MISSION AND VISION


Hope Christian School (HCS)

Hope Christian School (HCS) is a grade one through grade twelve Christian school. The school is committed to meeting both the academic and spiritual needs of its students. Our school office is located in the Champion, Alberta, and we offer a full Christian education online through Hope Online as well as a traditional home education program through Hope at Home.


Hope Christian School began in the fall of 1981 with 13 students. A group of parents became increasingly concerned that God and Biblical values were being systematically removed from public school classrooms. They wanted to have God at the center of their child’s education. Thus they started an independent school. In the fall of 1982, the school started to use the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) program.



Hope Christian School Vision

The major objective of Hope Christian School is to provide an excellent, accessible education program for all students that focuses on making students aware of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1. To insure that all students come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, achieve a higher level of Christian maturity, attain a deeper commitment to, and become a more effective witness for the Lord.

2. To emphasize the individuality of each student and to assist them in properly responding to themselves and to others.

3. To develop, in students, self-confidence by nurturing individual God-given talents and abilities in creativity, goal setting, analysis, communications, academics, and the principles of success.

4. To promote self-discipline by training students to be relevant, consistent, appreciative, responsible and thorough in attitude, character and actions.

5. To assist students in seeking their life purpose in service to God and mankind and their necessary preparation for eternity through emphasis upon Biblical relevance.

6. To help students learn how to live to honor the Lord and become responsible citizens by meeting their daily responsibilities which God has entrusted to them.

7. To ensure that each student attains the strongest foundational education possible and which also meets the Alberta Education requirements. This includes the pursuit of an Alberta Education diploma.

Note: It is our conviction that if we focus first of all on developing character, discipline, individual responsibility and Godly purpose, strong academics will be a by-product.


Mission and Principles

Mission:

The mission of Hope Christian School is to expose students to the good news found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, inspiring them to become followers of Jesus Christ and to go on to lead meaningful lives, committed to Godly families, Godly churches and Godly governments; which are vital to a well­ ordered society. This will prepare our students for life in the real world because God's perspective of all things is the real world.

Principles:

Divine Mandate:

Philosophically and historically our mandate flows, first of all, from our response to the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, and the Judea-Christian values contained therein. As we believe that God made the world and all it contains, we believe we must obey His mandates above all else. The selfless creed or Great Commandment found in Deuteronomy 6 and Jesus' words: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God will all thy heart and soul and mind and thy neighbor as thyself," is the key to peace and prosperity for families, communities and cultures. The Scriptures command us to teach these principles diligently to our children and we see these as the answer to Canada's economic, social and political problems.

Parental mandate:

Secondly, our mandate stems from a desire on our part to carry out this Biblical responsibility. There are basically two groups of parents/students who would chose to register their children with Hope Christian School.

1. Those parents and students who recognize that the Hope Christian School program is an evangelical Christian program and see its online/home school as a convenient alternative for their education. Although they may not hold the same belief system they recognize, are informed of, and appreciate the values imparted by the program.

2. Those who have a Christian background and want their children or themselves exposed to Christian

values and a Christian Biblical world view as made available in our online and home education

programs. These parents recognize that:

• the Bible commands parents to teach the Great Commandment "diligently to their children and to raise them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord".

• by judicial review, public schools are forced to prevent exposure of children to the greatest realities known to man; the existence and purposes of God, and the life and work of Jesus Christ.

• the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Alberta School Act recognize the right of parents to choose an education for their children consistent with their religious and conscientiously held beliefs.


For these reasons, Hope Christian School attempts to teach life skills, manners, discipline, values

and all else from the perspective of the Scriptures.

Government mandate:

Thirdly, the Scriptures establish that government is of God, that citizens are to be obedient to every God-given authority, and that government is to reward good and punish evil (Romans 13). We therefore acknowledge that government has the responsibility for holding us accountable for the provision of a quality education to each child in our school. We willingly submit to this authority as long as it does not interfere with our Divine mandate.

Hope Christian School began in the fall of 1981 with 13 students. A group of parents became increasingly concerned that God and Biblical values were being systematically removed from public school classrooms. They wanted to have God at the center of their child’s education. Thus they started an independent school. In the fall of 1982, the school started to use the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) program.


Beliefs Statement

The educational philosophy of Hope Christian School is dependent upon the Bible for providing the viewpoint for interpreting any subject or any school activity. The entire process of education is seen as a means used by God to bring the student to Himself through personal faith in Christ, and to develop a Christian mind in Him so he can fulfill God's will for his life vocationally and personally. The mandate for Christian education comes from God's command that children are to be taught to love God and to give Him pre-eminence in their lives, and from Biblical teaching that parents are responsible for the total education of their children (Deuteronomy 6).