We believe that a classical, Christian education provides good soil for students to grow into mature followers of Jesus Christ. In this series of posts we will highlight various ways that a Covenant education prepares students to live faithful and fruitful lives.
Covenant seeks to foster relationships with local churches and church leaders in our community. We asked Mike Wolcott, Assistant Pastor of Youth and Family Ministries at Trinity Presbyterian Church, to share about how he sees Covenant strengthening these relationships.
“As a pastor I have appreciated the education and ministry of Covenant Christian Academy. There are many ways in which I have seen Covenant show trust for church leadership and authority in the lives of their students and families.”
One way that Pastor Wolcott has seen Covenant build this trust is through our annual Pastor Appreciation Day. This is a special day to give area pastors and ministry leaders an opportunity to fellowship with one another, to visit students in their classrooms, and for us to show our gratitude for all that they do for our students.
“It gives a good picture to the churches of the education that is happening at Covenant. It shows great trust on behalf of the school to invite those leaders into their space. They want churches to see what they are investing in by seeing the students at work.”
Pastor Wolcott goes on to share the ways that church leadership influences the education at Covenant…
“You see some leaders coming in and leading electives on different topics that the students get to choose. I have the privilege of teaching a youth ministry elective this fall to 12 high school students. You see leaders getting involved in coaching sports where they get to mentor and disciple young athletes in how to play with integrity and showing Jesus Christ in all they do. This is strategic on behalf of the school because it shows that they trust the leadership of our churches to lead and represent Covenant in a hard arena, sports. And if you look at the board of Covenant there have regularly been pastors committing to serve there, showing they love the school and that the school trusts the leadership of our churches.”
Covenant acknowledges and embraces the importance of both parent partnership and church partnership in educating our students. Pastor Wolcott explains how these partnerships are implemented at Covenant.
“…I have seen the school trust me as a pastor as they have called me and asked advice in how to reach students who are part of the ministry of my church. They are not afraid to ask for advice from people who know the students personally and intimately. That would rarely happen in a public school, but Covenant shows they trust the work we are doing with students enough to ask how we can help them out.”
Covenant Christian Academy is a member of ACCS.
The University of Notre Dame, in conjunction with the Cardus Education Survey, conducted a study focused on school outcomes. We are encouraged by this recent data released by the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) that shows how alumni from these schools accept authority of church and church leadership.