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 Charts New Strategic Direction Established on Advancing, Access, and Advocacy

Sep 8, 2020, 07:19 AM by Larry Lincoln - ACSI
In response to the changing needs of its members and of Christian educators in a rapidly-evolving landscape, the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) is renewing its commitment to Christian schools and teachers by embarking on a new strategic direction characterized by three foundational pillars of Advancing, Access, and Advocacy.
ACSI 3 Pillars

Colorado Springs, CO – In response to the changing needs of its members and of Christian educators in a rapidly-evolving landscape, the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) is renewing its commitment to Christian schools and teachers by embarking on a new strategic direction characterized by three foundational pillars of Advancing, Access, and Advocacy.

According to ACSI President Dr. Larry Taylor, the primary goal of the shift is to better equip Christian schools and educators as they adapt to seismic cultural changes and disruptions to the delivery of education.

“Over the last two years we prayed and sought the Lord’s leading as we solicited and reviewed extensive feedback from our members against a backdrop of significant upheaval to the Christian education environment,” Taylor said.  “We believe this new focus allows us to renew our commitment to Christian schools and educators by providing services designed to increase member value and see our schools flourish. This is in alignment with a 40-year commitment to promoting excellence in Kingdom education around the globe.”

All ACSI operations, programs and services will now be positioned under the pillars defined as:

  • Advancing: Leading Christ-centered education toward excellence and flourishing.
  • Access: Making Christ-centered education available and obtainable.
  • Advocacy: Promoting and protecting Christ-centered education for today and tomorrow.

Some of the more noteworthy changes the Association is making involves moving toward implementation of a new divisional model that builds school services around school size as well as geographic location; and expanding staffing, reach, and influence in its Legal Legislative Department at its Colorado Springs headquarters and in Washington D.C., to provide increased advocacy for Christian schools, religious liberty, and school choice.

Dr. David Balik, ACSI Vice President, USA believes the new direction will enhance benefits for member schools, as well as improve response time to meet changing school needs.

“We’re increasing member value by prioritizing relationship building,” said Balik. “We’re also expanding our ability to connect with and convene schools and school leaders by providing better programs to existing members, while at the same time anticipating and delivering new opportunities and resources. This grassroots approach is designed to give membership back to our schools and their leaders. Our members spoke, and we listened.”

ACSI will also increase investment in research and development to meet emerging needs in Christian education and in digital transformation and delivery of content to better equip schools and teachers, in the U.S. and abroad.

Mike Epp, ACSI Senior Vice President, Global, is excited about the Association’s push to create more strategic global partnerships and connections throughout the world with an intent to share and uphold best practices.

“There are thousands of schools around the globe that feel a connection with ACSI because they believe they are in a relationship with us, have been served by us, and want to belong to the worldwide Christian school movement. The exciting thing is they have much to offer and we can learn a lot from them,” Epp explained. “I’m particularly thrilled about the opportunity to deliver services through new and different methods to reach and connect educators and schools wherever they are.”

ACSI has more than 5,500 member schools worldwide and its services have impacted more than 25,000 other Christian schools in other parts of the world.

“We have a lot to share, and we’re inviting anyone involved with Christian education to discover our new offerings, including our all-new website that features an improved user experience and easier navigation for locating ACSI services and programs,” Taylor said. “While we are all facing challenges, the steadfast mission of ACSI and the cause of Kingdom education around the globe has never been more relevant and necessary. We believe the future is bright.”

To learn more about ACSI and the strategic plan, please visit the updated website at 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.

Follow ACSI on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ACSIUSA  or on Twitter at @ACSIUSA.