A Message from Mrs. Zaloom

The Joy of Serving

By virtue of our mission, which is “LCS cultivates a passion for God, a love for learning, a joy in serving, impacting the world for Christ,” we allow for holy disruptions to our academics from time to time! On Friday, April 24th our entire school was deployed on and off campus to serve our school, the church, and locations in the Greater Capital Region. Our students do meaningful academic work on a daily basis and this holy disruption to serve another is not just a box-ticking activity but in perfect alignment with our mission. Lower school students served the Alpha-Pregnancy Center, cleaned up local parks, helped to clean inside the school building, wrote cards to people in their lives who needed encouragement, served at the Ronald McDonald House, planned and played Bingo with residents at the Loudonville Home for Adults, and even interviewed someone who was 104 years old. Upper School students served at least 5 different older folks connected to Loudonville Community Church and school families by performing yard work. At one home students were able to collect 28 bags of leaves and brush! Other students served 3 different rescue missions. The Patroon Land Farm, which supplies produce to the Regional Food Band was another site and students planted 40 flats with over 800 herbs! Our 6th graders and parent volunteers served the school and church by helping to clean out the storage pods as well as performing yard work on the entire property.

Fulfilling the mission of LCS is fulfilling to both staff and students. This is one of the active elements in our individual and collective testimonies. During the 2026-2027 school year I am hoping to pepper the entire year with opportunities for our students to serve in this way so that this portion of our mission, to serve Jesus by serving others, becomes just as active a priority as the challenge of intellectual growth.

I appeal to you as parents to find developmentally increasing opportunities for your children to be others-centered. Gather friends and other families then create a serving schedule. You would be surprised at what they are able to do!!

With love,

Kristen Zaloom

Dean of Learning

Loudonville Christian School

kzaloom@lcs.org

A Message From Our Board
The Real Deal

“Sometimes I wonder if he likes the ‘costume’ more than the actual game.” 

My oldest son had just started baseball for the first time and was very excited about his gear. The hat. The mitt. The jersey. It was my wife’s observation, but I couldn’t disagree. Regardless of whether his greater love was the sport or the outfit he adorned, he was happy to be out there on the diamond every Saturday. Admittedly, I hoped he’d like the game more, and it would not simply be an activity of playing dress up. 

Our faith can feel that way some days. Are we just putting on a “costume” or is this thing genuine? Is this the real deal? And how do we teach our kids to see that this is more than just things we do on Sunday or empty religious actions?

So much of it comes down to what we model at home. If we as parents are simply playing “dress up”, how can we expect our children to not follow suit? We have to take our faith seriously and make it our personal and family’s top priority. And that has to be genuine. 

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses instructs the people on how to keep the faith and pass it on to the next generation. This passage is known as The Shema. Moses not only calls the people to commit to loving God with everything they have, but he admonishes them to create intentional time to teach and remind their children of who God is and of his laws and love and of his faithfulness. 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭9‬)

This demands intentionality. It takes discipline and a routine. And it requires margin. 

Christian pastor and author John Ortberg astutely noted, "For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it."

In a culture that values busyness, we must intentionally carve out time for Biblical instruction. Our children crave this. They want our undivided attention, and they want to know what is most valuable to us. 

A simple first step is to ask, “What is one thing we could start doing today that would bring our family closer to God?” And likewise, “What is one thing we should stop doing today to bring our family closer to God?”

Sometimes the stopping makes room for the starting.

When we become too busy and preoccupied with lesser things, we have no room for the most important things. As this happens, we lose purpose and perspective. We can lose sight of eternity altogether. Our love and devotion to God can easily become empty religious acts, and our faith can feel more like a costume than the real deal. 

The Israelites needed reminding of this often. God knew that. We need reminding too. Talk about these things often at home. Ask your kids what they’re learning about God at school. You’ll be amazed! It will encourage the whole family. And it will bring your family closer to one another and to God. 

Andy Martin
LCS Chairman of the Board

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