Wurtland Christian Academy
Announces Inaugural Year
Lora Parsons
The Ashland Beacon
This fall, parents of students from age four through second grade will have a new educational opportunity to consider for school. Wurtland Church of God, located at 3361 St. RT. 503, in Greenup, will open its doors for the first time to families seeking a Christian education. The news of the church’s inaugural school year might be new, but the dream to go this route is anything but …. This dream has been on the hearts of many in the congregation for years.
When Pastor Chester Keathley was approached with the idea, the reality of just how many people had been thinking about beginning a school in the church building became clear. Some of the church members who first had this dream have moved on to their Heavenly addresses, but the planted seeds of this idea have grown into an actionable plan that the congregation hopes will bear much fruit in the upcoming school year. Melvin Leonhart, who will serve as the school’s Principal, shared that he can’t credit any one person or one set of events with the opening. “We started with exploratory meetings, and God just opened doors from there.” admitted Leonhart. The more folks got together to discuss logistics, the clearer it became that the time is now! Together the 12 members of the board have been working for a full year on fleshing and rolling out that plan.
Their time has paid off and led to where they are now, which is accepting enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year. With enrollment having just recently opened, there is no way of telling how many students will attend this fall … Yet! Without knowing how many students are coming, there is no way of telling exactly how many teachers will be needed … Yet! Leonhart acknowledges that some details can’t fully be nailed down … Yet! But there is a building. there are classrooms, there is a curriculum, and there is a plan. Where those things exist, there is power in the word “yet,” and at Wurtland Church of God, there is enough faith to back up that plan with action.
Church members recently gathered for prayer, encircling the sanctuary. They faced outward, toward the classrooms and asked for God’s blessing and favor on the school. In Principal Leonhart’s words, “the church desires that the Lord Jesus Christ receive all the honor, recognizing and acknowledging that unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted,” borrowing from the Bible which will be the foundation of their instruction. In addition to praying for the school endeavor, itself, Leonhart explained that the congregation also “prayed for every student that He would be placing in our care and for every struggling parent who will make the sacrifice in temporal things in order to give their children a Christian education; one built on academic excellence and steeped in the love of Jesus!” The planning time spent paving the way for WCA has been covered in prayer, as the Lord’s direction has been sought at every turn.
The planning and prayer efforts have also come with some physical preparation. A few building renovations were needed to physically prepare the space for receiving students this fall. New classroom floors have been installed as the foundation that will undergird the growth to come. Large white boards have also been hung in future classroom spaces, with plans of replacing them with SMART Boards. Additionally, work has recently begun on acquiring books for a library for student use. The church hopes this is all the beginning of an incredible work that God will do with this space they’ve dedicated to Him. Besides the goal of offering a Bible-based, Christian worldview through the Abeka curriculum that will be used, Leonhart also cites smaller class sizes as one of their goals. Quality one-on-one interaction between students and teachers is difficult to come by in a traditional public-school classroom, and they’re dedicated to providing just that in a Christian atmosphere.
The school will host an Open House for interested community members and potential WCA families on Aug. 8, 2024, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the school. Classroom spaces will be open for viewing, the Abeka curriculum will be available for browsing, and an opportunity will be provided to meet the school staff who will be the hands and feet of the daily operation. Leonhart says the school administration and staff will be happy to answer questions and take suggestions too, acknowledging that they “want parents to be deeply involved … as they are an integral part of every child’s education.”
For more information, inquiries about Wurtland Christian Academy can be emailed to Principal Leonhart at Principal@WurtlandChurchOfGod.com or found at the school’s website, www.WurtlandChurchOfGod.com/WCA. Visitors to this digital space will find detailed information about tuition, the school calendar, the application process, and other important logistical information. Questions may also be answered directly by calling 606.836.0557. If securing a Christian education for your child has been a desire, Wurtland Christian Academy might be the perfect fit.
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