As we are in the third quarter of the 2025-26 school term at MCA, we are heading toward some milestones marking our school’s ministry. The upcoming school year, 2026-2027, will mark seventy years of Christian school ministry on this campus. Having been in existence for 70 years is a milestone among the Christian schools in this country. MCA was part of the first wave of Christian schools being started in response to the increase of rationalism and humanism which became the driving philosophy behind public school curriculum around 1950.
The 1963 Supreme Court ruling which removed Bible classes, Bible reading and prayer from public schools was the catalyst for the beginning of hundreds of Christian schools started by parent groups and by churches, and some Evangelical denominations. This growth reached a peak in the early 1990’s, and plateaued, then began to decline. During the first two decades of the 21st century, Christian school organizations were reporting as many as 300 school closures per year, and by 2020, half of the Christian schools that existed in 1990 were no longer operating.
MCA has been blessed in being able to survive through this decline, adapting to demographic shifts in our urban environment and continuing to serve. We are one of very few Christian schools in an urban setting, and one of a small number nationwide in which a majority of our students represent an ethnic or racial minority. In fact, as far as we can tell, our unique setting has made MCA one of just a small handful of schools in which the majority of students are of Puerto Rican ethnicity.
The 1963 Supreme Court ruling which removed Bible classes, Bible reading and prayer from public schools was the catalyst for the beginning of hundreds of Christian schools started by parent groups and by churches, and some Evangelical denominations. This growth reached a peak in the early 1990’s, and plateaued, then began to decline. During the first two decades of the 21st century, Christian school organizations were reporting as many as 300 school closures per year, and by 2020, half of the Christian schools that existed in 1990 were no longer operating.
MCA has been blessed in being able to survive through this decline, adapting to demographic shifts in our urban environment and continuing to serve. We are one of very few Christian schools in an urban setting, and one of a small number nationwide in which a majority of our students represent an ethnic or racial minority. In fact, as far as we can tell, our unique setting has made MCA one of just a small handful of schools in which the majority of students are of Puerto Rican ethnicity.
The Expectations of a Christian School Education
In my 38 years of experience in Christian schools, I have observed that there are as many reasons for enrolling children in a Christian school as there are parents of children who enroll them. There are some expectations which do not get met, simply because they are not necessarily realistic. Becoming a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ is a matter of spiritual conviction of a free will of its sinful nature. As a Christian school, we are in a place to make students aware of conviction, and we can teach them about redemption, but the choice they make is their own.
What makes our school “Christian,” by definition, has to do with the manner in which we operate. Our staff members, and specifically administration and faculty, are all hired because they have a personal testimony of having been saved by grace through faith in Jesus as the Christ. They are all engaged as members of a local body of believers, the local church, where most are using their spiritual gifts in ministry. A big part of that happens in their classroom, where the truth of scripture is integrated into the academic studies of the students as a means of helping them how to think and act as a believer and follower of Jesus.
Not all of the families who enroll their children here are members of a church, or professing Christians. About 20% of the families who enroll report no church affiliation, so there are evangelistic opportunities here, not only with our students, but with some of our families. And from our own observation, perhaps half of our families are not as directly or actively engaged in the church with which they are associated in such a way as to provide a discipleship ministry to their children. So evangelism and discipleship are at the top of the ministry functions of our school.
Our job is to be engaged in a partnership with parents, who are held accountable by God for the education of their children. We say we are helping students understand conviction of sin, salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, redemption and then living according to a “Biblical worldview,” which is simply understanding how to live in a way that glorifies God. This includes an understanding of the church, and that being Christian includes being a fully active ministering member of the local body of Christ, the church.
In my 38 years of experience in Christian schools, I have observed that there are as many reasons for enrolling children in a Christian school as there are parents of children who enroll them. There are some expectations which do not get met, simply because they are not necessarily realistic. Becoming a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ is a matter of spiritual conviction of a free will of its sinful nature. As a Christian school, we are in a place to make students aware of conviction, and we can teach them about redemption, but the choice they make is their own.
What makes our school “Christian,” by definition, has to do with the manner in which we operate. Our staff members, and specifically administration and faculty, are all hired because they have a personal testimony of having been saved by grace through faith in Jesus as the Christ. They are all engaged as members of a local body of believers, the local church, where most are using their spiritual gifts in ministry. A big part of that happens in their classroom, where the truth of scripture is integrated into the academic studies of the students as a means of helping them how to think and act as a believer and follower of Jesus.
Not all of the families who enroll their children here are members of a church, or professing Christians. About 20% of the families who enroll report no church affiliation, so there are evangelistic opportunities here, not only with our students, but with some of our families. And from our own observation, perhaps half of our families are not as directly or actively engaged in the church with which they are associated in such a way as to provide a discipleship ministry to their children. So evangelism and discipleship are at the top of the ministry functions of our school.
Our job is to be engaged in a partnership with parents, who are held accountable by God for the education of their children. We say we are helping students understand conviction of sin, salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, redemption and then living according to a “Biblical worldview,” which is simply understanding how to live in a way that glorifies God. This includes an understanding of the church, and that being Christian includes being a fully active ministering member of the local body of Christ, the church.
There are some ways we can measure and evaluate the progress MCA is making in fulfilling its mission and purpose:
- We achieved full accreditation in 2022, an evaluation by our peers which states that we meet, or exceed, a set of expected standards of excellence as a school, including the Christian atmosphere that is part of who we are.
- We have seen our enrollment grow to pre-2018 levels and remain stable.
- We have sustained financial stability for the past five years, with budget expenses balanced against cash flow and accounts receivable, leaving the school in a sound fiscal position.
- Our financial situation has permitted us to complete physical plant projects out of budget funds, including replacing the roof on the Lee Building, and placing durable paneling in the Middle School hallway and the cafeteria.
- We have received more than $500,000 in contributions which has enabled us to renovate the gymnasium and will lead to replacement of the windows in the Lee Building this summer.
- We have achieved a re-enrollment rate of current students near the 95% mark each of the past five years, which indicates a high level of parent satisfaction.
- We have significantly lowered the staff turnover rate, especially among our faculty, retaining teachers who are degreed and certified.
- We will be ready for re-accreditation in the fall of 2026. This is an important step for a private, Christian school in an urban setting, since most private religious-affiliated schools are not accredited.
- We have expanded our school’s athletic offerings, including the addition of cheerleading as a sport, and soccer this past fall. We are now members of a more competitive private and preparatory school league, in which our basketball teams have participated, and our athletic program helped spearhead the start of a Christian school conference with four other Bright Promise Foundation schools.
The need for Christian schools has never been greater. Two major church research surveys came out with their 2025 data recently, showing that the decline in membership and attendance among Evangelical Christians in the United States continues, as the younger two generations have very low levels of membership or engagement with a Christian church of any kind. With fewer than 15% of Millennials, who make up the majority of parents of school-aged children, claiming any kind of church affiliation, the next generation, Gen Z, has little opportunity to even hear the gospel. So our Christian schools will be the ones who produce the leaders who will have a big job in evangelism ahead of them.
Principal R. Lee Saunders
Principal R. Lee Saunders