Basis Statements
Pre-amble: King Christian School was founded in 1943 by Christian parents who believed that the education of their children was a parental responsibility and that such education must be Christ-centred. We reaffirm that vision today, and remain committed to the basic underlying philosophy upon which it was founded.
We believe that the Triune Lord God, our Creator and Redeemer, reveals Himself to us as the One who is Lord of our entire being, which includes the education of our children. The basis of the Society is the infallible inspired Word of God.
Basis Statements of the Society: Therefore, the members of the King Christian School Society confess the following:
CREATION
Creation: Our Triune God created the world. Nothing exists apart from Him. In spite of sin, this world is still the object of His love and He continues to care for and sustain the creation so that nothing happens by chance. Creation was called into being and is upheld by the Word of God, and thus serves to reveal the Creator to humankind. In their education, children must come to learn that the world and humanity's calling in it, can rightly be understood only in their relation to the Triune God, who by His creation, restoration, and sovereign control directs all things to the coming of His kingdom and the glorification of His name.
Life: Life begins at conception. People are by nature religious beings; we must ultimately choose for God or against Him. God created humanity to serve Him – and, by extension, His world and the rest of humanity, everywhere. Christians recognize and acknowledge that we are individually called by God to direct our life, our heart and our whole being to the glory of God. This requires us to educate our children in this faith and for His service.
Humanity (People): People are created by God, either biologically male or biologically female, as His image bearers to enjoy covenantal community with Him and in fellowship with each other, reflecting in each person and works the excellencies of his/her Maker, God as Creator. Humanity was instructed to care for the world in loving and obedient service to God, and to interpret all reality in accordance with His design and law.
THE FALL
Sin: Sin is humankind’s individual and collective disobedience to God's law and the breaking of humanity’s covenantal relationship with God. Sin came into the world, originally, through Adam and Eve and brought God’s curse upon all creation, and thus as their children, all people are sinners by nature and continue to sin today. Through sin, unless it is confessed and forgiven, we estrange ourselves from God and bring a curse upon ourselves, thereby distorting and twisting our calling. As a result, sin corrupts our hearts and blinds our understanding of the true meaning of life, and represses and misuses the knowledge of God which confronts humanity in creation and Scripture.
REDEMPTION
Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God according to the Scriptures, is both truly God and fully man. The atoning death of Jesus, the Son of God, is the only and complete payment for the debt of human sin, and Christ's resurrection is the only and complete liberation from the powers of evil and death. By His life, death, and resurrection He reconciles all people and all the world to God, and redeems our entire life. Through His Spirit, He renews our hearts to love God and neighbour and redirects our understanding to rightly know God, ourselves, and the world. He is the only way of salvation. This is made possible only if one accepts Jesus as personal Lord and Saviour.
The Bible: God, in His grace, has given humanity the Bible to reveal to us Himself, His work of creation, and the redeeming and sanctifying work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Bible as the complete written word of God is the Truth by which the Holy Spirit enlightens our understanding of God, ourselves and the world, and the infallible authority by which He directs and governs all our activities, including the education of our children. Though our understanding of the Scriptures is also distorted by sin, we do search them continually to gain understanding for our entire lives and the life of the Christian school and its curriculum.
SANCTIFICATION
The Kingdom of God: The Kingdom of God is His righteous and universal regime through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has inaugurated the Kingdom of God, thereby breaking the power of Satan. Even so, we still live in a time of spiritual warfare, so that our culture and all our activities are ultimately directed towards either one or the other. In obedience to Christ, we submit ourselves in every area of life to His Word, the Bible, and Spirit to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbour as ourselves.
Service: God calls all people to develop the gifts of this world to the glory of His name and for their own enjoyment. Christians are called to serve in the kingdom of God, developing our God-given talents and abilities in loving God and neighbour. Learning is a service in God's kingdom.
Stewardship: God calls people to be the stewards of the earth. We must use the world's resources wisely as gifts for the service of God and our neighbour.
Marriage: God established the institution of marriage as the sacred covenant relationship between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. The practice of any sexual activity is to be reserved exclusively for this marriage relationship and all sexual activity outside of marriage is sinful.
The Family: The family is ordained by God as the fundamental group in society and the natural environment for fostering the growth, well-being, socialization, education and affective nurturance of all its members and for conserving and transmitting values, faith, culture and traditions, in particular for children as provided for and guided by their parents.
Children: Children are entrusted by God to parents. They are wonderfully made in God's image yet sinful by nature. Each child belongs to God and needs to accept Christ as his/her personal Saviour. Children of Christian families are the heritage of the Lord and share in the covenantal promises and the demands of the Gospel, needing guidance, correction and instruction. Therefore, they ought to receive Christ-centered Education.
Parents: God has given parents the primary duty and the ultimate responsibility to nurture and educate their children and to raise them in the reverence and knowledge of God. This includes any individual appointed as caregiver of a child and given the authority to make important decisions about and provide for the care and upbringing of the child. Therefore, parents should establish and maintain schools. Parents voluntarily delegate a degree of authority in educating their children to the school and its teachers. Subsequently, parents show vital interest and concern in the programs, organization and direction of the school.
Christian Community: One of the tasks of the Christian community is the upbringing of children. It is therefore the joyful responsibility of the whole Christian community to support and encourage the Christian school.
Purpose of Christ-Centered Education: Jesus’ rule in grace and power makes education possible and meaningful. The purpose of Christ-centered Education is to direct and guide children to commit their hearts to Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, so that they may attain true understanding, wisdom, love and righteousness in order to competently and responsibly serve the Lord God in Church, state and society. Christ-centered education seeks to help children discern the powers at work in our culture and in their own lifestyle. It seeks to help them to mould, shape, and direct their activity and culture to the glory of God, affirming that redemption applies to all of God's creation.
The Christian School: Christ-centered education equips the student for a life of service. The process of education is necessary for growing in wisdom, knowledge, awareness and skills. The Christian school is designated by the Christian community to implement the goals and purposes of Christ-centered education. The Christian school, established and controlled by an association of Christians in accordance with legitimate standards and provisions, possesses the freedom to function in education in total and voluntary submission to Christ the King. Its program is based on:
1. A scripturally based philosophy of education.
2. A psychology of learning with a Christian view of the child as a child of God.
3. An assessment of the needs and characteristics of the contemporary society in which children live.
Christian Educators: Christian educators, as servants of God, exercising authority in the performance of their office, both in obedience to God and in cooperation with parents, have been entrusted by the parents to exercise specific pedagogical responsibilities while educating the child in Christian school. Christian educators try to convey a Christian perspective in all subject areas and a distinct Christian attitude in discipline and behavioural matters. Christian educators seek to bring their life and teaching in conformity to God's will and to set an example of godliness.
GLORIFICATION
Glorification: At a time known only to God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ will return in person and in glory, to receive His own people. God will raise the dead bodily and judge the living and the dead. The unsaved will suffer eternal conscious separation from God. The saved of all ages will be forever with the Lord. God will rule over His Kingdom in the new heaven and the new earth for all eternity. His Kingdom will never end. We await the day when Jesus Christ returns and we shall be like Him, for we shall then see Him face to face. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Until then, our life now is a life of humility, mindful of our assured current and promised future redemption. We live an earthly life of hope, awaiting the full glorification of the entire creation.
