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 Key Changes to Legal Legislative Issues Department Structure, Leadership
Colorado Springs, CO – The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) is announcing several key changes to its organizational structure designed to continue growth in public policy and advocacy.
The former Legal Legislative Issues Department will become ACSI Public Policy and Legal Affairs. The shift is intentionally aligned with the Advocacy pillar, part of the Association’s Three Pillar Strategic Plan. The move is designed to help ACSI focus more on ensuring the Association accurately represents the needs of Christian schools.
ACSI President Dr. Larry Taylor believes the changes will better serve member schools.
“We are continually approaching new horizons at ACSI,” he said. “The restructuring and shifts taking place in our Public Policy and Legal Affairs Department are intentional and strategic for the overall advancement of Christian education.”
As part of the restructuring, ACSI’s Director for Government Affairs P. George Tryfiates assumed duties April 1 as Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs.
Tryfiates will provide leadership and oversight for federal and state legislative affairs, regulatory compliance, legal issue analysis, public policy positions, initiatives and alliances. He will also maintain positive relationships with appropriate governmental agencies, legislative representatives, and key Congressional staff.
Tryfiates succeeds Steve Novotny, who will remain an advisor to ACSI as he transitions to pursuing other professional priorities.
Taylor praised Tryfiates for the tailored skillset he brings to lead in this role.
“I have seen George’s leadership and concentrated efforts in Washington, D.C. over the past ten years serving as ACSI Director for Government Affairs,” he shared. “He has been our boots on the ground in the capital, tirelessly advocating on behalf of our Christian schools. I believe in his new role, George will continue to serve as a strong voice for Christian education.”
In his previous position, Tryfiates actively participated in all aspects of public policy, including nonprofit governance and policy, advocacy and media.
He boosted ACSI’s presence in the capital, helped launch the department’s revamped invitation-only National Legislative Conference (NLC), and helped secure important policy victories, including the most significant federal school choice victory in many years – expansion of 529 College Savings Plan qualified expenses to include K-12 tuition.
Tryfiates commented on his new role, stating, “It is a great honor to advocate on behalf of our Christian schools. ACSI is one of only two associations with permanent representation in Washington, D.C. and we are passionate about protecting and advancing Christ-centered education.”
In a related move, Philip Scott, former ACSI Senior Counsel for Policy and Advocacy,
assumed the role of ACSI Vice President for Legal Affairs.
The new position gives Scott the opportunity to oversee all ACSI legal programs that serve member schools. He will continue to be a resource for members in the areas of school consultation, public policy, law, and legislation.
Tryfiates believes Scott, who has served at ACSI for 11 years, has the ideal experience for his new role.
“One of Philip’s key achievements was to create and launch ACSI’s Children’s Tuition Fund, a nationwide scholarship granting organization that provides scholarships to low income families in six states,” he said. “CTF now provides $9 million worth of scholarships a year, and this would not have happened without him.”
In addition, Scott will assume many of ACSI Chief of Staff Dr. Tom Cathey’s areas of responsibilities. Cathey will retire in August 2022 after 14 years providing guidance and faithful service to Christian schools.
ACSI is also actively recruiting to fill a Director for State Advocacy role to continue to provide support in the growing state advocacy sector.
Additionally, Elizabeth Clayton will assume the Public Policy and Communications Assistant position. She has served for nearly one year as Legal and Communications Assistant, working closely with the Public Policy and Legal Affairs department in coordinating written content for scholarly journals, legal briefs and newsletters.
In her new role, Clayton will also conduct research, writing and reports related to public policy developments.
Taylor shared his excitement about the changes and believes they will strengthen ACSI’s ability to advocate on behalf of Christian education.
“I’ve said it before and I’m glad to say it again—these are very exciting times at ACSI, and I’m truly looking forward to seeing how God moves through us to defend and bolster the Christian education movement. It’s an honor to serve Him as we do His work around the world!”
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. ACSI supports more than 5,000 member schools throughout the United States and around the world, which collectively serve approximately 1.2 million students. Through additional training programs, materials, and expertise provided to other educational groups worldwide, ACSI’s overall influence and positive impact reaches more than 26,000 schools operating in 100 countries, together serving 5.5 million people.
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