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By: Amber Warnke

In the hills of Appalachian Virginia, you’ll find a school whose idea of the three R’s is different than most. Mountain Mission School (MMS) in Grundy, Virginia, was founded in 1921 and is devoted to “rescuing kids, raising leaders, and reaching nations.” Children pass through these doors already facing harsh realities—homelessness, poverty, and the like. MMS stands as a warm shelter for these kids—not just a school but also a home and a church.

The school is unique—in both its founding and its mission. After losing his father at a young age, Sam Hurley was forced to leave school and roam around for work to put food on the table for his family. A harrowing night in the mountains in 1888 prompted 10-year-old Hurley to promise God he would build a home for boys and girls like himself. Armed with only a fourth-grade education, he fulfilled that promise many years later.

While MMS provides education for kids from kindergarten to graduation, it also houses infants and toddlers as part of its residential/homelife program. Staff members relish in the opportunity to serve kids “from diapers to diplomas,” focusing on developing the whole child. Most students live on campus while some come from the local community to attend school. Some come from families struggling with homelessness, others with parental unemployment, and still others with extreme poverty. From these extremely difficult circumstances, MMS is dedicated to providing children with “the care, security, and structure they need to grow into all that God has designed for them.” 

At MMS, funding does not come from the government. This does not mean tuition is high. In fact, the majority of students do not pay for their tuition at all. In addition to helping students financially, MMS offers support through counseling services from a Christian counseling provider, a partnership with Chik-fil-A Leadership Academy, and a college and career readiness program that begins in middle school. This program includes college visits (from community colleges to large universities), guidance counseling, and partial tuition scholarships offered in partnership with a separate foundation and several Christian universities.

Mountain Mission School strives to provide children with a holistic education. As stated on their website, they “believe that individual students learn differently from one another as unique creations of the Creator.” Thus, MMS helps students learn through individualized methods—using a variety of learning modalities, providing tutoring and intervention, utilizing technology, and assessing/teaching/reassessing to ensure mastery. But MMS is focused on a still greater goal—spiritual education. The school believes that “the mandate in scripture to work unto the Lord (Col. 3:23) applies to all areas of life, including the education of our children.” Thus, teachers strive to convey each academic principle through a biblical lens, helping students shape their worldview according to Scripture and apply this worldview to every aspect of their lives.

Assistant Principal Mark Hood rejoices as he notes how Christ is moving at Mountain Mission School. “Christ is at work in our community by prompting deep, challenging questions and providing a stable foundation for every child’s growth and development.” He notes that MMS has not only taken root but has grown and flourished in the more than 100 years since its founding, and he believes God is preparing the school for the next 100 years.