Mr Joel van Bentum | Principal   

From Consumption to Contribution: A Reflection of Our Learning Community

At Green Point Christian College, we often emphasise the importance of contributing positively to our learning community. It’s a phrase frequently heard in assemblies and classrooms—but it’s worth pausing to ask: what does it truly mean?

In today’s culture, which often prioritises consumption over contribution, we find ourselves swimming against the current. Consumption tends to be passive—we scroll, watch, purchase, and absorb. We are shaped by what others create, and over time, we can become comfortable simply receiving.

Contribution, however, is different. It is active. It involves giving, building, serving, and engaging. It demands effort, vision, and sacrifice. It calls us to look beyond ourselves and to live with intention and purpose.

Though harder, contribution is far more life-giving.

Jesus Christ offers us the ultimate example. His life was marked by constant contribution—healing, teaching, feeding, encouraging, and ultimately giving Himself fully for the sake of others. In that single act of redemptive love, the world was changed forever.

In a world increasingly echoing the message “take what you can,” Jesus’s life boldly declares, “give what you’ve been given.” As a Christian learning community, we are called not only to embrace this truth in theory but to live it out daily.

The challenge to contribute begins here—in the small moments of school life: showing kindness to a peer, taking initiative in group work, offering encouragement, or stepping into leadership. It extends far beyond, as we consider how to use our gifts, time, and energy to make a meaningful difference in our families, neighborhoods, and the wider world.

At Green Point Christian College, our mission is to equip students for a life of redemptive action grounded in a Biblical perspective. That mission takes root when each of us chooses to contribute rather than consume.

So, let us keep asking ourselves: Are we consuming or contributing? Are we simply going with the flow, or stepping forward in faith?

We encourage our entire community—students, staff, and families—to live lives marked by contribution. It won’t always be easy, but it will always be worth it.