Purpose Statement

Why do we exist?

Mission Statement: Westminster Academy® is a Christ-centered, biblically-based college preparatory school dedicated to equipping covenant students to excel by using their gifts and talents for God’s glory.

What do we believe?

Westminster Academy is an educational ministry of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and as such is related denominationally to the Presbyterian Church In America. It gives instruction to children and youth from within a biblical framework as interpreted through the historic, orthodox creeds and doctrines of the Church. In particular it views God, life, and scripture through that form of biblical interpretation presented by the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.

Who attends?

Children from homes where parents have personally embraced Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who hold active membership in a local Christian church, and who are supported by a ministerial endorsement are eligible for enrollment. Children and youth from more than 120 Christian churches representing every major denomination comprise the student body annually.

Preamble

The God of the Old and New Testaments is the creator and sustainer of all that exists. He possesses absolute authority over all things.

God is the God of the Bible. In the Bible God has revealed Himself, His will and His way to us. Through the Bible we learn to understand the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and learn to understand His created, natural world and the principles He has placed therein.

Schooling must use the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the infallible basis and interpreter for all teaching and learning.

Schooling must guide the child to an understanding of God's centrality to all of life and learning. No academic discipline or schooling activity lies outside of this quest.

God has loaned children to their parents - not to schools, churches or governments. The school exists to assist parents in the Godly rearing of their children as an extension of their home.

1.1 Statement of Purpose

Westminster Academy is a parochial school, an agency of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Primarily, it is committed to the education of the children of this Church and strives to implement a curriculum that reflects the variety of needs of these children, one that is based upon and is faithful to the Holy Scriptures as interpreted in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. Secondarily, Westminster attempts to meet the needs of children of other professing Christians, regardless of race, color, or national origin.

Committed to a belief that the responsibility for the educating and the nurturing of the child rests with the parent, Westminster Academy also recognizes the necessity for the church and the school to work together with the family to provide a unified world view. The school is not to take the place of the home or the church but as an extension of the home is committed to help both fulfill their Christian responsibilities.

1.2 Philosophy of Education

1.2.1 True Education

God -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- reveals Himself in His world and in His Word. He is the Sovereign Lord of History, the Author and Revealer of Truth, the Creator, Sustainer, and Consummator of Life. Without Him life is meaningless and education is misdirected.

God the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, has given us truth in His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Scriptures, the only infallible and authoritative basis for faith and practice. Education is the total process of coming to know the truth of God, applying that truth to all of life, and evaluating all of life by that truth. God is ultimate in entering and understanding that pattern of life.We are naturally blinded to the truth because of the disintegrating effect sin has on each one of us in every area of life. Because of sin, our minds are darkened, and we are incapable of understanding or obeying God's truth.

Freedom from this blindness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. He alone has paid the penalty for our sins and has taken our deserved judgment and death. He offers us the free gift of eternal life because of His immeasurable grace and calls us according to the purpose of His own will. Only through faith in Jesus is the human being at last set free to hear, understand and obey God's truth and to become a part of God's family.

Life at Westminster Academy seeks every opportunity to know and share this truth and to experience its effects upon our lives and our approach to education. In all of its activities, the school submits itself to the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit who has been sent by God to guide us into all truth. All things are to be done to God's glory; our primary responsibility is to Him.

Therefore, true education has God alone at its center.

Education in the Reformed tradition is education of, by, and for the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Christ's kingdom is not only a future kingdom for which we hope, but also a present one in which we participate. It is a kingdom present not only in the quietness of the heart, but also publicly; public not only in the life of the individual, but also collectively; collectively not only in the worship and work of the church, but also within ordinary society. It is a kingdom in which Christ's people are to be led not only to a righteous stand against certain behavior and societal structures, but also to work for the transforming of that behavior and those structures through our present and future priestly endeavors in the basic spheres of family, vocation and culture. It is a kingdom requiring ultimate and final allegiance to Jesus Christ in all of life.

Above all else, Christ's kingdom is not an austere power and rule imposed impersonally from afar requiring repressive servility. Rather, it is a covenantal relationship of encounter and response wherein Christ's people experience the intimacy of God's empowering and sustaining presence.

1.2.2 The Learner and Learning

We recognize and affirm that every person has been created in the image of God with a unique identity. Within this person exist individual strengths and weaknesses, capabilities and limitations. By grace through faith in Jesus, the individual enters that relationship with God whereby he is nurtured and matured. Thus, we want every person in our school to grow as an individual; acknowledging, appreciating and using the identity which God has given and following the course which God has established for him.

