You might know him as LuHi’s talented sports videographer, filming at sports games and editing highlight reels for students and families. Students may recall his interesting archeological insights that he shares as a guest teacher in theology or history classes. But what you may not realize is that John Rinks’ primary role at LuHi is as an ambassador and storyteller.
In today’s staff spotlight article we have the privilege of getting to know John as LuHi’s Donor Advisor. We recently spoke to him about his chosen vocation and some very interesting hobbies, too!
First things first: what exactly is a Donor Advisor?
For John, it means creating opportunities to talk about all the cool things God is doing at LuHi. “I am an ambassador of the school, sharing the news of what’s being accomplished and what God is doing in the lives of the students. I enjoy being the storyteller of what God is doing at LuHi, sharing that with our community of alumni, supporters, and churches through our annual magazine, quarterly supporters newsletters, and personal interactions.”
As he meets people one-on-one over coffee, in small groups, and at alumni events, he shares about LuHi’s needs and opportunities to see if they align with potential donors’ desires and resources. The goal is to work in tandem with dedicated supporters to help our students flourish.
“What people really like to support is not a building or parking lot or brick and mortar, but they’re excited about the ministry and how God is impacting the kids here. We need more classrooms and parking lots, but it’s not about the buildings; it’s about what can be accomplished for the students.”
In order to extend our reach to all the students God brings us, LuHi needs reliable financial support. “LuHi wants to be as affordable as possible for as many families as possible, so when we need to build more classrooms because we're growing, we don't want to add that to tuition. We present the opportunity to others to be part of this thriving ministry to students. They enjoy using some of God's blessings on them to help LuHi expand and upgrade so we can impact more students. There are many great ministries worthy of support - like church, missions, etc. I believe a Christian high school like LuHi is worthy, too. Students here will be tomorrow's leaders and we want to inspire and equip them to love and serve the Lord.”
Currently, donations are going a long way to help fund LuHi now, but a bigger vision has been cast for the future.
“School supporters love to donate to the Tuition Assistance fund to help families afford a Christian education for their children. A $6,200,000 new wing is under construction right now and scheduled to be completed by Thanksgiving. It will add lots of classrooms, a larger cafeteria, an expanded college guidance center for students, and a lot more. It will enable us to serve more students. Next, we need a second, larger gymnasium to fit our growing student body for chapel three times a week. Having two gyms will also enable all of our indoor teams to practice twice as fast and get home in time for family dinner (currently teams practice before school at 6:00 am and after school until past 8:00 pm).”
It’s an exciting time to support LuHi because of the exponential rate of God’s blessings. John believes the growth is due to a few key factors all working in sync. “We’re firing on all cylinders,” he says, speaking appreciatively of LuHi’s Christian community, highly relational culture, and staff teamwork, all working towards a common mission. "The reason I chose and choose Christian education as a vocation is that I want to help the next generation learn to follow and serve Jesus.”
More about John
John has been married for thirty-nine years, has three children, and has eight grandchildren. Besides sharing his donor advising talents with LuHi, he’s also generous with his videography and archaeological hobbies.
His filming hobby was inspired in seventh grade when he bought a Super 8 video camera with money from his newspaper delivery job. Our LuHi families really appreciate his highlight reels at the end of each season.
LuHi students are also fortunate to glean from his ancient history experience in their theology and history classes when he guest teaches. Each summer he spends a month in Israel at a site in Hazor, one of Solomon’s three chariot cities listed in the Old Testament and the capital of Canaan when Joshua entered the Promised Land. Archeology first sparked John’s interest when his childhood pastor wove references into his sermons, and it’s been a lifelong passion ever since.
John’s favorite Bible verse is "Well done, good and faithful steward” from Jesus' parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. The word "servant" is oikonomos in Greek, which he has on a custom license plate on his car as a daily reminder to be a good steward of his time, talents, and treasure in service to Jesus. Thank you, John, for blessing LuHi with your time, talents, and treasures from Jesus!
