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 Leaders, Administrators Engage in Advocacy Opportunities in Nation’s Capital
The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) welcomed more than 30 Christian school administrators from 14 states to its annual National Legislative Conference that took place Sept. 13-15, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
The event, organized by ACSI Director for Government Affairs P. George Tryfiates, provides insight into current legislative issues and trains Christian administrators to engage in advocacy with their elected leaders through sessions led by expert speakers. The conference culminates with opportunities for administrators to meet with their congressional leaders to discuss these issues.
School leaders joined with the ACSI Legal Legislative team to hear from speakers including Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Jim Neill, Policy Advisor in the Office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Mike Farris, President of Alliance Defending Freedom.
ACSI Vice President of Public Policy and General Counsel Stephen Novotny, who oversees ACSI’s Legal & Legislative Issues Department, believes that training Christian school leaders on public policy issues— especially those affecting religious liberties and education— is imperative.
“Our administrators now more than ever can only benefit from joining together in representing and advocating on behalf of Christian education,” he said.
ACSI President Dr. Larry Taylor also spoke at the conference and met with the board of directors of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) and other D.C.- based advocacy organizations while in the nation’s capital.
ACSI VP of Public Policy and General Counsel Stephen Novotny, ACSI President Dr. Larry Taylor, Jennifer Marshall Patterson, Director of the Institute of Theology and Public Life at Reformed Theological Seminary, and ACSI Director for Government Affairs P. George Tryfiates.
“It’s inspiring to see how ACSI is strengthening and serving our school leaders in the areas of advocacy and public policy,” Taylor shared. “We have prioritized equipping these leaders with the knowledge and understanding they need to be effective in representing Christian education.”
ACSI Board Chair Dr. Jay Ferguson also traveled to Washington and participated on a panel at the Heritage Foundation, discussing issues regarding religious liberties and education. The panel discussion focused on the book, “Religious Liberty and Education: A Case Study of Yeshivas v. New York,” which Ferguson contributed to and ACSI Director of Research Dr. Matthew Lee edited.
“The discussion at the Heritage Foundation was mainly about parents' rights to choose their childrens' education, and religious liberties of individuals and institutions in the K-12 educational context,” Ferguson said. “It’s an important discussion—one that I look forward to continuing in the coming months.”
Other speakers at the National Legislative Conference included Jennifer Marshall Patterson, Director of the Institute of Theology and Public Life at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and Greg Baylor, Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom.
ACSI Director for Government Affairs P. George Tryfiates and ACSI Chief of Staff Dr. Tom Cathey prepare to brief attendees at the National Legislative Conference.
While the next ACSI National Legislative Conference is scheduled to take place in September 2022, the ACSI Legal & Legislative Issues Department will continue to advocate on behalf of Christian education and provide ongoing support to member schools. More conference details will be posted on the ACSI website.