Head of School Dan Steinfield’s remarks from the August 27, 2026 Dedication Service

Teaching for Transformation (TfT) reminds us of the adventure God invites us to. We are the people of God’s story, doing real work that forms us and shapes the world. For 77 years, DC has prepared students to step into God’s story—to serve Him, to love others, and to shape the world with the hope of the Gospel.

Our mission is to educate students who will serve God and impact the world through biblical thought and action. We deliver that mission through an innovative and exemplary education, rooted in Christ and lived out in community. 

That means our students are being prepared to courageously enter whatever places God calls them–their vocational mission field, their family, their neighborhood, their classroom, and community—as Christ’s ambassadors, bringing the hope and new life of the Gospel to the places where God has placed them.

And that is one of the reasons The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis is such a fitting story for us to explore this year for One Book, One School. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a story about a journey. It is a story about a mission. It is a story about courage, sacrifice, transformation, and the unknown.

But ultimately, it is a story about what—or rather, whom—we are seeking. 

Reepicheep, the brave mouse who accompanies Edmund, Lucy, and Prince Caspian, understands this better than almost anyone. His desire is to sail east, toward the end of the world, because he longs to reach Aslan’s country. 

At one point, Reepicheep describes his commitment to his mission, stating: 

"My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s country, or shot over the edge of the world into some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise."

Reepicheep’s words reveal an unwavering devotion to his quest. He knows where he wants to go. He knows what he desires. And he is willing to surrender everything else to reach it. 

You will have to read the book yourself to find out if little, brave, chivalrous Reepicheep makes it!

But Reepicheep’s longing takes us directly to our theme verse for this year:

“Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Ps 73:25-26, ESV).

Notice what the psalmist does not say. He does not say, “God, give me a successful journey.”
He does not say, “God, make everything easy.” He does not say, “God, give me the career I want, the relationships I want, the reputation I want, or the future I want.”

He says:

“Whom have I in heaven but you?”

And then:

“There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.”

That is an extraordinary statement.

The psalmist is not saying that everything on earth is bad. He is saying that nothing on earth is ultimate.

God Himself is the treasure. God Himself is the destination. God Himself is the portion. God Himself is enough.

For Reepicheep, it was getting to Aslan’s country. 

For the Israelites in Psalm 73, it was the Ark of the Covenant signifying God’s presence. 

Psalm 73 is attributed to Asaph, a Levite priest and one of the great worship leaders of Israel. We learn in 1 Chronicles 16 that after David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, Asaph and other Levites were appointed to minister before the Ark—to invoke, thank, and praise the Lord (1 Chron 16:4, 37). The Ark represented the presence of God among His people. This ministry before the Ark represented:

• Constant acknowledgment of God’s presence
• Dependence on God’s covenant faithfulness
• Public thanksgiving and remembrance
• Reverent daily devotion rather than sporadic religious activity

That is the point of our “adventure” at DC. 

A DC adventure, or education, serves as a modern-day marker or reminder of the presence of our Lord as our students learn to:

1. Center their life’s work inside God’s story: DC students are moved, motivated, engage reason and imagination, and build habits and practices that help them play a part in God’s story. God’s great story includes Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. This story-pattern captures the essence of DC students’ vocation and the reason for DC students’ work: the world is broken and needs repair, and that’s part of our job. It activates our imagination for our work: what might repair look like in this area of the world? It spurs us to action in our work; we create, build, risk, cultivate, sacrifice, restore. DC students challenge the standard in their fields because they recognize their work as a demonstration of the Gospel. 
    
2. Elevate their work: Seeing their work as ministry, DC students are intentional in how they do their work, why they do their work, and the global impact of their work.
    
3. Equipped to be innovators: Exercising uncommon imagination to see Kingdom possibilities, DC students join God in what they work on and how its effects ripple through the culture for the renewal of all things.
    
4. Bridge divides: DC students are Christ’s ambassadors in a lost world (2 Cor 5:20). Redemptive impact invites us to be a bridge to those around us. 

In the final pages of the book, Lucy implores Aslan to share the way to Aslan's country. 

“I shall be telling you all the time," said Aslan. “But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder.”

When asked by Edmund about Aslan's presence in his world, "You are there, too, sir?"

Aslan's answer is, "I AM."  (pp. 237-238)

And perhaps that is the message we most need as we begin another school year.

We may not see how long or short the journey may be, or what lies in front of us.

There will be difficult days. There will be moments when our plans don't work. There will be students who struggle. There will be exhausted teachers. There will be families carrying burdens we cannot see. There will be disappointments. There will be moments when our hearts fail us.

And when those moments come, Psalm 73 does not tell us to pretend everything is fine.

It tells us where to turn.

“Whom have I in heaven but you?”

“God is the strength of my heart.”

“God is my portion forever.”

I Am.

That is the posture we want for not only this school year, but every day.

Our students are not simply learning how to succeed in the world. They are learning how to live faithfully in God's world.  DC students are Christ’s ambassadors in a lost world (2 Cor 5:20). Redemptive impact offers an invitation to be a bridge to those around us. They focus on Jesus Christ as their strength, joy, and portion. They are learning to recognize that their lives are part of a larger story—the story of God redeeming and renewing His creation through Christ.

Psalm 73 reminds us as we gather on mission to give constant acknowledgment, dependence, thanksgiving, remembrance, and reverent devotion to God’s presence among us at Delaware County Christian School.

Amen!