Ozark Adventist Academy

GENTRY, ARK. – The halls that sat so silent over the summer will once again be filled with smiling, laughing students as August’s registration day once again slips by and that page of the calendar is forever turned. Students shop for those perfect shoes, those pencils that have that new school year smell and that fluffy pink rug that will look so perfect in their new dorm room. Ozark Adventist Academy staff are praying, planning and working so that this new 2021-2022 school year will make a lasting impression on the hearts of Ozark’s students.

Despite the necessity of wearing masks, social distancing and the extra care that was needed last year because of Covid-19, there was a different feeling on campus. On Sabbath afternoon you would sometimes see a self-led group of students congregating in a circle with their Bibles and a devotional book, to learn, encourage and support one another. If you were to ask some of our students about last year, they would probably tell you it was more like a family on campus than it was before.

Robert Fetters, who late in the 2020-2021 school year took the helm as Ozark’s principal, wants to encourage and nurture that close-nit feeling of family and spiritual interest that pervaded our campus last year. His goal in the 2021-2022 school year is not only to lead students to Christ but to encourage and develop in them the leadership skills that are needed in the church not just tomorrow but today. Robert believes we should be “intentional about training students for leadership and giving them opportunities to lead.”

Ozark Adventist Academy is a mission and a training field. As we embark on a new school year at Ozark, please pray for our campus, our students and our staff, that God’s spirit will be present and we will be able to help finish the work God has given us to do. To keep up with what is happening on our campus during the school year, follow us on Facebook @OzarkAdventistAcademy or on the web at OzarkAcademy.org.

By Debbie Upson