Choosing Christian School is a Matter of Conviction

Every now and then, God has a way of reminding us that the mission and purpose of a Christian school is found in the revelation of God to his human creation by sending his son, Jesus.  It's really pretty simple.  Jesus came to reveal not only the existence and person of God, but also to bring salvation by grace, through faith in the sacrifice he would make on the cross.  This is the way that humans are reconciled to God, and it is the only means by which the problems of human existence, caused by sin, can be resolved.  

Public education exists because Americans realized, early in the history of the nation, that an education which provided basic skills leading to multiple ends, including the ability to function in a society that depends on a certain level of literacy and comprehension, to have a basis from which skills can be developed in order for individuals to be productive, support themselves financially, and contribute to the well being of the nation.  

Compulsory education started in the United States as early as 1852, when the state of Massachusetts mandated primary schools for all students in every town.  But it would not be until 1918, just after World War 1, that all states had compulsory attendance laws, and had established enough public schools to accommodate all students.  

Oh, and here's a link to today's reminder:  Midwest Bible Church, March 2, 2025

Basic Philosophy of Education

The need for Christian schools, which teach biblical truth as the means of viewing and living in the world, came about as a result of a philosophical shift in American culture that led to the control of public school curriculum coming under the control of a secular, humanist philosophy.  The first amendment establishes religious liberty, a free conscience, and separates the church from state control, and the state from required church influence.  A secular, humanist philosophy of education slipped in and filled a growing vacuum as specific sectarian teaching in schools was slowly eliminated from the curriculum.  

This is a subject on which books have been written, and I would strongly suggest that parents get a copy of Kingdom Education: God's Plan for Educating Future Generations by Glenn Schultz.  Dr. Schultz does an excellent job of distinguishing the difference in educational philosophy between a Christian school and a public school.  It will provide you with a biblical foundation from your own faith and commitment to Jesus Christ as savior, for the reason you make a sacrifice to send your children to a Christian school.  

The primary, basic difference between the educational philosophy of Christian school education and the public education system in the United States is theological.  Jesus himself makes a statement of belief in revealing the person of God himself that is at the very core of our educational philosophy.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And the second is like it.  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.  Matthew 22:37-40 ESV 

The first point of our educational philosophy is that God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present.  Therefore, God's revelation of himself to humans, and the salvation that is offered as a result, is the only resolution to all of the problems of humanity, which are rooted in sin.  

In the humanist philosophy that governs public education curriculum and objectives, God's existence is not acknowledged.  There's no specific declaration that he does not exist, but leaving out any mention of the power that created humanity, including human free will, from curriculum objectives, leaves out everything that comes with acknowledging the existence of God, including the moral principles that are part of the practice of the Christian faith.  What that means, is that students are taught that human beings have the ability to save themselves from their problems, which we call by the old fashioned term, sin.  

If there is no statement that acknowledges the existence of God, then that completely changes the way we teach children about human origins.  And that's where evolution comes in.  If there is no creator God, then the door is open to scientific theory when it comes to explaining human origins.  When God's existence is not assured, then human origins are left up to chance.  And it slips in because humanism, and evolution, are not, by definition, "religious beliefs," they are secular beliefs.  And because they do not meet the definition of "religion," from a court interpreted constitutional position, they are welcome to come in and fill the vacuum in educational philosophy of our public education system. 

We Teach That God Exists, He Created Us, He Redeems Us, He Empowers Us

We don't just "integrate" Biblical principles into the other subject areas we teach.  Biblical truth forms the basis for our curriculum.  When Christian faith is approached as a lifestyle and a philosophy of both education, and of life, and not simply the academic assertion to a list of doctrine or theological principles, it becomes something that transforms us, and to which we respond, first to being convicted of our sin, then of understanding that we must confess Jesus as the Christ to be forgiven, then to receive the Holy Spirit in order to live a transformed, redeemed life.  

It would be impossible for me to count the number of times those things are taught to students in our classrooms, and how many times they will hear this, as it relates to everything they are learning, over the course of the time they spend at MCA.  God has given us all a free will, so there are no guarantees.  But what we do know is that it is far more likely your child will come to accept this truth, and respond to it, in our classrooms and in the environment that we provide, where all of our teachers are born-again believers in Christ, and where we openly worship God as a school, together.  

