Immanuel's educational mission is to develop people who are successful, productive, happy, and faithful in their walk with Jesus. Success can be measured in many areas of life, including school, career, family, church, and community. The Bible teaches us that the best way to be successful is to put the needs of others before our own needs. This important skill was taught repeatedly by Jesus and was exemplified in his words and actions. We refer to it as "servant leadership".

Servant-leaders have a number of qualities that set them apart:

• They devote themselves to serving the people they are leading, not to achieve a higher level organizational goal, but because people have value in and of themselves
• They have the courage to do the right thing even when the prevailing opinion is to do the wrong thing. (This implies that servant-leaders need to be able to discern right from wrong.)
• They get good results by setting a positive role model for others and practicing what they preach
• They demonstrate a willingness to do themselves the things that they are asking others to do

The term "servant" has a negative connotation today, but it really should not be taken in a negative way. The Bible says that Jesus "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." In the same way, we are asked to serve others. In a nutshell, serving is defined as putting the needs of someone else before your own needs. This is certainly not a bad thing, nor does it imply weakness. Adhering to this principle results in many tangible benefits, both to the people being served as well as to those who are serving.

At Immanuel, students are presented with numerous opportunities both to lead and to serve. Through such activities, our goal is to teach them to be successful in a wide variety of social roles during their lifetime.