Summit Principal's Blog

The other day I was talking on the phone with a prospective new Summit parent and she asked me a great question. She said,”I really like what I see on your website but what really makes Summit different from all the other Christian schools in the area?” My first thoughts were the Bob Jones curriculum that we use across the grade levels, and our small class sizes, community environment, safe campus, christian character emphasis, biblical worldview. But other schools have that, what really distinguishes us is our focus on our love for God!

When a community of Christians come together and truely love God they want to glorify Him with their lives! Their focus becomes their personal relationship with God and not judgement of everyone elses walk. It is a simple concept but has huge implecations! Frank Hamrik in his book “The Heart of the Matter” really expresses it well,

“The purpose of a Christian school is not to teach youth how to live but to magnify the majesty of God. Christian school teachers are not behaviorists, but cardiologists. They teach, not only so students will achieve academic excellence, but also so students will have a heart for God and zeal to exalt His name,” (Hamrick, 2005)

And our teachers model it every day, all day! Our exceptional teachers  are mission/ministry minded with every child. Their discipleship mindset transforms the culture of the school!

But they also are exceptional educators! I’ve watched this week as they have selflessly labored to provide the best education for every child! When I’ve had a discipline issue, their concern was for the heart of the child. When we’ve had a curriculum need it is to insure the education of each and every child.

And their approach to their profession is to be the best to glorify God using a diverse approach to teaching. They don’t just “teach to book” but often I’ll see them integrating some of the latest learning research such as that of Howard Gardner. (Gardner and others in the secular educational arena have begun to discover what the scripture teaches that each of us is unique and wonderfully made),

Psalm 139

^“13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;^[a]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”

We also have a great staff of volunteers! Recently our long time Administrative Assistant, Debbie Schmitt, who was instrumental in the development of Summit over the summer, decided to take a new direction in her life and left Summit. Debbie will be greatly missed and her lagacy will live on at Summit for years to come. But immediately and quite naturally Sherry Ehrhart, Shelley Sharer, Jen Zambrano and other parents stepped in and enabled a smooth transition by volunteering their time in the office!

All of this happens because Summit is composed of people committed to glorifying God through their lives because they Love God with their whole heart! What a tremendous testimony to our God, the One Who is continuing to perform miracles in our midst that brings glory to His name!

Hebrews 11:1-3 (New King James Version)

By Faith We Understand

¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
³ By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith that Summit could become a reality was fulfilled today. And the reality was something to behold! Excited parents, students and teachers at the beginning of the day who shared the joy of giving glory to God for the miracle that is Summit Christian School.

And the kids looked so good in the school uniforms! There was a great unity in spirit as the kids identified with each other in their Summit uniforms. One of our parents shared with me that their child didn’t want to go to class until they went upstairs and got his new Summit shirt to put on. And the Junior High kids were proud of their new identity with a Christian School and their friends who were unique but not in style competition, it really did set a different but very good tone to our school and the climate of our classes.

Our new lunch program also went off without a hitch! All of the students have lunch at the same time in the fellowship hall supervised by our volunteer parents. This gives our busy teachers a well deserved break as well as providing an opportunity for the students to sit down and relate to one another. Building relationships that will build communication skills and develop Christian Character fulfilling part of our theme this year to “live and learn with Christian Character.”

The reality of Summit, the fulfillment of the dreams and planning of our school board and steering committee, our parents and volunteers, of all of you who have supported the vision of Summit, the reality of faith put into action, was realized today. And all of the praise goes to God! He is the one who has moved in our midst to bring about the impossible, the “substance of things hoped for.” “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

And if you are looking at this miracle of God from afar, won’t you please join with us in this faith walk! The vision we have today of Summit is only a view from the base of the mountain. We still have many more miles to hike but we are on our way! There is still time to join us at the trailhead, we’d love to have you come!

Our enrollment is growing but there is still room for more students. And if you are a grandparent or just an interested reader of this blog you can come along  too! Just write or email me and we’ll add you to our e-mail and postal mail lists. Thank you all for your prayers and financial support! Praise be to God!

O LORD, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

-Isaiah 25:1

Nehemiah 6:15-16

The Wall Is Finished

¹⁵So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.

¹⁶When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Today I received an email which is representative of the many we have received from folks who are supporting us!

“Dear Summit,

I live just off Hazel Avenue and have watched the steady progress of Summit.  I’ve looked at your website and am greatly encouraged by the boldness of the faith of those who are creating what appears to be a truly Christian school.  I just wanted to say, “Thank you” for encouraging me.  I am currently homeschooling our children and pursuing my teaching credentials with Western Governors University.  Your efforts, seeing folks out there this morning working to make the campus ready for the next generation of students, reading the Principal’s blog, your mission, etc. have worked to lighten my load and brighten my spirit.”

Thank you all who have been praying for this work of God! We deeply appreciate you and I beleive you are part of the reason for God’s hand in the direction and provision for Summit!

And thank you all who have given so generously as well! Former teachers with curriculum and supplies, parents and former alumni, businesses, schools, churches, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and many, many who just heard of the work and wanted to help. You all have been a great encouragement!

August 11th will be the 72nd day since we began the process of rebuilding the Fair Oaks Campus as Summit Christian School. I hope all of you who read this blog will be able to join with us for a family style barbeque and open house to see first hand what our God has done! Every day has been a miracle and all of the praise goes to our God! We’ll meet from 5-8 so if you can join us please come! I would love to meet with all of you who have been so supportive of our new school!

I want to also share that I have been especially blessed this week as the teacher’s have returned! What outstanding Christian teachers who love God! They all have been in and out this summer working on curriculum or their classrooms, but to have them together as a team has been a remarkable experience! And the planning and enthusiasum for the task before us is another one of those miracles our God has performed! A great example of God’s work in our midst is the theme for the year which we agreed upon unanimously in just minutes, “learn and live with Christian character” from from our mission statement.

And on FridayGrandma Green (a dear senior saint who serves as a Sunday school teacher) stopped me to proclaim to me that there is the strong presence of God in the Summit campus since we took over! And many of our new families have spoken about the different spirit they sense here. I believe it is the Holy Spirit’s work as His people have come together in this remarkable ongoing miracle we call Summit. We all need to be encouraged by the supernatural work of our God in the midst of the secularized, darwinistic, materialistic culture we live in, and God is glorified as we give Him the credit for what is happening!

But I must confess that I am disappointed and saddened that we have not been able to rehire all the teachers. We are still short of the student enrollment necessary to rehire them. Please pray for God’s provision in the form of more students or of large donations which would allow us to rehire these teachers! We have seen God’s hand work in so many ways over the last two months, please join with me and ask God to provide again in miraculous ways that will exalt His name and confound the wisdom of this world!

“And Jesus answering, said unto them, “Have faith in God.²³For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, `Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,’ and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.²⁴Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”

Mark 11:22-24