What We Believe

Statement of Faith

• We believe in the verbal inspiration of both the Old and New Testaments, i.e. that the very words of the original Scriptures are infallible and inerrant and that they are our final and absolute authority in every area of life and knowledge.   (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Isaiah 40:8)
• We believe in one God, eternally existing in three equal persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  (2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 4:4-6)
• We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and that He is both undiminished deity and genuine humanity in one person forever. (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1,14)
• We believe that God the Holy Spirit is a personal being who convicts the world of sin, regenerates, indwells, empowers, guides, bestows spiritual gifts on believers, and seals believers eternally for God.  (John 16:8; Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:14; 1 Corinthians 12:4; 2 Corinthians 1:22)
• We believe that man was created by a direct act of God in His image, not from previously existing life; all men sinned in Adam (the historical father of the entire human race) and thus incurred both physical and spiritual death; all men have inherited a sinful nature.  (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 5:12-13)
• We believe that Jesus Christ died as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins and that through faith in Him as Lord and Savior, we are declared righteous by God. (1 John 2:2; John 3:16; Romans 3:22)
• We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, totally apart from human merit, and that the experience of regeneration produces a new creature in Christ, eternally secure.  (Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 10:27-29)
• We believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and that He ascended into heaven, where He continually ministers as our great High Priest and Advocate. (Luke 24:6-7; Hebrews 4:14; 1 John 2:1)
• We believe that this age will be consummated by the literal, visible, bodily return of Jesus Christ to this earth.  (Hebrews 9:28; Revelations 22:12)
• We believe in the resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost.  (Acts 24:15; John 3:16-18)
• We believe that all believers are under the mandate of Jesus Christ to proclaim the Gospel to the world.  (Matthew 28:19)
• We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image.  Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death.  We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.  (Ps 139:13)
• The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs.  The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe.  For the purpose of Heritage Christian Academy’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Board of Trustees is Heritage Christian Academy’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

Statement on Marriage, Gender & Sexuality

• We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) Rejections of one's biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. HCA recognizes a student's gender as that which is denoted on the student's birth certificate, as issued at time of birth from a recognized authority of the State of Texas or other such governing body authorized to issue birth certificates for their citizens.
• We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest ,and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
• 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 has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in, outside of marriage between a man and a woman.
• We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Heritage Christian Academy as a local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to its members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by HCA in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14- 16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22)
• We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
• We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Heritage Christian Academy.

The Ministry of Teaching

Teachers and school administrators are called by God to help raise up the young in the ways of faith. Jesus, the Savior, was also a teacher. He gathered his disciples and others around him and taught with such conviction and truth that the "many who heard him were astonished, saying, 'Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hand!'" (Mark 6:2). His apostles, likewise, were teachers and gave witness "with great power" through their words and deeds, and "gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33).

The ministry of teaching obligates the teacher to assist his or her students in understanding not only mathematics or physics, but how the order and discipline of mathematics or physics reveals the mind of God. It obligates one not only to instruct in geography and history, but to inculcate the faith by helping the students know that God created the mountains, the sea, the rivers, the deserts, the forests, the plains, and all the creatures that inhabit them, and to learn that human discoveries, empires, conflicts, and social movements are measured by the divinely ordained order. The ministry of teaching requires one not only to help students acquire skill in spelling, reading, grammar, and writing, but to understand that human language is a primary means by which students might explore the wonders of poetry and narrative  and sacred Scripture itself—all of which indirectly or directly disclose salvation history. Regardless of the subject, true teachers minister to their students by helping them follow Paul's admonition:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do: and the God of peace will be with you. (Phil 4:8-9)

Teachers in a Christian school must be ever mindful that they instruct not only through rational explanation of formal subject material but even more powerfully through word, deed, example, and shared experience. Simply put, they teach the faith by modeling the faith and by modeling faithfulness. This is why all teachers, even before their first meeting with students, must subscribe to the school's Statement of Faith. This is why teachers are required to give a godly example, both at school and away. Teachers must teach truth and avoid falsehood. "Therefore, putting away falsehood, let everyone speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. ... Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:25, 29).

Teachers minister to the students by providing them with faith experiences. They lead the youth in prayer, praise, and mercy. Paul urged Christians to "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander to be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31-32). Teachers also model the Christian life by being active in their own church community and by serving as an intermediary assisting their students in becoming active in their respective church communities so that those students might be further nurtured in faith with their friends and family around them.

HCA Core Values

• The Scriptures are authoritative and unchangeable. (Psalm 111:7; 119:128; 2 Timothy 3:15-16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
• Students should be taught to think critically from a Christian worldview and be able to defend their faith. (2 Corinthians 10:5; Colossians 2:1-10; Psalm 19; 1 Peter 3:15)
• The glory of God demands a spirit of excellence in all endeavors and we should develop in each student a lifetime love of learning. (Colossians 3:17; Proverbs 1, 2, 3 and 4; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Psalm 199:40)
• Parents are ultimately responsible for their children’s education and the school is a partner in this process. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4)
• Each student is highly valued by God and has a unique set of gifts, temperaments and abilities the school seeks to identify and assist the student to develop. Therefore, the academic and physical curriculum will integrate the spiritual, emotional and social needs of each student. (1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:23)
• Discipline should be done in love, with respect and dignity, and have as its goal building Christian character, for restoring the student to fellowship and increasing the student’s chance for future success. (Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 12:5-11; Hebrews 13:17; 2 Timothy 3:16)
• Faculty, staff and students should demonstrate their faith through attitudes and actions as well as words. (Matthew 5:16; Romans 13:12; Ephesians 2:10; Hebrews 10:24; James 3:13)