Salt Lake Junior Academy

I'm writing this morning about a cause that is dear to my heart and that has been on the hearts and minds of a lot of people in my community this week. I attended Adventist schools for the majority of my education. I have very mixed feelings about the idea of Adventist education and the system itself. To be sure, I have had experiences within the system that were not reflective of the love and grace of Jesus. And while the positive experiences that I have had far outweigh the bad ones, I find that those sad times characterize my experience with Adventist Education. This coming from a girl whose roots are firmly planted in the soil of Adventism. And so, I have never been a strong of vocal proponent of the idea.

However, I am a passionate and convicted supporter of Salt Lake Junior Academy. Not because of it's classification as being Adventist, but because SLJA has long stood out as one of the few schools in the Salt Lake valley who offers an excellent, Jesus-centered education to children who are mainly low-income and minority students. The vast majority of the students are "worthy students", meaning that their parents cannot afford to pay $450 per month for their children's education. And so, their home churches have committed to offer tuition assistance. With this system, SLJA has chugged along, barely making it every year, but continuing to make a difference in the lives of those children. This year, though, has proven to be the biggest stumbling block yet...out of nowhere, with one week before the school year began, two of the four churches in the valley made the decision to pull their support of the school. Ironically, those two churches are the home churches for the majority of the students. Thus, the school was left in the lurch. Many parents, who had no power over the decision that their churches had made, had no option but to enroll their children in the public school system. One of the saddest parts of this story is that most of those families live in areas that are crime ridden and over run with gang activity. This was the situation into which parents were throwing their children into.

But God moves in mysterious ways, and I can't help but rejoice at the enormous test that has been set before us. Our faith is being tested like never before. It is my firm belief that SLJA and those students are our sacred mission. We have been given the opportunity to change lives, to make a difference, to invest in the youth of our church. Never before have we been tested so deeply. At last week's school board meeting, miracles happened. For a group of people who had often disagreed, an incredible and terrifying decision was made, completely unanimously and without question. It has been decided that tuition will be cut in HALF, thus facilitating many students who could not afford tuition previously. Now, I'm not economics major, frankly, I can't even balance my own checkbook, but even I see that this plan lacks common sense. But we have been led by God, commanded to take a huge leap of faith as we have never been commanded before. In lowering tuition rates, it is hoped that more students will be able to enroll. Thus, a policy of more students compensating for lower tuition. In addition, the decision has been made that the school will admit any child seeking a good education...whether they are Adventist, Catholic or Hare Krishna. Previously, the majority of the students were Adventist...non-Adventist students were denied financial aid and frankly, not encouraged. But we believe that God has commanded us to minister to all people, regardless of their religion, their economic status or their skin. After all, isn't that what Jesus did? Because of this decision, SLJA, soon to be known as Salt Lake CHRISTIAN Academy, has been approached by many members of the community, offering substantial financial support. There are many people in our community who are eager to reward groups that are offering private school education to low-income students. Out of nowhere, people are knocking on the door, wanting to be a part of the mission that God has started with us.

It's almost breath-taking to watch the things that God is doing in our community. He is tearing down barriers that have stood for decades. The people are coming together in unprecedented ways, something that I didn't expect to ever happen in my lifetime. Together, we are stepping out and taking enormous leaps of faith...we are all completely aware that this "plan" doesn't make any sense at all. But collectively, we feel led. It's exhilarating and terrifying to be given this opportunity. Please keep us in your prayers and your thoughts as we move forward.