It's amazing what God can do in 365 days, isn't it?On July 16th, 2015, Lakeside hosted it's very first event in the form of a "Vision Night." The vision surely did catch. Slidell Mayor, Family Research Council President, State Reps and other guests spoke at this monumental night where it a launch date of Fall 2016 was announced.
Quite a daunting task set before our launch team and supporters just one short year ago. But as we are approaching the first day of school, we are continuously reminded where God guides, God provides. In honor of our Vision Night one year ago, we want to share with you all God has done in this short year!
We know that the Lord is just getting started. All He ever needs is faithful children to say yes when he calls. Your continued prayers and support are appreciated as we continue to build up the next generation!
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Jeff Keaton, Founder of Renew-A-Nation, shares the importance of Christian education, the purpose of Lakeside and the reason we are here: the Battle for Hearts & MindsWatch the full length message below. Uniforms, Locations, Tuition Costs, Scholarship opportunities and more!With anything NEW comes a lot of questions and uncertainty. Lakeside is excited to announce the answers to many important questions in regards to the coming school year.
Lakeside hosted a cocktail attire Christmas reception to honor parents who are interested in enrolling their children in LCA for our first year. The event was complete with a live fashion show with some of LCA's charter students debuting our custom uniforms from Pre-K through 12th grade. Everyone in attendance received a $100 gift to go toward the registration fee for each child in their family. The website was immediately updated with tuition costs, scholarship opportunities and more. The event was a success and began the launch year with a lot of excitement and momentum. Slidell Mayor, Family Research Council President, State Rep and other distinguished guests speak at LCA's Vision Night; Launch set for Fall 2016.Lakeside Christian Academy is quickly developing a buzz around town! Last night, LCA hosted their first Vision Night that had over 150 people in attendance. Pastor John Raymond, LCA Founder, opened the evening with a life-giving welcome, prayer and opening remarks that set the tone that lasted through out the entire event. The speakers included Slidell Mayor Freddy Drennan, LA State Representative Greg Cromer and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins via telecast from Washington DC.
The entire event was updated via Lakeside's Twitter, which you can follow @LCAslidell or the hashtag for LCA's launch process, #LaunchingLCA. The first tweet of the night reads "We want this school in Slidell, and I will do anything I can to get it here!" Mayor Drennan said as he excitedly welcomed LCA into the community. LCA also announced the first members of their Advisory Board that includes respectable members of the local Christian community with extensive education experience. The Board will serve as a team of advisors to support Lakeside in prayer and advise decisions made during the launch process. The Board as of now includes: Ben and Courtney Haindel: After graduating from a Christian school, Ben continued teaching and being involved in various administration rolls for over a decade. Ben just finished his first year as High School Principal of Parkview Baptist School in Baton Rouge. His wife Courtney also has an extensive background in Christian education, and currently serves as the Marketing and Enrollment Director of PBS, which serves 1,265 students. Wynn Williams is a lifetime Slidell native and active member in the Christian initiatives that take place in the community. She currently serves on many boards in the area including, St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce and St. Tammany Parish Economic Development District. Dr. Joey Shorter has served as the headmaster of Northlake Christian School in Covington, Louisiana for a number of years and has dedicated his career to teaching, coaching and administration in the private and public schools from pre-K through the university level. In addition to the impressive speakers listed above, LCA's Vision Night also included speakers who gave heartfelt testimonies from a perspective of a parent, teacher and student. Anna Lacy, a mother of 3 students in the St. Tammany Parish Public School System, shared a story she recently experienced with her child who is entering 9th grade. Her teacher assigned a paper to be written on the child's hero. Anna's daughter chose to write her paper on Jesus, as any mother, Anna was thrilled. After turning the paper in, Anna's daughter was told this would not be allowed for submission and would have to be rewritten on a different hero. This was in Pearl River, Louisiana. These stories are no longer on the other side of the world or country, but right here in our schools. Tammy Lamy, who has taught in the St. Tammany Parish School System for 17 years and his been nominated multiple times for Teacher of the Year spoke of her calling to teach in the mission field of the public school system. Regardless of what mandates were in place, Tammy always made sure to share her faith with students and welcome them to do the same. As time went on, and Common Core became a require curriculum, Tammy could no longer bring herself to teach kids things that were so far from truth and retired from teaching within the public school system. Tammy has 3 children and hopes to enroll and teach at LCA when the doors are open. Monica Raymond, daughter of LCA Founder and member of the launch team is a product of lifetime Christian Education. She spoke of many experiences during her time at Northlake Christian School that have helped shape her into the Godly woman she is today. She urged parents to train and equip their children with a biblical worldview and teach them to love the Lord. She reminded parents and students, through humor and story telling, that your identity must be strongly rooted in Christ before the world renames you. As the speakers concluded, the event went over a 12-month timeline projection and answered some of the most frequently asked questions. Last night's Vision Night has truly set the tone for the life-giving, Christ-filled culture that will be Lakeside Christian Academy. *To date, over 170 children are pre-enrolled and over 90 applicants have submitted resumes. Lakeside Christian Academy came to life in April of 2015, just three months ago, with the announcement of launching a new Christian school in Slidell. Trusting the prompting of the Holy Spirit, a committed group of Christians decided that this was the next leap of faith to take.
Three months later, over 50 resumes have been submitted, students are already pre-enrolling to reserve a spot, and the official launch date has been set for Fall of 2016. Many questions remain unanswered, but the Lord is providing clarity and direction every step of the way. Instances that can only be orchestrated by God's hand happen every day to move forward with the vision of a Christian school in Slidell. Many of these questions will begin to be answered on Thursday, July 16th at our first pre-launch vision/interest meeting. If you are interested in learning more about LCA, this meeting is essential. Please make plans to join us at this meeting that will be located at New Horizon Church at 3401 Pontchartrain Drive in Slidell. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., but the doors will open at 6 p.m. for light snacks and fellowship. This meeting is not intended for small children, and casual attire is acceptable. Where God guides, God provides. LCA debuts online presence with Facebook and website, creates instant buzzWithin 12 hours of an online presence, Lakeside Christian Academy has over 100 Facebook followers and over 100 website views. Comments and messages began coming in by nightfall on Day one filled with excitement, support and prayer excitedly awaiting more details.
As we await the answers to questions like, "When will it open?" "Who's the principal?" and "What's the cost?" we are patiently waiting on the right pieces of the puzzle to come into place in God's timing. Lakeside is still in the planning stages. We recognize a huge need in the Slidell area, and are hoping to find a way to provide a solution. We are waiting for God to provide the administrators, faculty and staff that have the experience, passion and vision necessary to launch a school from the ground up. We do not have an official start date as of now. Our website & Facebook page are tools to keep those interested in the launching of this school updated on the answers to the questions you've just asked and provide a place for those who could potentially be the people we're looking for to help in the launch process. Please continue to pray for this process and check back for updates as they happen. |
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