Tabor board approves mission statement
After much campus-wide discussion this past year, the Tabor College Board of Directors approved a new mission statement at its winter meetings Feb. 20 to 21.
The statement now reads: "Preparing people for a life of learning, work and service for Christ and his kingdom."
The change in wording does not represent a change in direction, said Tabor College president Larry Nikkel, but is "rather a more succinct way to articulate what we at Tabor have been called to do."
Nikkel explained the reasoning behind the inclusion of each word.
"First, [preparing] implies something in process — something not complete but with a goal or purpose that gives it an anticipatory flavor, something with a sense of expectancy," he said. "Second, it is a word that is at the heart of something I believe to be true. That is, that we are always in preparation for what is next."
And while Tabor continues to educate its students — young and old alike as evidenced in the word "people" — Nikkel recognizes that learning extends beyond the classroom walls after graduation.
"It is a great thing when we see students while they are here develop a thirst for knowledge, to discover the joy of learning," said Nikkel. "We know that many will develop that thirst for knowledge after they leave college.
"If we can help set the stage for a lifetime of learning, if we can whet the appetites of people for the discovery of the vastness of God's creation and encourage the exploration of things both near and far, tangible and intangible, we can be a part of setting their feet on the path of true education."
Once the foundation of knowledge has been laid, students are able to take what they have learned and apply it to real-life situations.
Including the word "work" in the mission statement hints at vocation, said Nikkel, but it also elevates work "from something negative and regrettable to something missional and perhaps even sacred."
Service, at the very core of Tabor, is done for Christ and his kingdom. This capstone to the new statement, according to Nikkel, "reminds us that in the final analysis, what we do is not about us; it's about kingdom goals and eternal values. The lifetime preparations of which we are a part is mission-driven and value-based.
"If we can see what we do as launching people for a lifetime of learning, work and service, we will have served well."
The previous mission statement read: "Tabor College offers liberal arts and professional/career education in a Christian context, consistent with what Mennonite Brethren believe to be biblical, to help persons achieve their highest potential as servants of Christ and His Church, ministering to the needs of all people."
