Calvary Schools of Holland Statement of Beliefs

STATEMENT OF BELIEFS – At Calvary Schools of Holland, the person of Jesus Christ is at the center of all we do. We do not seek to teach specific denominational doctrines, but we do want children to know the person of Christ.

As a Christ-centered school, we acknowledge the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Word of God, the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit in all of life. CSH does not seek to divide life or education into spiritual and secular compartments, but rather acknowledges that all truth is God’s truth and all learning is an effort to relate to God, self, others, and the created world. We value each student as created by God, with gifts to be strengthened, weaknesses to be overcome, and responsibilities to be carried out. CSH respects the authority that God has given to parents and teachers and calls them to partner in the training and education of children. We seek to collaborate with parents and the local church in the commission of preparing young people for a lifetime of loving and seeking Christ Jesus. We call students to submit to the loving mentors that God has provided for this purpose. As a Christ-centered school, we are built on the following set of foundational beliefs:

A. The Bible is revered as the inspired, authoritative Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

B. God, who is eternally existent in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is the creator of all truth and governs all things according to the purpose of His will.

C. God has created people uniquely, knows them fully, and desires to have a personal, vibrant relationship with them, but they are separated from Him because of their sinfulness.

D. To this end, God the Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth in human form, fully God and fully man, to live a sinless life, to be crucified, and to rise again from the dead as the only ransom for sinners and the only mediator between God and mankind.

E. All people will be resurrected, either unto eternal life with God or eternal separation from Him.

F. Upon our acknowledgement of our own sinfulness and acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, the Holy Spirit continues the work of regeneration, including conviction of sin, new birth, and growth in Christian maturity.

G. God surrounds us with other people to encourage, exhort, and correct us. He calls us to spiritual unity as believers in Jesus Christ, across racial, gender, and socio-economic lines.

H. God has ordained the family and it is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one natural born man to a natural born woman in a covenant commitment for a lifetime. It reveals the union between Christ and His church and provides God’s framework for sexual expression and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Thus, as a Christ-centered school, we focus on complementing the work of the family and the church and seek to help to establish the critical link between learning and faith. We prepare students for responsible, insightful, and creative participation in society. By promoting excellence in every area of life and valuing the development of moral and spiritual character as well as the development of the mind, the Christ-centered education prepares students to actively engage the culture and to serve Christ with all of their strength, in whatever capacity He has prepared for them.

(Approved February, 2019)