Oakwell Academy Mission,
Statement of Faith
& Statement of Non-Discrimintation
Our Mission
Oakwell Academy exists to love and glorify God; love and build up the body of Christ through discipleship and help fulfill the Great Commission by loving those who do not know Jesus; affirm and encourage parents; educate students with excellence; and integrate home and school learning and experiences.
Love and glorify God as He is revealed in the Holy Bible.
“Jesus replied: `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38). “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). The Holy Bible is our standard of truth and final authority for faith and practice in all matters relating to this ministry. Our chief aim is to love and glorify God through everything we do.
Love and build up the Body of Christ through discipleship and help fulfill the great commission by loving those who do not know Jesus.
The way Jesus modeled reaching the world was through discipleship, and the last command Jesus gave us was the Great Commission. The governing imperative verb of His Great Commission in Matthew’s gospel is “disciple” or “make disciples.” Members of Christ’s Church, therefore, are commanded to make disciples among all peoples by going, baptizing, and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded. They are to make disciples in the confident assurance that all authority is given to Jesus and that He will always be with them. This ministry will love and build up the body of Christ by fostering an environment that promotes discipleship in the home and at school through equipping students, teachers, and parents to be disciples who are lifelong, obedient followers of Jesus who make other disciples. This ministry will seek to help fulfill the Great Commission by loving those who do not know Jesus through developing a culture in which the truths of God are incorporated into all areas of life (Deut. 6:4-9), thereby providing opportunities for students to come to know Jesus. This ministry will assist each student in understanding the unique gifts and callings on their life and how those gifts and callings can be used to proclaim the gospel and see the Lord return according to Matt. 24:14.
Affirm and encourage parents in their God-given opportunities and responsibilities.
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deut. 6:5-7). The first two instructions to God’s people after the original giving of the Great Commandment was that they (1) keep God’s commandments in their hearts and (2) teach those commandments in their homes. Parents are God’s single most effective agents for spreading the Gospel to children and discipling young believers. The successful sharing of a parent’s faith and values is best facilitated when actively-involved parents take the time, make the opportunity, and employ the tools needed for developing close, loving, and nurturing relationships with their children. Whether the issue is instilling positive character traits or avoiding negative character traits, parents must take their proper place on the front line, training and developing their children to be disciples of Christ.
Educate with excellence in a Christ-centered environment.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col. 3:23-24). Children, like their Lord, are to keep “increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Likewise, “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding” (Pro. 3:13). Also, “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; instruct a righteous man and he will add to his learning (Pro. 9:9). Because we recognize that every student will be like his teacher (Luke 6:39-40), and that we are teaching and instructing students to work “as unto the Lord,” (Col. 3:23) the standard of our performance can be nothing less than excellence (taking into account applicable research and the best relevant practices concerning teaching and learning).
Integrate home and school in age-appropriate ways throughout the curriculum design and student activities.
A Christian, University-Model School® exists to provide an excellent, college-preparatory education, while giving parents the gift of time and supporting the parents’ unique role in education and communication of their faith and values.
Statement of Faith
Our Statement of Faith is fundamental to basic Christian tenets and contains those doctrines to which we unreservedly adhere and teach. It is our desire to maintain this position, remaining united in the salvation and love of Christ and avoiding the dissension which may be caused by denominational distinctives.
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15; 2 Peter 1:21).
We believe there is only one God, eternally existent in three persons--Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30).
We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:33); His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35); His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15; 7:26); His miracles (John 2:11); His vicarious and atoning death (1 Corinthians 15:3; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9); His resurrection (John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:4); His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19); His personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11).
We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of human nature, and that men are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ and that only by God's grace and through faith alone we are saved (John 3:16-19; 5:24; Romans 3:23; 5:8-9; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5).
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5: 28-29).
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 3:26-28).
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (Romans 8: 13-14; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18).
We believe that marriage is the God-ordained uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime and that sexual intimacy is a gift designed for the marriage relationship only (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6; Hebrews 13:4).
Statement of Non-Discrimination
Oakwell Academy shall make no distinction in its admission or operating policies with regard to an individual's race, color, national origin, and ethnic origin because we recognize that there can be no preferential treatment with God (Romans 2:11). Oakwell Academy shall admit students of any race, color, national origin, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It shall not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.