Our Foundation

In the spring of 1980, Rev. Ralph Volpe, Senior Pastor of Central Assembly of God, had the vision for a Christian school. After examining several Christian schools and going through many curricula, a course of operation was established. His son, Rev. Richard Volpe, was hired to be the head Administrator of Central Christian Academy.

In 1981, the Family Life Center was ready to house the new school. The school building, complete with ten classrooms, a library, offices, a kitchen, and a gym, was to be home to Central Christian Academy.

In 1981, Central opened its doors to educate its first students. That first year, there were twenty-four students that attended Central Christian, and a grade configuration of K – 9. Several of the classes were combined. There were four full-time teachers. The total school budget was $32,000.00.

The school grew, and the second year went to tenth grade, with forty-eight students. Rev. Richard Volpe continued as Administrator, and after the third year, and an enrollment of 60, became the children’s minister of Central Assembly of God Church.

Don O’Hare was hired as Administrator in 1984. The fourth year of operation saw enrollment increase to 90, and the next year to 130. More teachers were hired, and eventually we had one teacher for each class. Two rooms above the kitchen and new office space were added. In 1994, Central Christian Academy was granted full accreditation by the International Christian Accrediting Association.

In 1997, a computer lab and a teacher’s lounge were added to the school.

In 2001, the classrooms were networked together with the office. Also that year, Central Assembly of God voted to expand its facility on McGovern Road. The addition was completed in 2003.

In the fall of 2003, after nearly 20 years of service, Don O’Hare resigned as Administrator, and Rev. Stephen Getchell was selected to take his place. Rev. Getchell served the school for one and one-half years.

In December of 2004, Rev. Getchell was elected Senior Pastor of Central Assembly of God Church, and Don O’Hare returned as interim Administrator until July 2007.

Kate Fisher was hired as administrator in July 2007.

The school is currently at capacity with almost 250 students ranging from nursery through eleventh grade.

God’s faithfulness has been apparent in providing finances, personnel, and a facility. It is the continued purpose of Central Christian Academy to honor Jesus Christ, believing that an education in which Christ is central will influence the entire course of a student’s life.

May God continue to bless Central Christian Academy, as we look to the future.

A Christian Philosophy of Education, first of all, recognizes God as the creator and sustainer of all things and the source of all truth. God has revealed Himself to mankind both through His creation in a general way, and in a special way through His inspired, infallible, inherent, authoritative Word, the Bible.

Man, though, in his natural sinful state (the result of Adam’s original disobedience against God) is unable to comprehend these truths concerning the universe and God. Thus, man corrupted both intellectually and spiritually by sin, has historically omitted God from learning, and has developed a secular humanist basis for interpreting life and the world around him. However, God has graciously provided the means for re-establishing in the mind and spirit of man the true understanding of God and man through regeneration by faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. As the transforming power of God’s Holy Spirit works in an individual, his or her mind begins to be opened to the truth of God as revealed in the Bible. This truth becomes the basis for his or her world/life view or the basis upon which life is interpreted. This saving, transforming knowledge of Jesus Christ must be the basis of Christian Education, without which its goals can never be fully realized.

The integration of faith and learning, is not just an academic experience, but also a sanctifying experience as the teacher and student grow more and more in their understanding of Christ as Lord in every area of life. The mandate for such an education comes from both God’s Word and the fact that parents are primarily responsible for educating and training their children "in the way that they should go." They must delegate a part of this responsibility to an institution, which is able to carry forward their God-given task.

The authority of the teacher in character-training and discipline is derived from the fact that the teacher stands in loco parentis. Thus, the Christian home, the Christian school, and the Christian church all become partners in this educating and sanctifying process.

Central Christian Academy is a ministry of Central Assembly of God and is accredited by and a member of the following associations:

1. International Christian Accrediting Association (I.C.A.A.) Accredited

2. Oral Roberts University Educational Fellowship (O.R.U.E.F.) Member

3. Association of Christian Schools International (A.C.S.I.) Member

ICAA ACCREDITATION

“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs…” (Acts 2:22)

Accredited comes from the same root word as credible (to believe or trust). Accreditation, therefore, acknowledges an institution’s credibility - its believability. Although some might see an accrediting agency as giving credibility to an institution, in actuality, the process of accreditation ascertains and acknowledges the institution’s credibility by providing external witnesses.

