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
- We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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 (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19–20, Romans 8:13–14, Ephesians 4:30, Ephesians 5:18).
- 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.
- 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 Leadership Divisional, Professional Development Staff Transitions
Included in the strategic plan is the association’s new three division model for serving schools and educators, which is a change from its previous eight region model. The move builds school services around school size as well as geographic location and will allow a more efficient means of assistance.
Dr. Cecil Swetland is promoted to Senior Director, Western Division. Swetland spent the past five years as Regional Director for California and Hawaii. Prior to that he spent the previous 18 years as Head of School at Desert Christian Schools in Lancaster, CA. As Senior Director, Swetland will continue serving member schools by challenging them and encouraging school leaders to achieve higher levels of spiritual and academic excellence. “I have the opportunity to work with remarkable Christian leaders and educators—it is a joy to collaborate with all of them—and ACSI team members,” he explained. “The staff at ACSI works as a united team that equips Christian educators and facilitates school improvement through accreditation, developing early education programs, providing professional development, and enhancing a child’s Christian school experience through student activities.”
Next, Dr. Jeff Mattner will take on the new Senior Director, Central Division role after serving the past nine years as Mid-America Regional Director. The Central Division is comprised of more than 700 schools from 18 states. Mattner has been in the ministry of Christian school education for the past 38 years. He was a Christian school administrator for 26 of those years in the states of New Jersey, Indiana, and Illinois. Dr. Mattner said that he considers it “a privilege to partner with ACSI schools and school leaders, assisting my brothers and sisters working together in this Kingdom work called Christian school education.”
Finally, Dr. Edward Bunn is moving into the newly created Leadership Program Director position. Bunn most recently served as South Central Regional Director. He has served for over 25 years in the field of Education and holds a Masters in Christian School Administration and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. He is also a former adjunct professor, schoolteacher, head of school, and pastor. Bunn explained that in his new role, he will be working alongside ACSI Director of Professional Development, Cindy Dodds, supporting the association’s new Flourishing Schools Institute, Leadership University and additional Leadership Development Initiatives. “This will allow me to support school leaders across the US and Internationally by developing initiatives that flow out of a strong biblical worldview and quality research to enhance leadership capacity,” he said.
According to Dodds, Bunn brings a wealth of experience to ACSI Professional Development Department and she anticipates ACSI members will greatly benefit from the move.
“Dr. Bunn’s expertise and experience will enrich and enhance ACSI’s leadership development offerings, as we seek to serve and support our schools in their journey to flourishing,” she said.
Dr. David Balik, ACSI Vice President of USA, has worked closely with Swetland, Mattner and Bunn for several years and offers high praise for all three. “Being on a team with godly and gifted men like Cecil, Jeff and Edward has been a tremendous blessing to me personally. I’m eagerly anticipating seeing the fruit of their expertise and leadership as they move into their new roles, and I know our members will reap the benefits.”
To learn more about the ACSI, please visit the website at www.ACSI.org or Connect with the ACSI Care Team by calling 800-367-5391 or at careteam@acsi.org.
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.
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