Statement of Faith

Association of Christian Schools International / About ACSI / Statement of Faith

The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) was founded in 1978 when several regional U.S. school associations joined, becoming a united voice to advance excellence in Christian education. The leaders’ vision was to inspire, challenge, and resource educators and schools. First headquartered in La Habra, California, ACSI moved to an expanded facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1994. Today, ACSI serves nearly 24,000 schools in more than 100 countries.

As an association we are committed to:

Biblical Fidelity and Prayer

Immerse ourselves in the Holy Scriptures and prayer, both individually and corporately; consistently measure all association actions, programs, and resources against the teachings of the Word of God; and recognize our total dependence on Him.

Biblical Foundation and Focus on Jesus Christ

Serve schools and educators that represent a range of evangelical, Protestant backgrounds; all our schools and educators will hold to the ACSI Statement of Faith.

Members We Serve

Allocate our resources, including time and finances, in such a way as to bring maximum benefit to our members, and respond promptly to constituent needs.

Stewardship

Act with faithfulness and integrity and exercise diligence in program administration, with thoroughness and research-based expertise in the production of resources, and with fiscal accountability, realizing that ACSI ultimately belongs to God and we ultimately answer to Him for all we do with that which He has entrusted to our care.

Diverse Worldwide Constituency

Be authentically international in structure and practice, promoting international, national, and regional organizational leadership for the mutual benefit of all member schools; develop programs, resources, and services with all constituents in mind, utilizing insights learned from colleagues from around the world and evidencing the high value we place on gender, ethnic, age, and cultural differences.

Staff and Their Growth

Establish personnel resource and organizational policies and practices that encourage equitable and competitive wages, support for continuing professional growth, and commitment to collaborative goal setting, accountability, and consistent implementation of evaluation systems.

Public Engagement

Influence public policy and public perception that have an impact on Christian schools and the rights of Christian educators everywhere, seek appropriate representation to protect the rights of parents to be free to choose the educational program that in their view best meets the educational and spiritual needs of their children, and work in collaboration with families, churches, governments, and other leaders and organizations to promote school compliance with all applicable laws and to promote the ability of private individuals or groups to establish and support Christian schools without restriction or reservation.

ACSI Statement of Faith

  1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).
  2. We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30).
  3. 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, Hebrews 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), and His personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11).
  4. 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, John 5:24; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8–9; Ephesians 2:8–10; Titus 3:5).
  5. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the saved unto resurrection of life, and the lost unto the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28–29).
  6. 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).
  7. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19–20, Romans 8:13–14, Ephesians 4:30, Ephesians 5:18).
  8. We believe that the term marriage has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18–25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18, 7:2–5; Hebrews 13:4). We believe that God’s command is that there be no sexual intimacy outside of or apart from marriage between a man and a woman.
  9. We believe that God wonderfully foreordained and immutably created each person as either male or female in conformity with their biological sex. These two distinct yet complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26–27).

Our Statement of Faith is not exhaustive of all of our beliefs. The Bible, as the inspired and infallible Word of God, speaks with absolute authority regarding the proper conduct of mankind and is the unchanging foundation for all belief and behavior. The ACSI Board of Directors holds final interpretive authority on biblical meaning and application with regard to faith, doctrine, policy, practice, and discipline.

ACSI Announces Changes to Senior Leadership Team, Eastern Division

Aug 25, 2020, 17:12 PM by Larry Lincoln - ACSI
ACSI is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. David Balik to the position of Vice President of USA. Balik most recently served as ACSI’s Senior Director, Eastern Division and Southeast Regional Director for five years.
Colorado Springs, CO – ACSI is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. David Balik to the position of Vice President of USA. Balik most recently served as ACSI’s Senior Director, Eastern Division and Southeast Regional Director for five years. Before that, he was a Head of School, serving most recently as Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs at Briarwood Christian Schools in Birmingham, AL. 

Vice President of USAIn his new position, Balik will be responsible for leading and overseeing all facets of the USA operation in close collaboration with the President, Senior Directors, Divisional Directors, Field Directors, the Directors of the Student Success Center, Early Education, and Professional Development. The primary function of his role will be to ensure that USA member schools are served effectively through he Student Success Center coordinated actions in all divisions and departments throughout the country.

ACSI is concluding a strategic planning process under President Dr. Larry Taylor. Part of the reimagining of organizational goals included transitioning from serving Christian schools through an eight-region model to a more streamlined and efficient divisional model that relies on the strategic deployment of field directors and trained volunteers across the country. According to Taylor, “The Western, Central, and Eastern Divisions will allow us to make staff who belonged to regional teams available to members outside those regions. It will help us address much of the redundancies and duplication of effort that characterized the old regional set-up, which will lead to better stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to us.”

Balik added that, “God is doing great things at ACSI these days through our strategic planning process. It is a privilege to have an expanded role going forward, as adaptive, meaningful change is underway. I am also excited and honored to be able to serve more closely with our President, Dr. Larry Taylor.”

pr_chuck_gilliamASCI is also announcing that Chuck Gilliam, Ed.S., will replace Balik as Senior Director of the newly-formed Eastern Division. Gilliam has served for the past 21 years at Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, GA, including seven years as head of school. He led a staff of 150 and directed daily operations for 950 students while directing an ongoing School Improvement Plan and several capital renovations projects. Prior to that, he served as Eagle’s Landing’s Assistant Head of School, Middle/High School Principal, Middle School Principal and Middle School Dean of Students. 
“This is a great time to be a part of ACSI,” Gilliam explained.  “I’ve seen the personal impact of being educated in an ACSI school and working in one, also. I’m thankful to be a part of ACSI’s strategic vision and looking forward to seeing how God works through this new divisional model. It’s a transition for ACSI, but it creates a stronger model that will be able to serve member schools more effectively.”

“I’ve known Dr. Balik for several years,” said Taylor. “He possesses tremendous leadership skills, and the transition to a divisional model will be seamless under his guidance. Both he and Chuck are proven leaders with outstanding character, and I think our member schools will be thrilled to work with them.”

About ACSI: 

Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., 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 by offering 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.