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 Reaches New Heights Digitally Hiring a new VP of Educational Resources, Expanding On-Demand Professional Development Learning & Launching a Bible Assessment

Jan 23, 2023, 12:03 PM by Caitlyn Harding

Colorado Springs, Colo.– The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) is reaching new heights digitally by hiring Sevenstar CEO Brett Henry as the new Vice President of Educational Resources. Henry will continue to lead Sevenstar, a subsidiary of ACSI. His expanded role includes leading a team of content developers providing on-demand professional development for Christian educators and academically rigorous, biblical worldview infused Purposeful Design textbooks. In addition, the ACSI Bible Assessment is now available digitally to gauge students’ knowledge, understanding, and life application of scripture.

ACSI President Dr. Larry Taylor is committed to equipping educators with 24/7 access to quality digital resources grounded in a biblical worldview.

“This is a new day at ACSI, and we are dedicated to live out the Great Commission by equipping and strengthening educators as they provide students with a solid Christian education,” he shared. “Brett Henry, CEO of Sevenstar and ACSI’s new VP of Educational Resources, has more than 17 years of service in Christian ministry and has already been leading the charge through Sevenstar in providing families with a flexible, Christ-honoring option through online student courses. He is the ideal candidate for this position.”

15 (1)Henry has spent a decade of his career in Christian education. He is the third CEO of Sevenstar, an accredited online option for courses taught from a biblical worldview, and serves as the second head of school for Sevenstar Academy. 

Henry anticipates that the developments at ACSI, including the new Bible Assessment, will help fulfill a real need for biblically based resources around the globe.

“I am humbled to join the dynamic team that Dr. Taylor is assembling at ACSI in this pivotal chapter of the organization’s history,” he shared. "I am especially excited about the mandate to expand access to Christian education across the globe, and firmly believe that the combined team efforts of Purposeful Design Publications, Sevenstar, and the digital initiatives will mark an indelible season.”

The digital library, titled ACSI PD powered by Campus, includes more than 500 hours of professional development courses ranging from topics including biblical worldview development and subject-specific strategies. Renowned speakers like John Stonestreet share their insights and best practices.

The platform, available now, will allow educators the flexibility to choose on-demand professional development courses that best suit their needs.

ACSI will also offer the ACSI Bible Assessment, a stand-alone standardized K-12 Bible Assessment focusing on students’ knowledge, understanding, and life application of scripture.

The assessment, available in both digital and paper formats, is not connected to any assessment program which allows Christian schools the freedom to incorporate it into their own unique schoolwide assessment plan.

ACSI Director of Assessment Programs David Smitherman believes this tool will support educators in evaluating their school’s Bible instructional program.

“We want to come alongside schools in providing a flexible online assessment that will help gauge the effectiveness of their Bible classes,” he shared. “It will assist Christian educators in identifying the mastery level of students by providing an Individual Student Performance Report, Performance Band Report, and Class Standard Level Performance Report.”

The Bible Assessment will be available for administration in the Spring of 2023.

Taylor believes that ACSI’s digital focus will serve to equip Christian educators with quality resources, ultimately strengthening the Christian education movement.

“This is another tremendous step in our continued growth in the digital arena,” he shared. “We are invested in providing educators with the best possible resources in preparing students to impact the world for Jesus Christ.”

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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About ACSI PD powered by Campus:

ACSI Professional Development powered by Campus brings on-demand learning to users. Annual subscriptions grant users 500 hours of best practices, inspiration, and experience with dynamic tracking of earned Continuing Education Units (CEUs) through a Virtual Professional Portfolio (VPP). Learn more about ACSI PD powered by Campus by visiting the website at https://www.acsi.org/digital.

About the ACSI Bible Assessment:

The assessment was developed for grades K-12 by a team of 100 Christian school educators representing all grade levels. Utilizing the most commonly used Bible textbooks and series among Christian schools, the test focuses on students’ knowledge, understanding, and life application of scripture. It is designed to assist Christian educators in identifying the mastery level of students in these three areas, and, as a program diagnostic tool, to support these educators in evaluating their school’s Bible instructional program. For more information, go to your.acsi.org/ABA, email assessmentsupport@acsi.org, connect with the student assessment program team through our form at your.acsi.org/SAPTeam, or call the ACSI care Team at (800) 367-0798.