I would sincerely appreciate your prayers for our newly formed school, Heritage Christian Academy.
One of the main reasons I came to Redeemer in 1997 was to be part of the planting of a new church and Christian school. Westminster Christian Academy has been our school since 1996. God has blessed our school greatly over these years bringing us to 10th grade with 240 students, a great faculty, and wonderful staff.
This Fall we were presented with the opportunity to merge our school with another Christian school run by a church literally down the street. At first I was skeptical this merger would happen given some of our theological differences. Berean Church has been historically Baptistic and dispensational while Redeemer is Presbyterian and Reformed. Nevertheless, we both believe the Gospel is the joyous declaration that God is redeeming the world through Christ and that he calls everyone everywhere to repent from sin and trust Jesus Christ for salvation. We are both committed to coming along side parents to assist with the discipleship of children and young people. We both want to help inculcate a Christian worldview in to every student God gives to our partial care. With these common commitments, the Berean Church was willing to place chief governance for the school in the hands of Redeemer's elders. We take this as a stewardship and a great responsibility given the 35 plus years Berean has been faithfully committed to Christian education. Now, together, Westminster and Berean are called "Heritage Christian Academy".
Grades Pre-K through 6 will stay on the Redeemer (East) campus. Grades 7-12 will be on the Berean (West) campus. The faculty has been re-distributed and a massive integration effort has been going on for a few months and will remain active until the first day of school in August.
One of the main reasons I came to Redeemer in 1997 was to be part of the planting of a new church and Christian school. Westminster Christian Academy has been our school since 1996. God has blessed our school greatly over these years bringing us to 10th grade with 240 students, a great faculty, and wonderful staff.
This Fall we were presented with the opportunity to merge our school with another Christian school run by a church literally down the street. At first I was skeptical this merger would happen given some of our theological differences. Berean Church has been historically Baptistic and dispensational while Redeemer is Presbyterian and Reformed. Nevertheless, we both believe the Gospel is the joyous declaration that God is redeeming the world through Christ and that he calls everyone everywhere to repent from sin and trust Jesus Christ for salvation. We are both committed to coming along side parents to assist with the discipleship of children and young people. We both want to help inculcate a Christian worldview in to every student God gives to our partial care. With these common commitments, the Berean Church was willing to place chief governance for the school in the hands of Redeemer's elders. We take this as a stewardship and a great responsibility given the 35 plus years Berean has been faithfully committed to Christian education. Now, together, Westminster and Berean are called "Heritage Christian Academy".
Grades Pre-K through 6 will stay on the Redeemer (East) campus. Grades 7-12 will be on the Berean (West) campus. The faculty has been re-distributed and a massive integration effort has been going on for a few months and will remain active until the first day of school in August.
For my part of the integration effort I have very much enjoyed crafting the bible/doctrine tract every Heritage student will take as they go through our upper school. 7th and 8th Grade are Old and New Testament Survey respectively. 9th grade will have "Principles of Bible Study" for one half of the year and "Practical Biblical Ethics" the second half- Pastor Nathan and I will team teach these courses next year. Sophomores will have "Doctrine I" which is essentially the Westminster Confession chapters 1-9, Fellow PCA pastor Jim Baxter will be teaching this next year. Juniors will take "Doctrine II" which is essentially the second half of the Westminster Confession, Pastor Brian will teach this course. Seniors will take a class on "Worldviews and Apologetics" taught by Mr. Steve Adams (the High School principal). Designing such stuff really pumps me up. Getting to coach the varsity soccer team is icing on the cake.
The lower grades will remain much the same as they were at Westminster (with new school colors/uniforms, of course!). The upper grades instantly gain larger classes and more academic opportunity. Our High School will have close to 100 students.
If you have read my blog for any amount of time you know how much I love Christian Education. Heritage will be a great help to many families in the southern KC area. We do not view ourselves as in competition with other Christian Schools or homeschooling. In fact, we need more of both. I am fully supportive of all forms of Christian Education, all efforts to see our young people discipled, trained, and readied for their place in the world, for Christ. I'm just very grateful to be ministering at Redeemer and Heritage. Every day presents a new opportunity to encourage someone in Christ and His Word. What a blessing!
So once again I (we) would very much appreciate your prayers for Heritage Christian Academy going forward, especially during these next few months of integration and preparation.
The lower grades will remain much the same as they were at Westminster (with new school colors/uniforms, of course!). The upper grades instantly gain larger classes and more academic opportunity. Our High School will have close to 100 students.
If you have read my blog for any amount of time you know how much I love Christian Education. Heritage will be a great help to many families in the southern KC area. We do not view ourselves as in competition with other Christian Schools or homeschooling. In fact, we need more of both. I am fully supportive of all forms of Christian Education, all efforts to see our young people discipled, trained, and readied for their place in the world, for Christ. I'm just very grateful to be ministering at Redeemer and Heritage. Every day presents a new opportunity to encourage someone in Christ and His Word. What a blessing!
So once again I (we) would very much appreciate your prayers for Heritage Christian Academy going forward, especially during these next few months of integration and preparation.
4 comments:
This is good news. Berean almost went another way, and I was quite worried for them. Glad this has happened!
What a joy it has been to work with our middle high warriors. And most of them attend Westminster. I can see the Lord has HIS Hands surrounded about more than just a few of these fine eager to learn hungry to serve students. At the beginning of our class I pass around the prayer request sheet, I every week I read “please pray for our transition to Heritage Christian Academy.” This past Lord’s Day, one of our young warriors ask me to “pray for the people at her school that weren’t very nice. That she would be able to reach out and find out what’s bugging them and she will be able to help them take care of it.”
God covets the prayers of His people and no prayer is insignificant.
The vision of Heritage and God's leading will be prayed over many times.
I was looking over the 31 page application very thorough indeed but was shocked as to find the Evangelism Explosion (EE) question found in the questionnaire. “If you were to stand before God today and He asked you, ―Why should I allow you into my heaven? what would you say?”
Isn’t this an Arminian hypothetical? Are we not saved by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone? That apart from God’s Grace by electing us, Christ Redemption for the elect, and the Holy Spirit’s Regenerating to faith alone in Christ alone and sanctifying the elect, we in of ourselves are children of wrath and do not by our merits or action deserve to enter heaven.
Also the church attendance question a bit legalistic I must say. Don’t get me wrong it is important to attend church but there are times when due to illness, vacation, or family needs when this is not possible.
So is this application to weed out the chaff? I would hate to give a wrong answer that would preclude my sons John and James from attending in the future but more importantly preclude me and them from the Kingdom of God.
Of course I will keep HCA in my prayers.
I guess for me to some this up Biblically
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Rick,
As you know, the first EE question was divised by D. James Kennedy, whom you are fond of quoting here often.
Please note, the question says "IF YOU WERE TO...". It is a hypothetical that will never happen, but it is an excellent question to ask someone to find out how they think they are saved. The right answer- Because I trust in Christ alone for my salvation. It's a great diagnostic.
As for church attendance, no apologies there. This is a school that helps parents and churches disciple children. All three entities have to do their part. Nominal church attenders need not apply. It's not a matter of God loving you more for going to church, it's a matter of obedience. Remember, we get applicants from many different denominations and churches. Knowing a family is accountable to a local church is very important for us to conduct our ministry.
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