As we have said in each of the previous "What's In a Name?" posts (Kairos and Academy), we are Kairos Academy Pathfinders. Our name speaks of our intentionality in following Christ.
Each word in our name represents a part of who we are and what we are called to do. Just as a cord of three strands is not easily broken, we believe the three words in our name reflect the strength God has granted us to accomplish His purposes. Our whole name is more than the sum of its parts, but to understand the whole we must first explore the parts.
In our first post we shared that we believe we are called for such a time as this: Kairos. In our second post, we explored how we are a community committed to pursuing the education and discipleship of each of our members: Academy. In this post, we will learn a little bit about the third word in our name: Pathfinders.
Our Last Name: Pathfinders
A pathfinder literally does what the name implies: He finds the path. Kairos Academy Pathfinders is a community of people seeking God’s path. Every church, every family, and every child, has a unique path to tread in the Lord. We are called to help each of these find their destined path and to walk it confidently in Him.
KAP is committed to transforming children’s education–to make congregationally-supported, parent-led education the norm in Christ’s Church, and to work to form the whole person rather than merely pursuing academic excellence. Indeed, at Kairos Academy Pathfinders we seek to make genuine discipleship the context in which academic education takes place. We plan to help congregations and parents alike achieve that goal by delivering the coaching, assessment tools, and curriculum resources they need to disciple the next generation of God’s people. KAP will deliver all of that through a network of congregationally-based homeschooling support groups much like the networks of troops in AHG and in TLUSA. All these tools and communities will help us to take up Jesus’ invitation and command:
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. –Matthew 7:13-14
Our goals and methods are chosen out of our understanding that "education" is not some separate thing that one sticks into a child's life. Rather, true education is the process of bringing a child from darkness to light. Making this journey is integral to a child's development as a human being. It is a key part of their path through this world and into the next.
By intentionally helping churches and parents to integrate academic training into the broader context of a child's life, Kairos Academy Pathfinders aims to help set churches, parents, and children throughout the Church on paths to greater intimacy with God; greater wisdom in life; greater hope for their futures, here and in eternity; and greater joy in their relationships. Our dream is no less than setting leaders, parents, and children together on a road of learning to love the Lord their God with all their hearts with all their souls with all their minds and with all their strength–so that they may learn to love their neighbors as themselves.
Every person walks a path in this life. Each individual member of KAP is a Pathfinder. At KAP, we are all deliberately seeking our own proper path and helping others find the paths the Lord has prepared for them. Come join the adventure.