The concept of external witnesses has always been a biblical principle for credibility. Jesus said: “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid…” (John 5:31).

The International Christian Accrediting Association (ICAA) accreditation process has several steps that provide for a firsthand witness and validation of the institution’s credibility, and adheres to the biblical principle that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Cor. 13:16).

Accreditation is as much a process as it is a result, and in the process of becoming, institutions find help, encouragement, and a maturing into the kind of school that God called them to be. This cooperative effort among like-minded institutions exemplifies the biblical accounts of the Body of Christ as it functions and works together to become strong and mutually beneficial under the headship of Christ (Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4).

The accreditation process has been developed to provide standards and procedures whereby an institution can establish its credibility before witnesses. Although the basic approach to understanding the whole of the institution is by evaluating its parts, it is inherent in the purpose of accreditation that an institution be finally evaluated on its totality by asking the question: Is this institution fulfilling its God-given call (purpose), and is it doing it with integrity and excellence?

(ICAA, 2008)

CCA has been accredited with ICAA since 1994

The following statements of faith are based on the 16 Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God as they appear in Article 3 of the Constitution of Central Assembly of God and will be taught in the Bible curriculum and chapel services. We strive to teach God’s Word accurately and within context and will invite each student into a deeper walk with Jesus during times of worship and Bible teaching. We recognize the various backgrounds of faith and denominations represented in our CCA student body and honor this diversity within the body of Christ.

1. The Scriptures Inspired -- The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).

2. The One True God -- The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM,” the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10, 11; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22).

3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ -- The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare:

a. His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31,35).

b. His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22).

c. His miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:38).

d. His substitutionary work on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

e. His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4).

f. His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9,11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3).

4. The Fall of Man -- Man was created good and upright; for God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Genesis 1:26,27; 2:17; 3:6; Romans 5:12-19).

5. The Salvation of Man -- Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

a. Conditions to Salvation - Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7).

b. The Evidences of Salvation - The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12).

6. The Ordinances of the Church --

a. Baptism in Water - The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded in the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus, they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47,48; Romans 6:4).

b. Holy Communion - The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements—bread and the fruit of the vine—is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4); a memorial of His suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26); and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26); and is enjoined on all believers “till He come!”

7. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit -- All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian church. With it comes the endowment of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31). This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 8:12- 17; 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9). With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence for God (Acts 2:43; Hebrews 12:28), an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work (Acts 2:42), and a more active love for Christ, for His Word, and for the lost (Mark 16:20).

8. The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit -- The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues, in this instance, is the same in essence as the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-10,28), but different in purpose and use.

9. Sanctification -- Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God (Romans 12:1, 2; 1Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12). Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15,16). Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1- 11,13; 8:1,2,13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12,13; 1 Peter 1:5).

10. The Church and Its Mission -- The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her Great Commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22,23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23). Since God’s purpose concerning man is to seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshiped by man, to build a body of believers in the image of His Son, and to demonstrate His love and compassion for all the world, the priority reason-for-being of the Assemblies of God as part of the Church is:

a. To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16).

b. To be a corporate body in which man may worship God (1 Corinthians 12:13).

c. To be a channel of God’s purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 14:12).

d. To be a people who demonstrate God’s love and compassion for all the world (Psalms 112:9; Galatians 2:10; 6:10; James 1:27).

11. The Ministry -- A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the fourfold purpose of leading the Church in: (1) evangelization of the world (Mark 16:15-20), (2) worship of God (John 4:23,24), (3) building a Body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:11,16), and (4) Meeting human need with ministries of love and compassion (Psalms 112:9; Galatians 2:10; 6:10; James 1:27).

12. Divine Healing -- Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the Atonement and is the privilege of all believers (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; James 5:14-16).

13. The Blessed Hope -- The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:51,52).

14. The Millennial Reign of Christ -- The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on the earth for one thousand years (Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 24:27,30; Revelation 1:7; 19:11-14; 20:1-6). This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel (Ezekiel 37:21,22; Zephaniah 3:19,20; Romans 11:26,27) and the establishment of universal peace (Isaiah 11:6-9; Psalm 72:3-8; Micah 4:3,4).

15. The Final Judgment -- There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43- 48; Revelation 19:20; 20:11-15; 21:8).

16. The New Heavens and the New Earth -- “We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelled righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21, 22).