And that's why our school is here, and why it has been here for 69 years.  It's an option, and a choice, that Christian parents should consider, as a means of providing them with spiritual support in an educational partnership as they raise their children, "In the nurture and admonition of the Lord."  It is a gift you can give to them that far exceeds the monetary cost of providing it.  

When We Have to Close School

The state of Illinois requires all schools, public and private, to provide a minimum of 880 instructional hours to students.  This can be done by scheduling the standard 8:30 to 2:50 p.m. school day for 180 days, or, as a private school, we are allowed to determine the length of our instructional day.  Since we are in school for slightly longer than the standard school day, we have some "built in time" to take for emergencies, generally for weather-related closures, the well-appreciated "snow day", or for other emergencies, which can include shut-downs of utilities, water, or incidents such as we experienced this morning, a gas leak.  

Circumstances Which Cause School Closure

The most common reason for closing school in our area is inclement weather.  These conditions are not always easy or accurate to predict, but if driving conditions to and from school are considered risky or unsafe, we will close school.  This would include in the event of an excessive amount of snowfall, preventing the street crews from keeping streets clear, or more likely ice and freezing rain, which makes streets slick and is difficult to melt with salt and clear with a plow.  

Excessively frigid temperatures can also prompt closing school.  The public schools do this to prevent having kids waiting at bus stops, but we do this as well, because there is a risk to transportation in weather like this.  The risk would increase if snow or sleet is accompanying the low temperatures.  

It is not possible for us to have school if utilities are not functioning.  So if water is out, or gas, or electricity, we will cancel classes.  

Excessive absences due to illness is also a factor in determining whether the school will be open or not.  School, by the nature of the activity, is an easy place to spread germs, and when there are multiple cases of contagious virus going around, the number of students who get sick is high.  When that number reaches 20% of our currently enrolled students, we consider closing down to give everyone an opportunity to stay home and get better, and not spread germs while they are contagious.  

How Many Days Can We Miss?

We have not reached the maximum at any point during the seven years I've been here.  The number of days we've taken for illness hasn't been more than one in the past seven years, except for the closure that occurred for COVID during the last nine weeks of the 2020 school term.  

E-Learning, while a possibility, is also a last resort.  It is not as effective when it comes to instruction of students, as the test results and research clearly showed following the last pandemic.  But if we know or anticipate in advance that it might be several days, it does help make some progress while we are waiting to return to school.  

We recognize closures as an inconvenience, to students because it interrupts their learning experience, to teachers because they have a set of specific objectives their students are scheduled to learn during a limited amount of time, and parents, because they have to find child care and make arrangements for their children to be at home when they weren't planning for it.  We take all of that into consideration when we look at the possibility of an unscheduled day away from school.   

Did Jesus Really Say That?!

You have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer.  But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.  Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.  Matthew 5:38-42 NRSV

Many of our chapel messages recently have focused on the words of Jesus, recorded in the book of Matthew, chapters 5-7, a section known as the "Sermon on the Mount."  Several speakers have focused on the individual principles and values that Jesus taught.  We know that these words more than likely were not just preached this one time, but represented everything that Jesus taught as he travelled around during his public ministry, which took place mostly in Galilee.  

This particular concept was one that our students had some difficulty understanding and figuring out how to apply.  It should be encouraging to know that most of the students remember that their parents have told them not to be the one who hit first, but if someone hits them, then they have permission to hit that person back.  Actually, I think what most of the parents meant is that their child has permission to defend themselves, not retaliate, and there is a difference, though at this particular age, it might be hard to understand.  Still, this is a difficult concept to understand, since we rarely see this happening.  

Main Points We Have Learned

We understand that the words of Jesus, found in the four gospel accounts, but nowhere in any larger segment than here in Matthew 5, 6 and 7, are the Christian gospel.  This is a direct revelation from God, through his son, directly.  They contain the very essence of the Christian faith and its practice.  Many of the statements which teach specific principles of Christian faith start out with the words, "You have heard that it was said," meaning that Jesus was about to put a correct interpretation upon a faith practice which people did not fully understand.  