We recognize that this unique identity is only fully realized as a person is in a community with other Christians. Within the Christian community there is a blending of selves without the loss of individuality. Here we accept and are accepted, affirm and are affirmed; here we encourage and are encouraged; here we find strength as we give our lives to Christ and to each other.

Within this community we, as individuals, learn to recognize, accept, and prepare ourselves for the responsibilities that God has given to us. In this learning process, we experience times of success and times of failure. Throughout our effort we will be upheld and guided by the loving support and discipline of the community of Christ.

Living out these beliefs at Westminster Academy includes educating the whole person for a whole life by providing experiences which educate the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical areas of his life.

We believe that the individual is a spiritual being, created for fellowship with God. This relationship is only initiated through a personal encounter with Christ. Subsequent growth in the Christian life is a progressive development nurtured by praying, studying, obeying Scriptures, and participating in the Christian community. This development leads to a concern for the family, church, nation, and world.

We believe that the individual is an emotional being who acts, reacts and interacts according to a God-given set of affections and feelings. Only through a relationship with Christ can a person find emotional wholeness. As he grows in this relationship, he recognizes the talents and limitations God has given and learns to accept himself as he is. He reaches out to others whom he learns to accept and with whom he shares his life and experiences. Through this sharing, he learns the joy of giving, loving, and trusting. Sometimes he experiences disappointments and frustrations in himself and with others. The relationship with Christ allows the Christian to act, in all circumstances, honestly and appropriately.

We believe that the individual is a rational being capable of developing and exercising those mental disciplines necessary for life in contemporary times. The human intellect, blighted and warped by sin, is set free through faith in Jesus Christ to know God, to look at life from God's perspective, and to think God's thoughts. Through training, discipline, encouragement, and exposure to the various branches of learning, the human intellect grows and develops according to its own unique capabilities and limitations. Through this intellectual growth, the individual takes his place in society and makes his own positive contributions to that society. Faith and the intellect are compatible. In God's scheme, neither can adequately develop nor function without the other. The man of faith, therefore, takes seriously the intellect; the truly rational man, faith.

We believe that the individual is a physical being. Throughout history, however, mankind has promoted two errors concerning this physical being. One demeans man's physicalness, viewing it as hindrance, a type of prison to be endured. The other worships the body, making its care, development and well-being the central issue of life. We reject both extremes. The physical body is a definite part of man's essential being and is a gift from God. Therefore, the Christian has a duty to understand it, care for it, and develop it properly. The body is to be disciplined and not worshipped, to be nourished and not rejected. The physical body of the Christian is the dwelling place of God's Holy Spirit. As such, it is offered up to God for His use.

Education, therefore, is concerned with the whole man. It seeks to bring the whole man to God through Christ and to aid man's subsequent growth in that new relationship. It also seeks to give the whole man training for a productive life in a contemporary society.

1.2.3 The Teacher

We believe that teaching is a godly, priestly vocation reserved for those specially equipped and called by the Lord and who evidence a love for children and a mastery of the essential teaching skills. Teaching is a spiritual ministry reserved for those who give evidence of a personal embracing of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who receive the Holy Scriptures as their sole rule for faith and practice, and whose faith goes beyond a mere tacit agreement with particular theological propositions to an exemplary spiritual life that qualifies the teacher to be model and mentor as well as instructor.

In accord with the traditional concept of in loco parentis, the teacher is engaged by the parent to enter the child's life in a position of honor, obedience, and reverence.

1.2.4 The Parents

We believe that parents are charged by God with the responsibility for the child's education and nurture. We also believe that the home is to be the center of all learning, for worship and work, devotion and discipline. In a highly technical and specialized society parents voluntarily engage godly teachers to assist them in the educating and nurturing of their child.

Because parents are given the primary responsibility for the educating and nurturing of their children, and since that educating and nurturing is to be Biblical both in its purpose and content, Christian schools are to be established with freedom from the permission and control of the secular state.

1.2.5 The Christian Community

We believe that Christian schooling is a Biblical mandate. Thus, it is the obligation of the entire Christian community generally to establish, maintain, pray for, work for and financially support Christian schools, and to encourage and assist Christian parents to enroll their children in these schools.

We further believe that Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church as the rounding and governing church of the school and other local churches whose parents and children benefit from the school should so engage themselves in the support of Westminster Academy.

