Why do we have a Christian
school?
Among the
many ministries of Hollywood Community Church is Hollywood Christian
School. For more than 50 years the
school has been a major part of the church’s ministry and outreach. Often, I am asked why we have a school. Why don’t we just concentrate our efforts on
reaching our community through HCC’s various outreach ministries? Those are great questions that I believe need
to be answered.
1. We
do not have a Christian School for financial gain.
It is so
very important to clarify that HCS does not exist in order to bring in
additional revenue for Hollywood Community Church. Let me state with conviction that HCC and its
ministries are not a business. Although
legally a corporation, we do not function with the purpose of making money or increasing
revenues. Yes, we need financial
resources to pay our employees and fulfill our financial obligations. But, revenue has never been, nor ever should
be a factor in fulfilling God’s mission for our ministry.
In I Peter 5:2
pastors and elders are commanded to not minister for what they can get out of
it. Quite frankly, far too many churches
and schools exist or close down because of financial blessings or economic restraints. Money must never be the driving factor in what
we do.
That does
not mean, though, that we should not be fiscally responsible. Not being able to pay bills and increased
debt should definitely be signs that God is not blessing. God has definitely promised to meet all of our
needs according to His infinite riches (Phil. 4:19). The old saying goes, “Where God guides, He most certainly supplies!”
2. We
do not have a Christian School because we are against public schools
Public
schools are not our enemy! I know that
there will be some Christian educators that will disagree with me. That is not to say, though, that there is not
much in public education with which we disagree. There are many aspects of public schools
that frighten me: The rise of secular humanism, the rejection of absolute truth
and the embracing of anti-biblical lifestyles to name a few. Nevertheless, everything is not bad in public
school education. There are many
tremendous and godly teachers that have given their lives to serve in public
education. To them, public schools are a
mission field. I applaud them and commend them for their dedicated service.
In addition,
many families just are not able to afford private education. Their only option is public schools. I myself am a product of public school
education. Quite frankly, the fact that
I needed to stand up for what I believed in a secular environment increased my
boldness and strengthened my faith. Therefore,
we joyfully partner with families that have chosen to enroll their children in
public schools.
3. We
have a Christian School to reach families for Jesus Christ and to make
disciples
Without
apology, the number one reason why Hollywood Christian School exists is to
reach students and families for Jesus Christ!
Our purpose statement clearly articulates our vision…
Hollywood
Christian School, a ministry of Hollywood Community Church,
exists to produce passionate disciples of Jesus Christ that will achieve
spiritual, academic, and physical excellence and make a dynamic impact upon our
world.
By conviction, we are not a covenant school. That simply means that we do not only receive
families that are believers and active participants in a local church. We intentionally reach out to un-churched
families inviting them to enroll their children in our school. Why?
Because we want to reach them for Jesus Christ. Through the years there have been many
non-believing families that have enrolled their children at HCS, and as a
result of the ministry of HCS, they later gave their lives to Christ and are
now passionate followers of Jesus. That is our goal! That is what we are called
to accomplish!
Matthew 5:13, 14 tell us that we are both the salt of the earth and the
light of the world. That means that
there are times in which we penetrate the darkness for the purpose of
accomplishing spiritual transformation.
We have not been called to isolationism.
We have not been commanded to avoid the world, but to live differently
in it (John 17:15). Thus, we reach out
to an unbelieving world through HCS for the purpose of producing passionate
disciples of Jesus Christ.
4. We have a Christian School to train future leaders
Every generation is entrusted with the momentous task of training the
next generation. Glen Schultz in Kingdom Education states, “The future
body of Christ will be influenced by how we educate future generations.” As a church and school we assume this sacred
trust with seriousness and with conviction.
We believe that our calling to train future leaders does not just come
from society, but more importantly, it comes from God.
II Timothy 2:2 –
You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable
witnesses. Now teach these truths to
other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.
As a school, we commit to training our students towards excellence in
three areas:
- Spiritually
We desire for each student to have a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. Secondly, every student and
future leader must have a biblical worldview. A worldview is the framework from which we
view reality and make sense of life and the world. Thus, a biblical worldview
is based on the infallible Word of God. When you believe the Bible is entirely
true, then you allow it to be the foundation of everything you say and do. How
important is it for our future leaders to have such a foundation? I can think of nothing more important!
- Academically
Our task is not just to change the heart, but the mind as well. We must not allow our pursuit of the
spiritual to hinder our development of the mind. After all, even Jesus “grew in wisdom and
stature and favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52) We commit to offer a quality education that
will prepare our students for future careers that benefit the society in which
we live. Not every believer has been called to be a pastor or a
missionary. We need Christian doctors,
lawyers, entrepreneurs, accountants, teachers, electricians, and plumbers. The list of potential careers paths is
endless. We desire to prepare our
students to become whatever it is that God has called them to do.
- Socially
In Romans 14:7 Paul said, “We don’t live for ourselves or die for
ourselves.” We were created to be part of a community. In fact, the Bible spends much time teaching
us how to be caring, viable and productive members of the community in which we
live. At HCS we desire to instill within
our students a love for their fellow man, a Christlike disposition toward
others and even a burden for the poor.
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “let your good deeds shine out for all to
see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” When students are
taught to live in such a way, their very lives become a vibrant testimony of
the Gospel. Just think how such a future
generation could impact their world for Jesus!
So, I hope that you can see the reason why we have a Christian
school. It is not antiestablishment or
for convenience or even for profit. No,
it is by conviction. From the bottom of
our hearts, we believe it is one of the ways that God has called us to produce
disciples and impact our community, in the present and in the future, with the
transforming power of the Gospel.
May God bless and use Hollywood Christian School!