Being Used By God
Emma Cole
My name is Emma Cole, and I am the English Language teacher at Townline Elementary School. This year, God touched my heart and convicted me to restart the Bible Club at Townline. Before the pandemic, Eleanor VerBurg and her helpers taught Bible Club for our students and I often sat in. I remember how much the kids learned about Jesus and how much that impacted their lives. When Covid-19 had everything shut down, Hillside mentors, Kids Hope, and Bible Club weren’t allowed in our building. It pained me, until I heard the Holy Spirit say, “I need you to tell them about me.” God pressed on my heart The Great Commission:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
- Matthew 28:18-20
I prayed about it and realized that restarting Bible Club was something God was calling me to do. It has been really amazing to see Bible Club grow this year. We have 55 students in the Bible Club and now four teachers, including myself. Fifty-five seems like a lot, but I realize that when Jesus was here, He drew in hundreds. To this day, He continues to draw crowds. These students saw something intriguing about Bible Club: they wanted to know who Jesus is. So far, we have had 14 students accept Jesus as their Savior. Praying with them to ask for salvation has been an incredible thing to witness. We know that God is at work and is ever faithful towards us.
I’ve had many kids who have told me that they need Jesus in their hearts because they have been bad kids this year. I had one student who got suspended from school for getting into fights with other classmates. As he sat there looking at me, feeling ashamed for what he had done, I was able to tell him about Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. That we not only have been forgiven, but we have also been made new through His blood and sacrifice. It is not anything we have done to earn this gift, but it is because of who He is. We don’t have to walk in our old ways anymore, but rejoice in the truth and walk in a new life. The next day he received salvation, because he realized he was a child of God, loved just the way he is. That is something I have been learning this year in a very complete way. When we experience God for who He truly is, we don’t become a godlier version of ourselves. “We become completely God’s.” (Simons, R. (2021) When Strivings Cease.)
Teaching at Townline makes me realize that I am not just a teacher. I am to be a missionary with a purpose in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Something that has always touched me in a real way was that Jesus didn’t come here to sit with the righteous. He came to save the lost. He sat with the tax collectors, prostitutes, murderers, traitors, and love them all fully. He was the teacher who taught everyone how to think in a whole new way. Many of our Bible Club kids have very difficult home lives. But the fact that Jesus chose them to know about Him reminds me that He still is working to save the lost.
I think it is amazing how God has placed me in a school not only where there is such a need to make disciples, but disciples of all nations. Kentwood is the most diverse district in the state of Michigan, and it is the 7th most diverse district in the nation. Over 60 countries are represented in Kentwood Public Schools. I get the opportunity to teach students about Jesus who speak Nepali, Spanish, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, French, Vietnamese, Burmese, Karen, and so much more. To see the students at Bible Club worshipping the Lord gives me a vision of what it will be like in the new heaven and earth. We will, one day, see people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, worshipping the same God, who is ever faithful to us. Amen!
