A church being involved in education has been around since the 1780's, and for a church in Greencastle, its step into education will happen sooner, rather than later.
New Life Baptist Church is embarking on New Life Academy, a school that will begin this August. The school will provide a Christ-centered education and will feature only kindergarten and first grade options in August and will look to add the next grade level each year following.
Dr. Scott Kallem, senior pastor at New Life Baptist Church, said religious education has always been a core component of early education.
"The Bible was the textbook used for learning to read. Likewise, many children learned to write by copying out passages from the Scriptures. A basic catechism was also taught, as were spiritual practices such as prayer and hymn singing. The concept of the church being involved in education has a long history. Many early universities in the U.S. and Europe were founded by religious organizations including Congregational, Anglican and Quaker denominations," Kallem told The Putnam County Post.
Kallem said while an emphasis on Christian education in K-12 may seem new, the truth is more churches should place a larger emphasis on education from Sunday School to a private, Christian school.
"New Life has been expanding its Sunday School ministry through multiplying classes on Sunday every year, supporting homeschool families, and now with a K-12 education option. This is a big undertaking, but one that we feel is worthy of the journey," he said.
Due to space, class size will be dictated to a degree, Kallem acknowledged.
"The New Life Academy would like its own facility in the near future. Right now, clases are capped at 10-12 for kindergarten and 10-14 for first grade. If space allows and finances permit, I do foresee opening up more than that one grade each year," Kallem said.
For those curious about accreditation, Kallem said New Life Academy is currently in the process of becoming Indiana State Accredited. In addition, the academy is a member of the Association of Christian Schools International and is working with the organization to become accredited within the next two to three years.
"The Indiana Department of Education has approved many third party academic accreditations for a number of years and ACSI is one of them. This past February, the Indiana Department of Education approved choice scholarship funds being available for schools in the process of accreditation. Prior to this, schools had to have completed the process," Kallem said.
New Life Academy will hold an open house on May 13 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Families wishing to set up an enrollment appointment are asked to call 765-653-8995.
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