STATEMENT OF FAITH
Core Beliefs
As a Christian school, we are committed to more than academic excellence. We are committed to nurturing the spiritual formation of our students through intentional Christian discipleship that is guided by Scripture and focused on Jesus Christ. We pursue this endeavor in close partnership with both the ministries of the Church and the ministry of parents raising their children to know the Lord. As a shepherding school, we seek to serve specifically those families in our San Ramon Valley that share our commitment to Christ and share our mission to raise kids to know God and fulfill His purposes. The following are the foundational beliefs that define our distinctly Christian approach to education and discipleship:
• We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God (II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:21).
• We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30).
• We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:38); His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:35); His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, 7:26); His miracles (John 2:11); His vicarious and atoning death (I Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9); His resurrection (John 11:25, I Corinthians 15:4); His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19); His personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11).
• We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of human nature and that men are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ and that only by God’s grace and through faith alone we are saved (John 3:16-19, 5:24; Romans 3:23, 5:8-9, Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5).
• We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28-29).
• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9, I Corinthians 12:12-13, Galatians 3:26-28).
• We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life (Romans 8:13-14; I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18)
These core beliefs are adopted from the statement of faith published by the Association of Christian Schools International, our accrediting body, and they are fully consistent with Community Presbyterian Church’s denominational essentials of the faith.
Standards for Biblical Morality & Christian Living
As a Christian school community we also acknowledge that our pursuit of Christ will lead us into a way of life that in many ways will look quite different from the larger society around us. Therefore, we affirm individually and collectively a commitment to the following beliefs that guide how we seek to live out our faith:
• We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of SRVCA as a local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to SRVCA members and the community, it is imperative that all parents, students, employees and volunteers of SRVCA agree to and abide by our core beliefs and these standards for biblical morality. (Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14 – 16; 1Thess 5:22.)
• We believe God calls us to pursue peace within our community of students, parents and staff by refraining from all forms of gossip, seeking to build one another up, graciously overlooking minor offenses, and pursuing relational reconciliation whenever personal offenses need to be addressed. (Matt 5:23-24; Matt 18:15; Prov 16:28)
• We believe scripture calls us to respect all family members in an atmosphere of love, forgiveness, and grace and so avoids any kind of abuse of children, spouses, and /or parents; (Col 3:21; Eph 6:4; Matt 7:12; 1 Jn3:18)
• We believe God’s character calls all of us to live up to a standard of truth in all things, whether academic, volunteer or paid work and to reject dishonest activities such as cheating, plagiarizing, stealing, and showing disrespect for authority. (er 7:23; Deut 5:29; Eph 4:28; 1Jn 2:5).
• 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 (Gen 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of God’s intention for us as His creation.
• We believe God’s intention for humanity is to respect and affirm our male and female genders as given by God and that we can do so by agreeing to dress in conformance with one’s biological sex and using only the restrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities conforming with one’s biological sex. (1Thess 4:3-7; Deut 22:5)
• 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. (Gen 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 Cr 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4.) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage.
• 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. (Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor 6:9-10.)
• 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; Rom 10:9-10; 1Cor 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 SRVCA.
Failure to comply with these standards in whole or in any part may result, at the discretion of the school administration, in the enforcement of disciplinary action up to and including expulsion or dismissal.
Applicants Certification and Agreement