Heritage Christian School was born out of the womb of parental concern in the fall of 1984.  That concern focused on creating a learning environment characterized by academic excellence, Christian character development, and loving discipline.  We began modestly with 12 kindergarten students and gradually added one grade per year until we reached the eighth grade.  Our present enrollment of over 200 students in pre-school through the eighth grade has come gradually over the years by the blessing of God.

That “womb of parental concern” was the heart desire of several parents of Heritage Baptist Church and the special vision of Pastor Ted Christman, founding pastor of HBC.  Under his wise and godly leadership the foundation of strong academics and character development was carefully laid.  That foundation has served us well for nearly four decades.

Heritage Christian School operates as a ministry of Heritage Baptist Church under the oversight of her elders, Keith Maddy, Mark Redfern, Keith Withrow, and Thad Gunderson.  These faithful men, along with school administrator, Tracy Ladd, serve as the board of Heritage Christian School.

It is our firm conviction that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  That is the starting point and foundation for all true learning.  All education is religious in nature.  The critical question is whether or not it is God-centered or man-centered.  We are determined, by the grace of God, to keep our education God-centered!

Character Development

This has always been at the very heart of what we do at HCS.  Our commitment to molding and shaping the character of our students grows out of our commitment to the Bible as the foundation for everything we do here.  Not only does the Bible call us to the ministry of character development, but it also gives us the character qualities we should be instilling in our students.  Taking place both formally (class instruction, chapel) and informally (those wonderful spontaneous moments throughout the day) character development is one of the constants at Heritage Christian School.  (Please click here for a list of character traits taught at HCS.)

Classroom Devotions and Chapel

Every class starts each day with a devotional time.  Scripture memory, character traits, Pilgrim’s Progress, a children’s catechism, and a time of prayer form the backbone of the devotional time in each class.  Friday morning (Wed. morning for kindergarten & pre school) we have chapel for elementary and middle school students.  We study Bible characters, the 10 commandments, themes from Proverbs, Old Testament survey, the life of Christ, etc., with practical applications to students’ lives.

The mission of HCS is to provide an education for the whole child, built on the unchanging principles of the Word of God and focused on the core academic subjects in such a way that our students will become lifelong learners under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  In other words, we are seeking to provide a Christian education in a warm, loving, disciplined environment.  Let’s break that down and talk about it.  A Christian education.  At rock bottom providing a Christian education means that all our teachers approach every facet of education from a biblical perspective – every subject, every activity, every pursuit, every project.  All truth is God’s truth.  Math works because God established certain absolutes that never change.  Science is the observation and examination of the world God created, sustains and rules over by His good and wise providence.  History is the study of what God has been doing since creation.  English helps us to sharpen our communication skills as creatures made in the image of God.  Literature is an expression of our creativity and imagination, another aspect of our being made in the image of our Creator.  It is not that we simply begin each day with prayer and a brief devotion, or that we have chapel every week.  What makes education Christian is that we acknowledge the Lordship of Christ in every facet of the educational process.

Christian education is also much more than teaching academic subjects from a Christian perspective.  We have said from the beginning that we are more interested in molding the character of our students than in simply imparting information to their minds.  All of life is lived out under the eye of God and He calls for certain kinds of behavior and attitudes toward Himself and toward our neighbors.  That’s why we are so careful about what our students do and say, about how they behave, about how they treat each other and about their attitudes.  That’s why we don’t let things slide, things that those in the public arena would seldom address (even if they had the freedom to do so).   That’s why we seek to be faithful to the souls of our students.  That’s why we address behavior issues.  That’s why we are concerned about modesty in dress.  That’s why we enforce discipline.  That’s why we strive for excellence.  It’s not that we’re trying to be superior or elitist.  It’s not that we’re trying to be a difficult school.  We are simply challenging our students to give their best to the glory of God, because that is what God Himself expects.

Underneath these convictions about education is this foundation:  we are a Christian school, not a private school.  We say that often, but sometimes we need to make it unmistakably clear.  We are a Christian School because the foundation for everything we do is the Bible.  It is not the latest fad, the most recent popular philosophy, or the newest twist on educational methods that drives us.  It is the unchanging principles of the Word of God that make us what we are.  Maintaining that conviction is not easy in a world that is always redefining values and abandoning absolutes.  But we are determined to stay on course as a Christian school.  And we invite you to join us in the rewarding pursuit of that goal.