In fact, in Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus declares himself to be the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, indicating that this part of the gospel of Matthew was the climax, or high point of the Christian gospel, and that his words and interpretations of the faith and practice of Christian principles are the filter and criterion by which all of the rest of the Bible is to be interpreted and understood.  Something that might be very difficult to interpret and figure out otherwise is made clear by these passages of scripture which record the words of Jesus, with all of the authority God gave him to interpret his will for those human beings who placed their trust in God.  

When the Apostles were inspired to capture the thoughts of the faith Jesus taught them, by writing them down, they were guided by the Holy Spirit in the process.  Their authority came from Jesus, and everything they wrote is consistent with the Christian gospel.  There are those who claim the Bible contains contradictions, because it may appear that the apostles disagree, or change something Jesus said, and a surface observation, or reading of a translation, might make it look that way.  But with the understanding that Jesus is the logos, or "word from God" as described in John 1:1, apparent discrepancies are resolved by considering the words of Jesus as being primary, and as being the interpretive criterion for anything else.  Sometimes, it takes an understanding of a cultural aspect that gives meaning to a text which is not seen by us to determine what the author meant.  Bottom line, Jesus is the criterion by which all other scripture should be interpreted.  In Sunday school language, Jesus has the answer.

What we want our students to understand is that the Bible is not difficult to interpret or hard to understand. God sent Jesus for the purpose of serving as the final sacrifice, in order for humans to be redeemed, and reconciled to him, and for revealing his identity and his will, not just for a few people, but for the whole world to know God.  Jesus was very clear in his teaching and preaching, his words are simple.  In fact, if we put all of what Jesus was recorded as having taught by his disciples, the amount of content would be smaller than one of the four gospels.  

And yet. in the context of those words, the Bible interprets itself.  Jesus gives authority, meaning and purpose to life.  He tells us how to know God and understand his will for our lives.  He shows us the values and virtues of the gospel and explains how it is that we can be a testimony to our faith in him by believing what he said and by staying in touch with God through prayer and through the spirit.  

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who builds his house on a rock.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock...

Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as one of their scribes.  Matthew 7:24-25; 28-29 NRSV

As You Consider Re-Enrollment, MCA Has Considered It's Commitment to Ministry

Midwestern Christian Academy has been blessed over the past few years.  God has been faithful to this ministry, which has been serving families at this same location since 1956.  Each year, as we begin to open the school to enrollment for the next school year, we ask God to give us direction and a sense of vision for this ministry.  

Prayerful consideration in the decision making process at MCA is something we consider essential to our ministry.  In so doing, we have seen God provide his guidance and we have seen him raise up people who have helped support the ministry in many ways.  He has answered prayer for us by providing for our needs in ways that we would not have been able to do in our own strength.  

We have made improvements in every area of the school's operation, including the academic program, its spiritual life, and the facilities.  We achieved accreditation in 2020 that shows MCA to be a school of excellence.  And we have been blessed by people, led by the Lord, to provide resources which have enabled us to upgrade our facilities, including renovating of the Pre-K and Vernon Lee Educational Building, and to completely renovate the gymnasium.  

One of the biggest blessings in a Christian school is a teaching staff that is called and committed to ministry.  They understand the discipleship function of Christ's church, and how to integrate that into their classroom culture and life.  The unique aspect of a Christian school is the faculty and staff commitment to Christ as their Lord and Savior, and their involvement in a local church.  Your child has a Bible lesson every day, and gathers with classmates each week for worship.  

It's always a struggle, every year, to come up with a workable budget that provides for the quality education we desire to provide, and to make it affordable to parents.  We carefully calculate our expenses, and we charge what we think it's going to cost for the school year.  There is a little bit of contingency planning, not a lot, and the tuition figure we come to represents the actual cost of a year's worth of education at MCA.  We are able to subsidize the total cost from the generosity of supporters, including Midwest Bible Church, the debt-free status of our facilities, and the sacrifices our teachers and staff make with their salaries.  

We have compared our tuition to that of other accredited, religious-based private schools in our area of the city, and we offer one of the lowest rates of tuition and fees among Chicago's private, Christian schools.  We hope you plan to be included in MCA's school family next fall.  

