Building a Stronger Calvary Community
What in the world is Advancement and Development?
It has to do with vision and getting ready for what God is doing in the lives of our students and families. As we carry out the mission of Christian Education and all the complicated pieces and parts of making our school great, helpful, and useful, we are required to plan and prepare for those future needs. We have big dreams, not to build bigger or more buildings, not just to have a greater student enrollment, but to see transformation in our students through the Holy Spirit and really make a difference for the Kingdom of God!
The last five years have been full of God working out so many details to allow us to become independent, have our own property, and pursue that mission. The wonderful professional people who have joined our movement (about 75) are huge miracles and blessings to the program. Even now, we are interviewing and have hired amazingly gifted and talented people who want to passionately use their gifts for the work ahead. God has blessed us with a subset in the Body of Christ that invests and participates in volunteering and giving so that the mission of Christian education has the needed fuel to move (even speed) forward! Our givers have contributed more than $4 million over the last five years! If you had asked us what was possible for Calvary in 2020, we would never have thought that what we are doing and where we are would be possible!!
And by the way, what the State of Ohio is doing in the promotion of school freedom and choice is phenomenal! The Ed Choice, Jon Peterson, and SGO programs are a great help to our school families! God is at work, and I believe that Christian education is a key lever towards transformational work. Remember that students will spend up to 17,000 hours in K-12 education, and there’s no such thing as a neutral education…so the question is, what beliefs are forming the next generation?
But we must do it right. We must be in prayer, intentional, and led by the Holy Spirit. Body of Christ strong!! I had an investor ask me a sincere question recently, “Are we still trying to raise money? Are we done? The building has been built!” The past has been great, but we’re always pushing to be more effective and to better serve our entire community! Many things can still improve! As we sit, we are only educating about 5% of the population. Where better can we invest those 17,000 hours to learn from a Biblical perspective and figure out what it means to live an abundant life in His Truth!? Where else can kids go to find out they are fearfully and wonderfully made to do what God has gifted them and called them to do? Where else can kids go to learn and understand what the family has been established to do and be? It is the three-legged stool of the home, the church, and the school working together to overcome worldly influence and power.
In an effort to better connect our community of believers, would you be open to filling out the following survey? I am trying to put together a “blue pages” digital resource that we hope will better connect and tie us together. Who are we? How can we help each other? How can we team up? What business do we run? What roles do we have? What are the things, programs, and organizations we believe in and support? The questionnaire will require more conversation, dialogue, and engagement, which will also serve our purpose to better connect us.
Thanks so much for your feedback! Expect Dr. Bragg or other team members to be in touch!