Our Core Values
By: Head of School Michael Dewey
Evergreen Christian school is committed to the following core values. We partner with Christian families to:
Elevate Academic Excellence
- Provide a rigorous academic program
- Advance Christian scholarship
Cultivate Biblical Values
- Impart authentic faith grounded in Scripture
- Raise up godly Christian leaders
Stimulate Kingdom Impact
- Equip students for cultural engagement
- Foster a Christ-centered community built upon compassionate Christian service
This is who we are as a school and what we strive to do each day in our classrooms and hallways. Each of these seven values—partnering with Christian families being the first—articulate more fully our school’s vision: answering the call to raise up the next generation of faithful Christian leaders. Evergreen Christian School endeavors to ground students in the wisdom of God’s Word, teaching them to integrate the biblical worldview into all aspects of life and study. Our program seeks to develop an authentic faith in Christ, where graduates are equipped with the tools to discern right from wrong and truth from falsity, challenged to think redemptively about the most pressing issues of our day, and inspired to live courageously for Christ wherever he calls them to serve.
Core Value No. 1: Partnering with Christian families. As a covenant-model school seeking to educate the children of Christian parents, our goal is that the home, the school, and the church will be in agreement regarding the truth and authority of Holy Scripture and the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and thus able to consistently speak the same truth into the lives of our children.
Core Value No. 2: Providing a rigorous academic program. As Christians we are told to “excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love . . .” (2 Cor. 8:7). Christian educators understand this to mean that in addition to teaching God’s Word, we are called to provide academic excellence, preparing our students to grow in wisdom and understanding of all truth. Because every idea being held up as the object of belief is being evaluated in sight of God’s Word, Christian education necessarily comes with an analytical focus that adds a level of rigor that better prepares students intellectually.
Core Value No. 3: Advancing Christian scholarship. Christian education is designed to integrate the Bible into every aspect of the curriculum. We seek to uphold and impart truth, which is first and foremost the Word of God, written and Incarnate (Psalm 119:160; John 14:6). As such, any time something is held up in class as true and worthy of belief, be it math, history, science, or literature, we ask students how it fits with the Christian worldview and biblical teaching. The Christian scholar is one who thinks Christianly about whatever they study.
Core Value No. 4: Imparting an authentic faith grounded in Scripture. We seek to help our students claim their family’s Christian heritage as their own. Authentic faith occurs only when students individually come to terms with the gospel message and the teaching of Scripture for themselves. The end goal is not simply students who know what they believe, but ones who are able to articulate it to others, clearly and winsomely, defending it when challenged, and living it out daily. An authentic faith fuels an active and living faith, one that is focused on learning more about the faith, digging deeper into God’s Word, and cultivating a growing love and commitment to Christ.
Core Value No. 5: Raising up godly Christian leaders. Our goal is to see God’s image manifested in each of our students so that they walk humbly with God in their minds, love mercy in their hearts, and act justly in their lives. We are committed to preparing Christian leaders who will excel in all areas of work, academia, governance, business, culture, and the arts, standing out as models of excellence (Daniel 1:17-20), being a light and witness for truth, and demonstrating to others that only in Christ is life truly ordered and whole.
Core Value No. 6: Equipping students for cultural engagement. We lead our students to critically evaluate non-Christian sources and cultural trends, teaching them to look to God’s Word in directing them how to respond as “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14). We understand that though we are “not of this world,” our Savior specifically sends his followers out “into the world” (John 17:14-19) to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11); to be “a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47); to counter “every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5); to “speak the truth with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25); to “render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace” (Zechariah 8:16); and to “do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause” (Isaiah 1:17).
Core Value No. 7: Fostering a Christ-centered community built upon compassionate Christian service to others. We look to inspire service, which is the imitation of Christ, who came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Evergreen purposes to encourage its students, by God’s grace through the power of the Holy Spirit, toward an intentional and obedient life of service to their families, classmates, the Church, and society. Christian service means letting “your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16); serving “one another humbly in love” and loving “your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:13-14); carrying “each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2); being “kind to the poor” (Proverbs 19:17); and providing “help to the weak” (Acts 20:35). Because we bear God’s image, our service to God extends to every part of our life.