MCA is Entering Its 69th Year of Service

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor.  No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.  O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.  Psalm 84:11-12, NRSV

Midwestern Christian Academy will turn 69 years old during 2025.  Over 90% of the currently existing Christian schools in the United States have been started since 1956, the year MCA came into existence.  The school has gone through several transitions and adjustments over the course of its service, including a period of time when there was a high school, and then, when it was no longer practical or feasible to operate high school classes, a junior kindergarten, which we now call Pre-School, was added.  

The Christian mission and purpose of MCA has always been the primary reason for its existence.  Born out of the vision of Midwest Bible Church, as a result of the Youth for Christ movement which had also prompted the establishment of Phantom Ranch Bible Camp in Wisconsin, the educational objectives at MCA include a complete study of the Bible, along with discipleship ministry opportunities for students, weekly worship together, and an educational philosophy based on the principles of the Christian gospel, integrated into each subject's objectives in a relevant and meaningful way.  

Looking back at some of the school's history, somewhere around 3,000 students have made their way through our halls and in our classrooms, and have received at least part of their educational experience here.  We are aware of former students and graduates who are serving as pastors, vocational ministers in local churches, and missionaries on the field, as well as those who have made their career in multiple other fields, including business, the technology field, education and health care.  Some are now civic leaders in their communities.  

Being Bestowed With God's Favor and Honor

At this particular point in our history, we acknowledge our blessings from God and are thankfulness for having received them.  Half of the independent, Evangelical Christian schools that have formed the modern Christian school movement in the United States that began about the time MCA was founded have closed their doors over the past two decades.  Many of those were schools in urban areas, like MCA, where there is a high density of population and where demographic shifts and the high cost of operation has led to school closures.  

Since the pandemic, which was definitely a challenge, we have been able to bring MCA to some new heights in the development of this Christian school.  

We achieved full accreditation in December of 2020.  While accreditation is not a term with which many parents may be familiar, achieving it is a recognition of the schools meeting or exceeding a set of standards that are based on its overall academic quality, its maintenance of facilities, its operational procedures and the quality and certification of its teaching staff.  

During the accreditation process, MCA was commended for the strength of its academic program, evidenced by a high level of student achievement across the board, and for the strength and effectiveness of its campus spiritual life.  Interviews with multiple members of the parent community, and with former students and alumni, indicated that the school's function as a discipleship ministry in support of the work of the local churches whose families have enrolled their students here was seen as a high priority.   

Our student achievement test scores are now showing evidence of some improvements made in the mathematics curriculum objectives implemented back in 2018.  Over 90% of our students earn test scores that rate them as "proficient" in their core subjects, with mathematics and English language arts skills being among the highest.  We have been able to increase academic support by adding Title I instruction and this year, are also adding an academic coach.  

We have improved our faculty salary scale which has enabled us to retain excellent teachers, an important key to our success as a school.  We have a low turnover rate, even among support staff, that contributes to the school's stability.  

We have seen some financial blessings enabling us to keep our tuition and fees at a low level, compared to other private, religious based schools in our area, and have been able to make major renovations and improvements to our facilities, including both the Vernon Lee Building and the gym.  We have added playground equipment, provide each student above the third grade level with a chrome book for classroom use and we were able to renovate the art room in 2022.  The increases we have made in tuition and fees are way below the inflation rate, and our tuition costs to parents remain among the lowest in the city of Chicago for a private, religious-based, fully accredited school.  

And What Does the Future Hold? 

We have maintained a stable enrollment for the past four years, and that has stabilized the school's finances as well.  Most of our classes are at or near capacity enrollment, and this year's eighth grade class, which is our smallest class, will be succeeded by seventh grade, which is twice its size.  We are blessed to share our assets with our parents, to keep tuition and fees as low as possible.  We have a debt-free facility, owned by the church, for which we pay no lease or rental fee.    

The Christian emphasis and spiritual life of the school will always be a top priority.  It is the reason for our existence as a ministry, and it is the key to our success as a Christian school, receiving blessings from God's faithfulness to us.  As the only Evangelical Christian school on Chicago's northwest side, we are working to help our students be prepared for the high school options they will have when they graduate.  

