On November 28, Wood County Christian School (WCCS) put a twist on their annual vision event. The school welcomed a special guest and communed with the broader Mid Ohio Valley, while also outlining a plan for the future of the school.

Former football star, Heisman Trophy winner, and current Christian activist and speaker Tim Tebow gave the keynote speech at the event, dubbed “Rise Up.” Tebow spoke about investing in what is meaningful and about how fame, influence, and material possessions pass away, but what is meaningful lasts forever.

“What I took away from his speech is that my identity should not be in what people think,” WCCS Executive Director Jane Smith. “But it should be in what I do for Christ.”

Tebow also told a humbling story of a young, poor boy he met on a missions trip wearing Tebow’s famous #15 Florida Gators jersey. Tebow used this illustration to point out how, even in his great influence, he was not what that young boy ultimately needed.

“That was a great message for people whether they are believers or not,” Smith said.

“I really liked how he said that when you’re trying to accomplish a task, you need to do it together,” said JJ Dimit, a current junior at WCCS. “For the main goal of serving God, we should do it together.”

“I like that he remembers that it’s not about him, it’s about God; God’s the one who got him here,” said Leilani Navarro, another junior at the school, mentioning a portion of Tebow’s speech when he talked about his success as an athlete. “He’s not selfish and making it all about him; it’s about God.”

Before the event, Tebow met with students, sponsors, and other attendees. His real-life personality matched his public persona.

“The neat thing about it to me was Tebow knew all about our school when he came,” Smith said. “He knew the mission of the school and had done his research. He was very humble. He wasn’t fake, and his conversations were very genuine.”

“He was very real and down-to-earth,” Dimit said. “He didn’t have this attitude of ‘I’m getting paid a lot of money to be here, so don’t talk to me.’ He wanted to get to know everybody.”

An event like this takes careful planning, strategy, and blessings from God to pull off. While working with In Joy Consulting on a capital campaign, the idea of bringing in a big-name Christian celebrity took center stage. Other Christian athletes and motivational speakers were considered, but Tim Tebow’s name came up thanks to a personal connection.

“Our consultant said, ‘Oh, I’m friends with Tim Tebow,’” said Smith. “And we were like, ‘Tim Tebow?!’ We knew then that was the direction to go.”

The night consisted of a catered meal, a silent auction, and community fellowship thanks to over 50 sponsors who supported the event. Smith deemed Rise Up a success that could pave the way for exciting future opportunities.

“It cost us a lot of money to put that on,” Smith said. “But I felt like God orchestrated it all. Now people will hopefully be more aware of who we are and what we are doing.”

The administration and school board at WCCS are continuously looking for ways to not only improve the school itself, but to impact the rest of the community for the Gospel. While the school wanted to use this event to fund future projects like an auxiliary gymnasium and more classroom space, Smith was quick to say that was not the ultimate objective for Rise Up. Many of the visitors on campus that evening were perhaps not Christian or were receiving their first taste of what Christian education might be like..

“The goal of the event was not really to raise money,” she said. “The goal was to provide something for the community, while at the same time being able to let people know Wood County Christian School is here.”

The WCCS vision statement says: “Engage the Heart. Equip the Mind. Impact the World.” An event like this, from its inception to the end product, sees many people putting those ideas into practice. The people behind the scenes at WCCS try to live out that vision statement while also instilling those values into the students.

“I want people to know what we do, and that we do it well,” Smith said. “I didn’t want to turn people off, but I wanted to be able to say ‘this is who we are.’”