
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994                   TAG: 9406020161
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE VALLEY CHRISTIAN GRAD WILL TALK ABOUT MISSION

When Roanoke Valley Christian School's 33 graduates assemble for their baccalaureate service June 5 in nearby Shenandoah Baptist Church, they will hear a message by Trenton Stokes, who was sitting in their place nine years ago.

Stokes, a 1985 graduate of the school, is a ministerial student at Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas. He is preparing for a career in Christian mission.

A.C. Hollins, assistant principal at Roanoke Valley Christian, said Stokes is one of a number of graduates who have entered professional Christian service. Of the 95 percent of the 33 graduates expecting to continue their education, about 10 percent want to prepare themselves to bring the gospel to others, he said. They include Mark Hillis, Ernest Clark and Jennifer Bryant, who are choosing schools affiliated with evangelical Protestant denominations.

Hollins said all want to enter the broad mission field with its many specialties.

By its very nature, Hollins noted, Roanoke Valley Christian moves youth in the direction of serving Christ. Religion is an important part of pupils' studies from the earliest years.

"We don't make anybody attend the baccalaureate, but just about all the students do," Hollins said. As a private, church-related school, Roanoke Valley Christian is free to make religion a part of its graduation activities.

by CNB