Each year, an eighth grade class graduates.  Ten of our students will leave us this year, and next year, we are anticipating that number will more than double.  Preparing them for the future is our priority.  Eight years in Christian school, in some cases as many as ten, has the potential to be a major presence in their lives, drawing them close to the Lord and helping them rely on his strength through their relationship to Christ.  Making sure they don't leave without having multiple opportunities to understand God's grace, and receive it through the sacrifice Christ made on the cross is primary to our mission and purpose.  

We want our students to understand that their relationship with Christ means they are spiritually gifted for service in the Kingdom of God, and those gifts will match the ministry needs of a local church.  

We also want them to be good citizens.  First of all, we want them to understand their responsibility and role as a member of Christ's church, to contribute to its ministry from their own resources which includes everything they've learned about God at MCA.  And second, we want them to understand their role as salt and light in a world that needs their influence and the benefit of their work.  That's a lot of ground to cover.  

So as we approach 2025, and everything that it will bring, we look forward to more years of service in the Christian school ministry.  We also look forward to your prayers, and your support as you send your children to our school to help support and undergird their faith.  We want to see God's favor and honor.  

Praying for the Peace and Comfort of Abundant Life Christian School

 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield.  Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.  Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.  Psalm 33:20-22, NRSV

We are praying for comfort and peace today, for the students, families and school community of Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin.  It's the peace and comfort of the Lord upon which we rely when unexplainable tragedy invades our lives.  And while those who are in position to do so are seeking answers and trying to figure things out, peace and comfort will be ministers to the souls of those who are hurting and grieving right now.  

As school shootings have become epidemic in our culture, Christian schools cannot think that we are immune to such occurrences.  We have been fortunate in that we haven't seen very many, but one of the reasons for this is that we represent only 3% of the total enrollment of the school aged population in the United States.  And I also believe that what we offer to our students in the way of discipleship and spiritual ministry is one way that helps resolve many of the emotional and social problems experienced by students which can be triggers for such behavior.  

In fact, what we know and have learned from each of these tragedies, which now occur by the hundreds in schools across the country, is that they are mostly internal in nature.  That is, they are committed by a student in the school where they occur, not because there's been some kind of a security breach, but because circumstances enabled the elements of a shooting, which includes an emotionally disturbed or abused student or former student, and a lethal weapon, usually a gun, to come together inside the school.  

We take preventative action, in the form of safety drills and precautions, locked doors, camera surveillance, a heightened police presence.  But the real weapon against the emotional disturbances that cause 95% of school shootings is spiritual transformation.  If this does nothing else, it reminds us of the critical importance of the ministry that takes place inside a Christian school.  The world in which we live is fallen, the record of the fall is in Genesis 3.  Our best weapon against the evil that distorts minds and hearts is the word, and the exposure to it every day that helps students discern when they are sensing conviction of sin.  There is a path to redemption, and there are some people who have a very difficult time following it.  We're here every day to help our students do just that. 

This was something intended to disrupt the ministry of a Christian school, even to the point of robbing students, parents and staff of their security and replacing it with fear.  Christian schools not only provide an education for students, but they also provide discipleship, and they help lead students to the Lord, encourage them, strengthen them and help them realize and fulfill their calling in the will of God.  So there is an enemy prowling around, who's interest is to disrupt and destroy.  So pray that this school, as well as ours, will be strengthened, and will unite around their faith in Christ, as a result of this incident.  

And pray for the families of both the shooter and the victims.  

 

Why We Ask Our Parents to Pay a "Fund-Raising Fee"

The balance between tuition and fees, and a private school budget necessary to provide a high quality education in the kind of intellectually, spiritually and physically safe environment that our parents desire for their children is very delicate.  In the United States, the average cost of a year of education, per student is more than $18,000.  Of course, public schools are funded by taxpayer dollars.  In private education, especially Christian education, tuition is the primary means of financing school operations.  That means that every budget item is carefully considered for its necessity, before putting it in.  

MCA is able to keep tuition and fees at a relatively low rate, compared to other private, religious-based, fully accredited schools for several reasons.  One, as a ministry of Midwest Bible Church, our buildings are debt-free, and we do not pay any lease or rental fee for their use.  We pay our share of the utilities and maintenance.  This saves about $2,000 per year, per student on school expenses.  

In addition to this, MCA is blessed to have many donors who are very generous in their support of Christian school education, including Midwest Bible Church.  Over the past five years, contributions to the school have amounted to over $500,000, which includes all of the funding provided to renovate the school's facility in the summer of 2018.   Contributions from donors to the school adds up to more than $3,000 per student over the past five years, and that's a significant savings to the budget.

