Pastor’s Corner May 2008

The following was published in our monthly newsletter, the Redeemer Report.

I am so thankful for the Church-School vision of Redeemer. When I came to Redeemer in 1997, we had less than 100 members in the church and 9 students in Westminster (WCA). I was overjoyed to embrace, promote, and celebrate the great value of the parish-type ministry that had begun, and I am no less zealous today.

I can think of few more effective and valuable long-term ministries than a Christian School as it relates to discipling our children for the glory of God and the growth of His kingdom. Each Christian parent is called to disciple their child (see Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6 for the “discipleship” mandate), and a Christian school can be a powerful tool for assisting in this process. Discipling, training, mentoring all refer to the development of a biblical, Christian Worldview in our children. Discipleship happens all our waking hours. We are to be intentional about training our children. Effective discipleship requires cooperation among the influences in their lives, particularly family, church, and school. It is essential these entities are working in concert to form a consistent worldview. Keep in mind, when we send our children to a school, they will spend 14,000 hours of “seat time” between kindergarten and 12th Grade. If those hours aren’t spent helping to reinforce what the family and church is teaching, it’s a bit unrealistic to think our children will develop a Christian Worldview. I am convinced, based on personal, firsthand involvement and experience for the last 10 years, WCA is an ally in the discipleship process. Each parent must make their own choice. For Shari and I, we can think of no better arrangement for our boys and their whole development then to be utilizing WCA.

WCA was founded as a discipleship tool primarily for the members of Redeemer. Secondarily, we hoped for an opportunity to minister to the wider Christian community. So long as Christian parents are willing to be submissive to our doctrinal standards, we should assist them in the discipling of their children. Not every church is called to maintain a school; we believe it is our calling, so we strive to be faithful. Many Redeemer families utilize WCA, however I would like to see many more do so. We believe the culture of WCA and the overall educational experience will be greater if more Redeemer members send their children.

Finally, I want to waylay a valid concern that is raised from time to time, that is, the issue of cost. Public schools have about $9,000 dollars per elementary/junior high student to spend. Our regular tuition, for a full time elementary student is around $5,000 (less for each additional sibling, less for Kindergarten, more for junior and senior high school). While our tuition charges basically pay for our costs, they don’t provide for developmental funds. The buildings have largely been paid for with donations from outside the church community. While the church budget has done much to assist the development of the school and still share some overhead costs that help keep tuition down, tuition covers most of our costs. For some families, the tuition charges can be afforded more easily than others, and we are sensitive to this. Let’s face it- Christian schooling requires financial sacrifices from all involved. For this reason, we have set up a system of financial aid. For Redeemer families who still have need beyond the regular financial aid, we will work with them “in-house”. Personally, I have no desire to provide a school that is financially inaccessible to our church members. If a family is willing to prioritize their personal budget, we will make attending Westminster possible, period. I think it is very important that finances are not the reason for not sending your child to our school. God has gifted us too greatly as a whole community for such a thing. In time, as the church and school finances mature, we will try to do more regarding up front tuition costs for Redeemer members. For now, don’t assume you can’t afford it before you have explored the possibilities.

I ask each family to seriously and prayerfully consider sending their child to WCA. I sincerely believe you will find it to be a wonderful aid to the biblical training of your children.

In the Lamb,
Pastor Tony Felich