Upper school students recently participated in The Summit, a special day of service learning sponsored by The Institute for Cultural Engagement (TICE), designed to connect students to the needs of the world around them and their own agency towards restoration. 

The special schedule started off with a keynote address from ministry leader Bruce Deel, pastor and founder of City of Refuge in Atlanta, Georgia. Students previously read Deel's book, Trust First, an account of his journey to build a Church in inner city Atlanta and the deep trust required of him and his family in the process. Deel shared the intensity of his early days pastoring through the unknown, lacing it with funny anecdotes and a lighthearted dialogue of faith in the trenches. He asked students what trusting God's call on their lives looked like to them, and where they could find space to be brave and move out of their comfort zone. Deel's presentation was both inspiring and humbling–a picture of an others-centered leader who lives and loves radically. 

Students then transitioned to multiple service learning initiatives. Underclassmen stayed on campus to create shoe soles out of donated denim for Sole Hope, an organization servicing underclothed populations of Uganda. This unique project provided a commentary on the power of recycled materials and hidden potential in every-day discard from a first-world market: old jeans. Upper classmen ventured to a number of Nashville's many amazing non-profits to work and hear from non-profit leaders. 

Students visited several sites: 

• Cul2vate
• Ella's House
• Eli's House
• Preston Taylor Ministries
• Feed the Children 
• Room In the Inn
• Nashville Rescue Mission
• Thriftsmart 
• Habitat for Humanity Restore 
• The Oak Cottage for Women 
• Crossroads of the Nations
• Mother to Mother
• The Bridge Ministries 

Work was both hands-on and educational, as many organizations provided a tour of facilities and overview of their mission with students. TICE's goal from this exercise is to better acquaint students to their city and neighbors, providing the opportunity to spark a connection and see the career paths of those who walk directly toward a dire need or problem armed with their own gifts and talents. 

Students, faculty, and staff, concluded the day with worship and prayer, claiming all they had seen and done for the name of Jesus.