1.3 Educational Objectives

To teach the student that God is the creator and sustainer of the universe as literally interpreted in Genesis 1 and 2.
To teach the student that the Lord Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God who came to earth to die for sin.
To teach the student that the Bible is the infallible Word of God.
To give each individual student an opportunity to hear the Gospel presented and to make a profession of faith in Christ.
To inspire students toward an increasing commitment to Christ and a life which reflects that commitment.
To encourage the student towards a growth in the Christian life that depends upon the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live a Christian life, the Scriptures which teach us how to live, and the other means that God has placed at our disposal.
To provide opportunity for each student to develop a healthy devotional life.
To teach the student the application of Biblical principles to every part of daily life.
To inspire each student to develop and embrace a value system centered in Christ and obedient to the Scriptures.
To provide an environment in which the student learns to love God and to enjoy Him forever.
To develop a love for the earthly life that God gives and an enjoyment of God and His creation.
To develop in the student an understanding of the cultural mandate and a participation in, through a proper exercise of time, talent and vocation, the fulfillment of God's command to fill the earth, subdue the earth and to rule over and care for the earth in a manner that brings God glory.
To encourage the student to communicate in love and understanding with non-Christians and with Christians who hold differing views.
To teach the urgent necessity of personal involvement in world evangelism and missions in obedience to Christ's great commission and to offer opportunities to encourage such involvement.
To assist each student to be open to the Spirit who gives us the ability to distinguish between truth and error.
To enable the student to understand the Bible and its doctrines as summarized in the Westminster Standards.
To help each student recognize, appreciate, and develop those unique qualities which God has given to him.
To enable each student to recognize his uniqueness as an individual and to identify his own strengths and weaknesses, capabilities and limitations.
To develop an awareness in the student that all behavior has consequences and that he is accountable for the choices that he makes.
To teach each student that when he fails it is not necessarily a cause for rejection, but that he should face it honestly, accept the consequences and use that failure as an opportunity for learning.
To teach each student how to accept success in himself and others and that it is to be received humbly in love, not denied or worshipped.
To develop a respect for and an appreciation of authority as well as for the individual in that position.
To provide each student with a climate in which he can develop the ability to discuss questions with those in authority without attacking the person or his position and without fearing rejection.
To develop in each student a healthy self-concept.
To prepare each student to handle effectively the stress that comes through living in the modern world.
To develop in each student the ability to give of himself to others through a sharing of his feelings, thoughts, and ideas.
To help each student realize and appreciate that his emotions are a gift from God.
To develop the decision-making ability in each individual.
To encourage the use of the decision-making ability in dealing with life's problems.
To provide support, guidance, and discipline in helping students to follow their unique course.
To develop the willingness and ability to listen.
To develop the ability and desire to nurture friendships.
To recognize one's worth and function in the community of Christians regardless of age or position.
To develop the appreciation for and the skills necessary for wise use of leisure time.
To develop in the individual a patience for God's plan being manifested in his life.
To help each student recognize and assume the roles and responsibilities that are his in every social context.
To encourage appreciation for and participation in the family.
To encourage each student to enter into commitments intelligently, to honor and submit himself to them, and not to shirk these commitments because of the convenience of the moment.
To teach the skills necessary for participation in the community by providing a variety of opportunities to participate in school activities.
To help each student develop a love for the United States and to appreciate his American heritage.
To show the student his present civic responsibilities and to prepare him for adult responsibility as a Christian citizen of our nation.
To help each student appreciate his body as a gift from God, to be used for His glory.
To help each student understand the relationship between the physical aspects of life and the emotional, spiritual, and rational.
To provide the student with an understanding of his body, its care and appearance.
To promote and provide wholesome physical recreation.
To help each student realize that his intellectual capacities are a gift from God and are to be used for His glory.
To involve each student in a curriculum that is in harmony with Biblical standards.
To teach each student to think for himself and to stand up for his personal convictions in the face of pressure.
To teach the student to work independently and cooperatively.
To develop in each student an appreciation for the fine arts.
To develop the creative abilities of the student.
To develop effective communication skills in the student.
To develop in the student a love for learning.
To help each student develop the skills necessary for study and learning.
To provide opportunity to learn problem solving and develop the ability to think critically.
To provide opportunity for learning practical arts and skills.
To provide the student with the knowledge and skills necessary for future study or for occupational competence.
To stimulate an understanding of the various cultures and peoples of the world.
To help each student identify and accept his unique course in life.

Westminster Academy® Impacting Students For Life

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