Inspire, Spring 2012

Nationwide, more than 90,000 elected school board members govern the 13,809 local school districts that serve the nation’s 50 million public school students. — National School Boards Association Electing to Serve Whenever the church doors were open, Lisa (Brovont) Babb ’92 was there. She met her husband, Larry, at the church, and they practically raised their three boys there. Both of their families lived hours away, so their church community became their extended family. “It was all so comfortable, we knew so many people and felt so loved,” Babb said. But then the church split. “It felt like what I imagine divorce must be like,” said Babb. “It rocked our world.” But God used that experience to get her family’s attention. Because they were so heavily involved in their church, they weren’t looking for ministry opportunities beyond their faith community. “We began asking, ‘Is this what we’re supposed to be doing? Will any of this have an eternal impact?’” Babb said. “It caused us to take a closer look at our church’s role in our lives. Church involvement is important, but for our family, it had become everything.” It was during this difficult time that God began to show Babb places she could serve beyond her church. Her family began serving at the Victory Project, a nearby inner-city ministry in Dayton, Ohio, and the experience opened her eyes to needs she had never considered. The more her perspective changed, the more she began to recognize needs and opportunities she was equipped to address right in her own Springboro community. Deciding to Run Babb had been one of eight graduating seniors in her Christian high school, and she wanted a broader experience for her children. Babb and her husband were committed to sending the boys to public school, and Babb wanted to be deeply involved. That’s how she found herself at a school board meeting one night with nearly 200 concerned parents of kindergarteners. She was taken aback when a board member challenged their commitment, saying, “You’re here tonight because this issue affects your child. Where will you be next time when it’s an issue impacting other people’s children?” “That really ticked me off,” Babb said, “but he was right.” She joined a school levy campaign and became the school board liaison, which meant she attended all of the board meetings. After much prayer, she decided to run for a seat on the board, and her outward focus began opening doors for unexpected relationships. People she met in her campaign discovered she was a woman of faith, and they shared personal hardships and asked her to pray. A board volunteer confided his cancer diagnosis. An atheist friend accompanied her to a Bible study. “If I was still focused only on my church, I’d have missed the chance to connect with so many other people,” she said. Knowing the Outcome Although she received more than 4,200 votes, she was 112 votes shy of winning the seat. “Nobody wants to lose,” she said. “People watch you — your children watch you — to see how you handle it. They’ve asked, ‘Would you do it again, knowing the outcome?’ and I tell them, ‘Yes, absolutely.’ I had a supportive team that helped me get my message out. People learned who I am and what I stand for. I had deep conversations with people of all faiths and clear affirmation that God was using this.” It took a painful church split to set Babb and her family in action. “It changed the way we think about ministry and what it means to be the Church,” Babb said. “People don’t always understand or even approve when we don’t choose to do everything the church offers, but that’s OK with us. Going to Sunday services is still very important to us, but our lives no longer solely revolve around activities in the local church. My husband and I are actively praying for God to show us where we can make an impact for the Kingdom, whether it’s within our local church, at the inner-city mission, or right outside our own front door.” Birgit (Kass) McQuiston ’85 is vice president of the school board in Lake Orion, Michigan, where she lives with her husband, Greg, and their children, Emily and Erich. You may contact her at realfoodgirl-1@yahoo.com . Lisa (Brovont) Babb ’92 and her husband, Larry, live in Springboro, Ohio, with their three sons. Her involvement with the Springboro public schools includes supervising Cedarville student teachers. You may contact her at lisajbabb@gmail.com. Carol Lee ’96 is the senior communication specialist in marketing at Cedarville and managing editor for Inspire and Torch . You may contact her at carollee@cedarville.edu. Serving with her family at The Victory Project in Dayton (victoryproject.org), Lisa (Brovont) Babbs ’92 had her eyes opened to needs and opportunities in her community. CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY 15