Bringing Learning and Faith Together
It is an honor and privilege at Sunnyside Christian Schools to partner with parents and churches to encourage the unique faith development of each student. Our mission is to “provide a Christ-centered, Bible-based quality education for distinctly Christian living.” This endeavor permeates all aspects of education, and we seek to honor the whole child in an integrated way. The staff and teachers at Sunnyside Christian strive to encourage student growth and maturity in every dimension of their being, including their faith.
What does this look like in our schools on a day to day basis? It means we pray in our classrooms and throughout the day. We have the freedom and desire to openly and intentionally acknowledge God’s presence and working in our lives whenever the need or desire is present throughout the day. At any given moment any number of classes are engaged in prayer and devotions throughout the day.
Faith development means we worship together in chapel. We value and treasure the freedom and opportunity we have to worship as a group. Every grade level at every school regularly joins together in communal times of worship, praise, prayer. Elementary and junior high students meet for monthly small group chapels (grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) and also gather together as a school once a month for large group worship. SCHS students gather together as a whole school every Tuesday and Thursday. Some of these gatherings are cross-grade small groups. Several times throughout the school year, we gather together as an entire student body, grades PreK-12, for chapel. These are opportunities to worship together as well as listen to God’s Word and apply it to our lives as it informs all that we do and say throughout the day.
Faith development means that we have Bible classes and a comprehensive Bible curriculum. The Bible classes are unique from what a student receives in Sunday School through his or her church. Sunnyside Christian’s Bible curriculum studies each Bible story with a desire to see how the story is centered and focused on God, the author and finisher of our faith. Students and faculty deeply and thoughtfully explore the Biblical text: its context, geography, history, and culture. All of these components significantly impact what the Bible meant to its original audience and consequently, how it speaks to us today.
Faith development means we live and share lives of faithfulness together, in truth and grace. Relationships matter at Sunnyside Christian Schools. Staff members are thoroughly committed to Jesus Christ and His Word and to living lives of faithfulness before God. The PreK-12th grade faculty meet weekly for a time of corporate prayer and devotions, strengthening and equipping them for sharing God’s love and their faith with students.The importance of relationships is emphasized not only in the classroom but in extracurricular activities, fine arts, sports, retreats, trips, and service opportunities. Through shared experiences, the staff and students openly and honestly share their joys and sorrows, trials and triumphs, confessions and restorations. It is the desire of the Sunnyside Christian staff to develop deep and sincere relationships with students as they share life together.
The commitment to faith development drives us to think beyond ourselves both locally and globally in acts of service. We ask our students and parents to commit to performing service time to share our faith by reaching out to others.
Faith development means that with integrity, through the course of every day, every hour, every class, and every discipline, we intentionally acknowledge that this is God’s world and that everything belongs to Him. The Bible provides the bedrock foundation and lens through which we see God more clearly. Every subject, every concept, every hypothesis, and every truth is taught through this particular worldview. God is sovereign and created all things good. Yet all things have fallen from that original goodness. Jesus Christ, by His death and resurrection, has redeemed all things and eventually will restore them. And, finally, we join the Holy Spirit’s work of restoration by seeking to make all things new. All things hold together in Christ. This is our lens. This Biblical framework gives focus and shape to our study, our lives, our past, present, and future, and our response to all that we learn.
This is truly education that is Christian. This is education that meets the whole child with integrity and intention. This is education in which students from preschool through their senior year are intentionally and thoughtfully met with opportunities to encounter God and respond to Him in faithfulness and in grace.