,
communication department, Inter-American Division
The president of the
Inter-American Division told a conference of more than 1,000 educators that the
secret to success was to cling to God and to teach students to do the same.
“You can be a good teacher if you
maintain your connection with the Source of kindness found in the God of
heaven,” Israel
Leito told a four-day Education Congress
in Riviera Maya, Mexico. “It is the only way
that we can reflect the love of Jesus.”
Leito challenged
participants to not only teach life skills, but also to show students how to
nurture a spiritual life by connecting with God daily through the Bible.
The conference, themed “The
Teacher as a Minister of the Gospel” and ending Sept. 13, featured Adventist
World Church vice presidents, education leaders and authors who presented on
topics such as Adventist education as an evangelistic strategy and the
teacher’s role in the preservation of Adventist education.
A senior Mexican education
official, Jose Alberto Alonso Obando, praised the
work of Adventist educators in shaping young people into becoming productive
members of society.
“Besides your teaching science and
others subjects, you teach a solid foundation of values, order, respect to others
and love toward your fellow man and God,” he said. “God has given us the gift
of learning and you the gift of teaching, so thank you.”The conference attendees represented about 10 percent of the Adventist teachers
working in more than 1,000 schools, including 14 universities, in the
Inter-America Division, which is comprised of Mexico, the
Caribbean, Central America and the five northernmost countries of South
America.
Inter-American Division Web site: "In Inter-America, Teachers Are Reminded to Be Ministers of the Gospel"
