Throughout our 30 year history, Wooster Christian School has had the blessing of being able to touch the lives of thousands of students. Our vision of "preparing students for the future through excellence in Christian education" is realized when we witness the success of our alumni. Today on the blog, we're sitting down with Nathan Harley.
Nate serves as Deputy Director of the missions organization SIM in Uruguay. His ministry focus includes pastoring a local church, leading worship, and building relationships at a partnering college student outreach. Nate earned a Masters in Intercultural Ministry from Grace Theological Seminary and a Bachelors in Biblical Studies and Intercultural Studies from Grace College. He received the Russell D. Barnard Award in World Missions from the seminary and the Intercultural Studies Award from the college. He was also named College Preacher of the Year at Grace in 2015.
Nate's family has a long history with WCS, a relationship that exists to this day. His father, Tim, is the current President of the WCS board. Tim is also a volunteer with Water for Good, an organization that trains Central Africans to drill for clean drinking water. His mother, Jeana, served on our school staff as our Spanish teacher. She is currently the Executive Director of GROW, an organization that rescues at-risk children from human trafficking in Thailand. Nate's younger siblings also attended WCS through eighth grade. His sister, Valerie, is a physical therapy assistant. His brother, Zacary, is a sophomore at Grace College.
Nate attended WCS from Kindergarten through 8th grade. We asked him some questions about his time here at our school.
What was your favorite thing about WCS?
I think my favorite things were the friendships made and the genuine care of the teachers!
How do you think WCS impacted your life?
My time at WCS during formative years gave me default biblical glasses through which to view the world. Anywhere else in the world, you get scientific theories and historical interpretations with implicit bias against the Scriptures. The reality is that the sciences, history, mathematics, language, art, etc. all help point to the legitimacy of the Scriptures and the Christ that they describe. I was thankful for this integration. It wasn’t “religious studies” and liberal arts in two separate boxes. Consequently, my siblings and I found ourselves over-prepared academically for the next level of education – specifically in computer capabilities and writing competency.
Do you have any specific favorite memories about WCS?
In Mrs. Masowich’s English class, she would sometimes put on this classical music in the background to stimulate thought. One time for April Fools, my friends, who were very musically inclined, recorded their own classical piano track. When they asked to play it in our class, Mrs. Masowich said, “Of course.” The music was set so quietly that it was necessary to turn the volume up high. About 10 minutes into the track, it suddenly changed to loud, hardcore metal music saying “April Fools.” Everyone had jumped out of their seats and thankfully Mrs. Masowich thought it was very funny!
Do you have a favorite teacher that you remember from your time at WCS?
You’re not supposed to have favorites and truly I was impacted in different ways by each teacher, but Mr. Claes had a special role in the lives of my close friends and I. I have to pick him for this too because he is the top dog now! Our first year in middle school was his first year. We grew together around our love for music and interest in learning about Scripture.
What was the culture at WCS, and how does it compare to other schools you have experienced?
Where other Christian schools might err on the side of being completely separate from the world and others on the side of being just like it, I feel WCS was a great balance of being a place of innovation, relevance and freedom in Christ while not deviating from the conviction to obey God’s directives and live as holy as possible.
Anything else you'd like to say about WCS?
I’m thankful to all of the staff for dealing with me in my sinfulness and seeing potential in me – enough to encourage me into embracing and developing leadership skills.
Any advice for students who are interested in going into the mission field?
I would start by making your own personal mission statement. What I mean by this is – write down the top 1 or 2 things that matter the most to you in life (the injustices that make you want to pound the table or the causes that get you the most energized). For me, it was to seeing unity of Christians grow around our common mission instead of the default division I had seen. There are a million good things you can do, but to narrow down which direction to go with your life, run all opportunities through your mission statement.