spirit that I want to alert you to a new professional development program that can reenergize your team and reinvigorate their sense of “why we do what we do.”
This new resource is from Dr. Jeff Myers’ Passing the Baton International (PTBI). In the last three years PTBI has equipped the faculty of 500 Christian schools to rediscover the ancient art of discipleship and help students become world-changing leaders.
PTBI just released its training on DVD with a bevy of teaching resources that make it simple—and inexpensive—to offer a full-bodied professional development program worth two CEUs. You can find out more at www.passingthebaton.org
How Passing the Baton Ignites Teachers’ Enthusiasm for Life-on-Life Influence
PTBI says that its new course “provides dynamic, proven professional development to renew teachers’ sense of joy and equip them to reconnect spiritually with students.”
It does this by showing teachers how to mentor, coach and disciple students in a biblical, natural and fun way—whether their interactions with students are 30 minutes or 30 seconds.
The evidence is impressive. PTBI conducted pre-test/post-test studies of 3,000 participants and found that its training makes a statistically significant difference in teachers’ understanding of and preparation for discipleship, as well as their motivation to become disciplers.
Can Passing the Baton Lead to Long-Term Change in How Teachers View Their Mission?
Renny Scott, Headmaster of Christian Heritage School in Dalton, GA is one of many fans of Passing the Baton. “You could feel the difference in the spiritual atmosphere at the start of the school,” he enthuses.
Does this mean that Passing the Baton is a miracle cure? Myers says it depends of the leader’s commitment to life-on-life influence: “This workshop is only a catalyst, but when an enthusiastic leader implements it, the breakthroughs can be incredible.”
Cynthia Greer is one of those enthusiastic leaders. After guiding her faculty at Westbrook Christian School (Rainbow City, AL) through Passing the Baton, she helped her faculty establish goals and plans that she says have “had dramatic results in the lives of students."
A year after hosting the training for his faculty and staff, Dr. S. L. Sherrill did a spiritual formation audit at North Raleigh Christian Academy and was pleasantly surprised to see “mentoring” show up on students’ radar as one of the things they appreciated about their school.
Paula Moore, Early Childhood Director at Providence Christian School in Cape Coral, FL tells of how one teacher got so excited that she called three meetings to discuss how to turn their school into a more encouraging, uplifting place. Paula says, “I personally have three children in our school and can attest to the huge transformation that has taken place.”
How PTBI’s New DVD Course Can Help You
In the past the Passing the Baton workshop was only available with a live speaker in an inflexible one-day format. It was expensive. With the DVD course you have the flexibility to offer Passing the Baton as a one-day training, a two-day retreat, or as a once-a-week program for 12 weeks. And the price is surprisingly affordable (more on that below).
Terry Broberg, principal of Cascade Christian High School in Puyallup, WA has previewed the course and says, “It’s money well spent for anyone who works with young men and women.”
In fact, pilot schools actually seem to prefer the DVD course over Dr. Myers’ live presentations (no offense, Jeff).
What You Get With the Passing the Baton DVD Course
The new course consists of 12 45-minute lessons, each of which includes a 20-minute video segment and follow-up discussion. A simple facilitators guide makes it easy to use on-the-spot (although, ahem, we would never admit that we didn’t prep for it).
The CDROM includes reminder cards and handsome posters for each session. There’s even an attendance-building guide with skits, brochures and bulletin inserts. Come to think of it, this thing would be a cinch to teach as a church-based Bible study.
The cost for the whole package is an easy-on-the-budget $127. Each teacher needs a “participant kit,” but these are reasonably priced at $20 each and include a 72-page study guide, a copy of Jeff’s hardcover Handoff book and a relay baton.
You can save $30 instantly by using the coupon code “baton” when you order on-line at www.passingthebaton.org. The coupon code is good until midnight April 22.
The bottom line: now you can host the Passing the Baton training at your convenience for just over $20 per person and grant your teachers two CEUs from ACSI. That’s as close to a “no brainer” as I’ve seen for a long time.
For years you’ve piled up kindling. It’s time to light the match.
The need to have a strong godly influence on students won’t wait around until the economy gets better. If you think that Passing the Baton could springboard your faculty toward greater influence, you can check out www.passingthebaton.org. Or you can call 423-570-1000 and talk to Sean Bevier who, as a long-time Christian school dean of students, can answer your questions and coach you in how to help your school become a nerve center for developing the next generation of leaders.