The Spartan Blog

We have a new bus! And I have a story to tell you! And it has to do with these cute third graders, well, sort of!!

It all started back in 1979, when I was 16 years old (that has nothing to do with it!). That was the year that Calvary Baptist Church started our Christian school. The school served somewhere around 100 to 150 kids, per year, K4 through eighth grade, for the next thirty-plus years. In 2013, they decided to start a high school and have now had eight graduating classes. There have been six administrators and Mr. Hyde has been leading our school since 2016 (he started teaching in 2009). In the last four years, Calvary has grown like crazy and this year we have 450 students! We have become accredited, part of OHSAA, landowners (thanks to the gift of Calvary Baptist), and own the CR9 building and land valued at $2.5 million. We are now in the middle of an 8.5 million dollar building project that, when completed, will allow us to expand to 750 kids!!

Transportation for kids – very important, and very expensive! We are thankful to have the public schools (using your tax money) transporting kids from home to school. But we also have buses to take field trips, and athletic trips and get kids from one building to the other. We have often had to live with old buses that need a lot of work and a lot of tender care. In the last year, we have been able to buy two, yes two, genuinely nice, dependable busses and have a crew of incredible bus drivers ready to do the things that make a school run smoothly!

And every step of the way, from 1979 to now, the progress that has been made has happened through people’s sacrifices as laborers and leaders and a whole lot of giving!!  We could not do what we have done, we could not have the buses we have, we could not have the land and current building, we could not have the project we are jumping into, we would not qualify for the bank loan we have, and we cannot move to the next milestone, without giving. 

The execution is happening, the building is sitting in the parking lot! Yet while this is in “go mode,” we still need $1.5 million (a 17-month deadline).

Think of it this way: $7.5 million builds the building and $1.5 fills up the inside – gym floor, athletic equipment, tables, chairs, student desks, office furniture, bleachers, technology, phone system, safety systems, parking lot lights, and on the list goes.

Praying for 328 people to find a spot on the following chart that makes sense of what God is calling you to do. We are also looking for ways to expand our reach, whether it be grandparents, church friends, alumni, or community supporters. Who are the people (can you help us find them) that will be excited about the mission and vision of Calvary Christian and how do we effectively communicate with them?

This is big! This is exciting! We can do nothing but praise the Lord for what He has done and what He is doing! We are excited to move towards the vision and calling He has orchestrated and see this building go up!

So yes, we have two new buses, but more importantly, we have thirty-five third graders, which is way more than the 10 to 15 we had in each grade over the past years. The point is, that we are growing, and we must do things differently. We are set up for a new day in Calvary Christian Education. It is the same mission with an expanded vision! That is right – Calvary is on the move!! Jump in and be a part of the crazy growth at Calvary Christian School! These wild third graders are excited about the future we will build!!

Give to Calvary Building on the Rock: Phase 2