What the Lord Has Entrusted: Why We Give

Kevin Woods, a retired USAF officer and pilot, husband of 27 years, and father of multiple Fredericksburg Christian School graduates, sat down with us to share what FCS means to him and his family. Kevin and his wife, Val, are treasured members of the FCS family. Kevin sits on the board of FCS, and Val worked as a school nurse at FCS for many years. They believe in their calling: to invest what God has entrusted them within the education of tomorrow’s great minds and spiritual leaders.

When asked about his time in the military (9 years active duty and over 20 in the reserves), Kevin responded: “It was an honor to serve. I would have served even longer if I could have. I’m just humbled that this nation would give me the chance to be an officer, fly its airplanes, and to lead. And to follow as well. It was quite an experience.”

When Mr. Woods was in the Air Force reserves, his family ended up in the Spotsylvania area of Virginia. While seeking the perfect school for their children, they heard an ad on the radio for Fredericksburg Christian School and decided to check it out. What they found was extraordinary. “The first person we met was Mrs. Robinette, she was the principal at the time, and she gave us a tour. And we just saw all these young students, kindergarteners through third grade or so, and she knew them all by name. She made a connection with every one of them. And you could sense that she was not only invested in them, but she loved them. There was that connection there, and that was pretty powerful, to be honest with you. All the students loved her, and she loved on them. All the faculty and staff lit up when she walked into a room. There were Bibles sitting on every teacher’s desk. We walked on to that campus, and we encountered God.” After that day, Kevin and Val knew that this was where all four of their children belonged.

Now that all of the Woods’ kids have graduated and started college and careers, Kevin can see the impact FCS has made in the lives of his children. “Children can’t be believers just because their parents or grandparents were. Their faith has to be their own. So when they stepped out into college and were challenged, and they were all challenged, they could stand firm knowing that this isn’t just what dad believes, this faith is my own. I really truly believe that the partnership we had with FCS as we raised them has helped the four of them navigate challenges that we all face when living out our faith. We all face living out their faith. […] FCS is big on teaching their students that no matter where you go in life, you’ll be going onto a mission field. You don’t have to go to Africa to be on the mission field; wherever God plants you in your profession is your mission field. And these students are living it out. They are living examples of the Gospel.”

FCS was founded over 35 years ago upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Kevin Woods believes that the Biblical basis of the school’s core-values will not be shaken. “Our mission is to create Christian leaders for the future, and you might be asking, what does that look like? Well you don’t have to go any further than Scripture to find the answer: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, ‘Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.’”These are the kinds of students and future leaders that FCS is shepherding every single day.

So why does the Woods family choose to bless FCS with their hard-earned dollars? “If you want to see where a man’s priorities are, look at his checkbook. The reality is, it’s not our money. Everything that we have is God’s. We are just stewards of it for
a short time.” Living with an eternal perspective really puts our budgets into perspective. “When you see the impact that a school like FCS is making, it’s not a challenge to decide to give.”