Our Mission is to promote academic excellence and foster spiritual growth through a college preparatory curriculum in a Christian environment.
OUR STORY
Our story, like all great stories, has a meaningful history. Long before St. John’s Christian Academy, Lord Berkeley Academy was established in 1966 and faithfully served the educational needs of children and young people in Moncks Corner and Berkeley County through May of 1998. Lord Berkeley had a strong tradition of academic and athletic success and produced outstanding graduates including many who currently send their children and grandchildren to St. John’s Christian Academy.
The first chapter of St. John’s Christian Academy began in late fall of 1997. The Board of Directors of Lord Berkeley Academy gathered information that would assist Lord Berkeley in becoming a Christian school. The School Board formed a committee with individuals from the First Baptist Church to help direct the transition. They adopted the name “St. John’s,” which is the name of one of the colonial parishes that includes Berkeley County. Thereafter, we were known as St. John’s Christian Academy.
A formal dedication on July 1, 1998, marked the official changes of the school’s name and mission, but the new school retained the red, white, and blue school colors and the Cavalier mascot of LBA. In August of 1998, St. John’s Christian Academy opened its doors to 140 students. The class of 1999 was the first graduating class of SJCA. The following year showed several improvements, and the school’s enrollment nearly doubled! Then came the addition of more academic programs, Christian texts, and athletic and academic competitions through the South Carolina Independent School Association.
Since that first year SJCA has flourished as a nondenominational, independent, Christian school made up of students, faculty, and staff members who serve at a variety of local churches in Berkeley County and beyond! Enrollment has grown to over 330 students, and St. John’s Christian Academy has been named #1 among private schools in Berkeley County for the past several years. Our students have excelled academically, grown spiritually, and developed leadership skills. We have received AdvancED and SCISA accreditations, and we are committed to continual school improvement. We have a strong student and alumni base that currently spans four generations. Our alumni include outstanding Cavaliers from both LBA and SJCA who are committed to serving their families, their communities, and their Lord, Jesus Christ.
Many chapters have been written at SJCA since 1998, and they have all had the same theme of promoting academic excellence and fostering spiritual growth. Our mission is eternal. We have been entrusted with the care and instruction of the ones Jesus called “the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” We are resolved to continue to be God’s school and partner with the local churches in our community to build the kingdom of God. We relish our history, and we eagerly anticipate all that the Lord will do in our future.
St. John’s Christian Academy practices open enrollment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, or national origin.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
Though St. John’s Christian Academy does not ascribe to any one church or denomination we believe these basic tenets unite all Christians:
We believe that there is one infinite, holy, loving and personal God, eternally existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that He speaks to us in scripture and reveals himself to us in creation, salvation, and renewal. As finite human beings created in God’s image, it is our purpose and privilege to worship, honor, serve, and obey Him.
We believe that the world belongs to God, who created it and faithfully sustains is by His Providence, mercy, and grace.
We believe that the Bible is God’s written revelation to man, and that it is divinely inspired, authoritative, and without error in the original manuscripts.
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and death on the cross to provide for our redemption, bodily resurrection, and ascension into heaven, His present ministry of intercession for us, and His personal return to earth in power and glory.
We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, that He convicts us of our sinfulness, performs the miracle of the new birth in unbelievers, and indwells believers, enabling them to live godly lives.
We believe that God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return in glory to judge the living and the dead in righteousness.
We believe that God creates each individual as male or female, and these images reflect the image of God and complement one another.
SCHOOL CREST MEANING
SHIELD: FAITH
What we see are Satan’s attacks in the form of insults, setbacks and temptations, but the shield of faith protects us from Satan’s flaming arrows. With God’s perspective, we can see beyond our circumstances and know that ultimate victory is ours.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16
CROSSED SWORDS: SPIRITUAL WEAPON
The Bible is our spiritual weapon to fight the enemy. When we are tempted, we need to trust in the truth and power of God’s Word.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17
OPEN BOOK: KNOWLEDGE
The Bible is God’s Word to us and our greatest source of knowledge. Storing God’s words in our hearts and minds helps us to stay on the right path.
I have hidden your word in my heart I might not sin against you. Psalms 119:11
TORCH: ILLUMINATION
God’s light guides us through dark and evil places to safety and truth.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105
TREE: WISDOM AND FRUITFULNESS
A wise person is a model of a meaningful life. Gaining wisdom yourself can be the first step in leading others to God and bearing good fruit.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives. Proverbs 11:30
CROSS: SACRIFICE
Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior, and His death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation.
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28