The Academy is a nondenominational Christian school which is based on a traditional, evangelical understanding of Scripture. This means that we have a high regard for the Bible as God’s infallible Word, believing it to be authoritative for determining what we believe and how we should live. We believe that God is the Creator of the universe and that He created humanity in His own image, giving human life special sanctity, dignity, and value. We understand that that salvation is possible only through Jesus Christ, Who died in our place to pay for our sins, and that ultimately each of us will give an account to God for how we lived our lives. This biblical worldview is the foundation of our entire school program and shapes the instruction that we offer our students.
Christian Philosophy of Education
The educational philosophy of the Greater Houlton Christian Academy is based on a God-centered view that all truth is God's truth, and that the Bible is the inspired and the only infallible authoritative Word of God that contains this truth. God created all things in six days and sustains all things. Therefore, the universe and man are dynamically related to God and have the purpose of glorifying Him. Because man is a sinner by nature and choice, he cannot, however, glorify or know God. He can do this only by choosing God's free gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, thereby committing his life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The Academy will provide the student as well as the parent the necessary awareness of God and responses to His Word, so that when the Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin, he will readily and with understanding accept Christ as His Savior. Christian education can then carry out its purpose.
This philosophy also channels our energies to promote high academic standards while helping the students to achieve skills in creative and critical thinking using the best integrated curriculum available. The objective of our instructional program is to enable the student to pursue the post-secondary education of his choosing, whether in college, university or in vocational training areas.
Our aim socially is to provide a Christian perspective on the total world view from which will come a balanced personality and a proper understanding and acceptance of a person's role in life at home, at work, at play and at worship—all grounded in the Christian concept of love.
The Academy permits the parents to carry out their responsibility to God for the education of their children. This responsibility is the prerogative not of the state, but of the parents. Therefore, GHCA assists the family in this responsibility and requires support from the home.
Our responsibility for the student encompasses the spiritual, mental, intellectual, physical, social, and emotional areas. These areas are inseparable and through them runs the insistent thread of the spiritual. Therefore, it must be our aim to shun the tendency to teach the Bible compartmentally or on the intellectual level alone—the scarlet thread must be woven throughout the total curriculum.
It is apparent, then, that the types of activities we employ or permit in the classroom or school program will either facilitate or militate against our basic philosophy. The spiritual must permeate all areas—else we become textbook-oriented rather than student oriented.
Carried out, this philosophy dictates that we cooperate closely with parents in every phase of the student's development, always offering assistance in understanding the purposes of GHCA. This cooperation enables us to better accomplish our goals for our students. It is our philosophy that also makes us uniquely different and preserves our Christian distinctiveness.