All of our staff members make a financial sacrifice to be here.  Our school has achieved full accreditation, which means that all of our instructional staff have a degree in the field, and have completed specific coursework related to the teaching profession.  It also means that our school meets, or exceeds a set of some 85 indicators of excellence in eight categories of our operation and instruction.  We are small, but our academic program is excellent and the sacrifice made by our teachers, believing that this is a ministry calling they are serving, not only makes it possible, but it is a major factor in our low tuition and fee rates.

In the past, to raise additional funds for special projects outside the school budget, MCA held a chocolate candy sale in the fall.  This sale, which required students and families to assist with selling candy and raising money, usually raised about $18,000, of which the school was able to keep about $6,000.  We have used these funds to purchase chrome books, P.E. equipment, music instruments and other items not covered by the tuition budget.  

After doing this for a number of years, parents made note of the fact that a lot of effort was required to sell candy at a higher price than it could be purchased in a store while only realizing a third of the actual profit.  Many families indicated that they often just bought the candy themselves, which was easier.  So we began looking at what other private, religious-based schools do to raise additional funds outside of the tuition budget.  

Most of the schools in our area have a "fund raising option," which means that, for a specific dollar amount, related to the amount of money that the school sets as a goal to raise for one school year, parents can opt out of having to sell items by simply paying the goal amount per-family.  Both of the Catholic schools in our immediate area do this.  St. Patrick's requires students to raise $750 per year, through their school fundraising program.  Typically, $500 is a standard amount asked of parents to raise for specific projects within the school.  

We initially decided to make this an option, rather than a requirement.  Many business and foundation donors look at the amount of money raised from parents within a school community to determine their own level of giving.  When this was an option, we raised only $1,400 from our school community.  Our neighbors in the Catholic and Lutheran schools told us that their results were similar, which is why they went to a specific amount per family, as a fee. 

Every student benefits from these gifts.  The projects to which we apply contributions have included the renovation and refurbishing of the art room, the renovation and remodeling of the gymnasium, the addition of the playground equipment and purchase of additional technology for students.  We have recently added the purchase of an additional 15 passenger vehicle, in order to be able to provide transportation for field trips.  Currently, renting a bus for a field trip runs $500 to $800, which has to be paid by parents.  

We had thought about simply adding these projects to our budget amount and including them in tuition.  However, since they are not long-term, and have a start and end date, we did not want to continue charging tuition in a budget that was flexible.  The fund raising fee makes the contribution immediately applicable to a specific project, and gives parents a tax deduction they can't take on tuition. 

When multi-child discounts are factored in, and our budget is calculated, the average cost per student for one year at MCA is $5,500, which is $1,000 less than the next lowest private school in our area of the city, and almost $4,000 less than Christian schools in the suburbs.  Each of our students receives almost $3,500 in benefits which come from money given by outside donors, the church's contributions and the staff's sacrifice of salary and benefits as they consider MCA a ministry calling.  All of that was taken into consideration when we decided what we would ask of our school community as a contribution to the school.  

We continue to pursue a policy of not taking any public funding with any strings attached to it.  Being privately funded is a guarantee of the school's independence and autonomy, which gives us complete freedom to provide a school where the educational philosophy is based on Biblical truth, where our instruction integrates a Christian worldview into each subject area.  As a result, we are grateful to each person whose contributions to the school are a recognition of our ministry.  

Because of the fundraising fee, we were able to complete the gym renovation project without borrowing any money or paying any interest.  The Gies Foundation contributed $150,000, Ozinga Concrete added a generous contribution and the church also paid for the tuck pointing and roof repair.  The balance of what was left, which covered the expenses of finishing the project, came from the balance provided by this fee.  Over $30,000 was contributed by outside donors to purchase and install the playground equipment, the balance will be covered by this fee.  We have received over $20,000 in outside contributions for the purchase of a second 15 passenger vehicle, and this fundraising fee will provide the rest of what we need.  We will not have to borrow one dime for any of it, thanks to those who have contributed, including the parents who are cheerfully giving to this fund.  

Thank you for your understanding.