Senior Leadership
I am inspired by the faith, courage, and reverence for God by Christian educators around the world! It reminds me of the story recounted in I Samuel 17 about David defeating Goliath. In verse 29, David’s response to the inaction of his
elder brothers and the Israelites especially encourages me. He boldly and nobly answers the call to action by asking, "Is there not a cause?”
I can think of no greater cause than to partner with you as you advance Kingdom education. We fully believe that authentic devotion to the Christian faith and academic excellence are mutually reinforcing. There are not two or three forms of excellence, but rather an ethos that is cultivated throughout every facet of our schools. Faith is not separated from learning but rather integrated intentionally, resulting in a distinctive Christian worldview.
Scholarship and learning become an integral component to the maturation process known as discipleship. Thus, becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, the ultimate objective of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20), is the prize for which we strive; it is the highest form of excellence! It is certainly conceivable that we could produce students with the spiritual depth needed to enter our pluralistic society and not fall prey to empty philosophies. Rather, they would be equipped to saturate the marketplace to which God has called them with confidence, purpose, and an eternal perspective.
ACSI’s ongoing mission is to strengthen Christian schools and equip Christian educators worldwide as they prepare students academically and inspire them to become devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We want to serve you as you continue to cultivate and sustain a flourishing school. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you—thank you for your obedience to God’s call on your life—you are indeed making a difference.
Dr. Larry Taylor, President & CEO, ACSI
larry_taylor@acsi.org
719-867-0200
ACSI Senior Leadership
Dr. David Balik
Vice President of USA
Dr. Gavin Brettenny
Chief Strategy Officer
Kevin Buelke
Chief Finance Officer
Cindy Dodds
Chief of Flourishing Initiatives
Michael Epp
Senior Vice President of Global
Brett Henry, J.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Sevenstar
Vice President, Educational Resources
John Klingstedt
Chief Operating Officer
Christi Lynn
Vice President, Communications & Engagement
Chris Loncar
Vice President, Human Resources
Jerry Nelson
Chief Ministry Officer
Philip Scott, J.D.
Vice President for Legal Affairs
P. George Tryfiates
Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs
Susan Verheul
Vice President, Executive Initiatives
Dr. Cecil Swetland
Vice President for Development
News and Press Releases
ACSI Releases New Tool to Measure Spiritual Formation in Students
Colorado Springs, CO- The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) is glad to announce a new, research-validated tool, the Flourishing Faith Index (FFI), which measures the biblical worldview and spiritual formation in Christian schools and their communities.
ACSI Director of Research Rian Djita explained how this new research tool functions and why it is beneficial.
“The Flourishing Faith Index is ACSI’s new, rigorously developed research instrument. The research model identifies an inner core and an outer core. The inner core, ‘The Flourishing Faith Core,’ organizes measures of flourishing faith into the three domains of Head, Heart, and Hands. The outer core, 'The Biblical Worldview & Spiritual Formation Ring,’ measures the Christian school community’s impact on faith formation in three further domains— Intellectual, Nurture, and Practical."
ACSI began researching how to measure these indicators in 2022. The domains provide a picture of the areas in which Christian schools can focus their efforts and resources to support spiritual formation in their students. In an increasingly secular world, the challenge of preparing students to develop a strong foundation of faith is perhaps more critical than ever. The FFI complements ACSI’s Flourishing School Culture Instrument (FSCI). The FSCI is a more comprehensive roadmap that measures five domains and 35 research-based constructs. The FFI focuses on one of the five domains— the Purpose Domain—as a deeper concentration of a school’s spiritual formation indicators.
In total, there are approximately 60 questions in FFI. About 20 questions are related to Flourishing constructs, 25 questions are related to Propositional Faith, and about 15-20 are related to demographic information.
Cindy Dodds, ACSI Chief of Flourishing Initiatives, shared how the FFI will aid in strengthening Christian schools and communities.
“Christian schools are not just great places to get an excellent education, they are places where faith is often birthed and should always be nurtured,” she said. “Most Christian schools clearly define elements of faith formation in their expected student outcomes. When leaders administer the Flourishing Faith Index, they will be able to identify growth opportunities and highlight their strengths as they engage their community in collectively nurturing the faith of their students.”
ACSI’s leaders believe that the FFI will reinforce faithfulness, efficacy, and school improvement as Christian schools carry out their mission.
Learn more about the FFI at acsi.org/ffi.
About ACSI:
Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ACSI exists to strengthen Christian schools and equip Christian educators worldwide as they prepare students academically and inspire them to become devoted followers of Jesus Christ. ACSI advances excellence in Christian schools by enhancing the professional and personal development of Christian educators and providing vital support functions for Christian schools through multiple services, including teacher and administrator certification, school accreditation, legal/legislative assistance, and curriculum publishing. Serving more than 25,000 schools in 108 countries, ACSI helps more than 5.5 million students worldwide connect to Christian education.
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