Who We Are

The only reason we exist is to serve Jesus Christ by developing the whole person through a Christ-centered education.​

As Cole Valley endeavors to implement a Christian philosophy of education, this statement guides, focuses and directs everything we do.

• We exist for one reason and one reason only: To serve our Lord.
• We value serving God and His people including our students, parents, or one another. 
• We understand that all we do is enabled by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit for the Glory of God the Father.  
• We develop each student’s body, mind, and spirit in hopes that they will impact a lost world for Jesus Christ.

Partnering with Christian families to shepherd and challenge our students toward their individual potential to impact the world for Christ.

Partnership

We believe that God gave parents the responsibility to educate their children (Deut 4:9, 6:5-7; Psalm 78:5-8; Eph 6:4), and, therefore, we are serving parents by providing an education that aligns with their beliefs and values.  We also believe that we are not a replacement for the Church, but rather a supplemental support in partnership with the Church for the equipping of our young people.

Shepherding and challenging

These two significant verbs create the foundation of our discipleship philosophy.  We are very relational and believe in knowing our students as individual creations of the Lord.  We love our students and guide them along their path.  In addition, for us to fulfill our mission, we must know our students well enough to challenge them beyond their comfort zone, which we call the zone of proximal development.

Individual Potential

Each student has been gifted by God according to His grace.  Therefore, each student has their own unique potential.  The only way we unlock that potential is to know each student and the student’s family.  School should not only be for a certain type of person or student who learns by one specific style.  It is our mission that every student, regardless of how they have been gifted or how they learn, be shepherded and challenged to reach their individual potential.  We strive to create an environment where student learning is the measure of success, not “I taught it, therefore, they should have learned it.”  It is not one size fits all, nor is it teaching to the average, but rather focused on the growth of each student.

To Impact the world for Jesus Christ

Our greatest purpose on this earth is to know Christ and to make Him known.  Our goal is to impart a Biblical Worldview in our students so as they engage with the world, they are evaluating and making decisions through the lens and filter of Scripture.

As a school that exists to serve God, our core values reflect His character (Ex. 34:6). They provide the context in which day-to-day decisions are made.

• There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 12:4-6; II Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:1-14)
• Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood. He rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high as our great High Priest. (Matthew 1:22-23; Luke 1:35; John 1:18; Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 1:1-3; 2:7; I Peter 3:18)
• The Holy Spirit is a divine person, sent to indwell, guide, teach, empower the believer, and convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. (John 14:16-26; 16:5-11)
• The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice. (Matthew 5:17-20; John 10:35; II Timothy 3:16)

When we say that the Old and New Testaments constitute the only rule of Christian faith and practice, we specifically mean that we do not accept any other testaments, documents, or revelations claiming similar divine inspiration. We consider any other such claims to be false and heretical.

• Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God; he fell through disobedience, incurring both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:26-27; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 1:18-3:20)
• Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent and believe in Him, receiving Him as personal Savior and Lord, are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God. (Acts 2:38; Romans 3:21-26)

We believe that this salvation process comes by grace, through faith alone. Works of any kind are a result of salvation, not in any way a means to it.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

• The church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations. (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 1:4; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23)

Part of our witness is found in how we respond in society. Civil governments are of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society. Those in civil authority are to be prayed for and conscientiously honored and obeyed except in things contrary to the Word of God. (Romans 13:1-7; II Samuel 23:3-4; Exodus 18:21-22; Acts 4:19-20; 5:20-29; 23:5; Matthew 22:21; Daniel 3:17-18)

• The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (Acts 2:42-47; Acts 10:47-48; Luke 22:17-20; I Corinthians 11:23-32)
• There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; for the former a resurrection unto life, for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment. (Matthew 25:31-46; Hebrews 9:27)
• The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be personal and visible. This is the believer’s blessed hope and is vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service. (Acts 1:9-11; Titus 2:13; I Peter 1:13; II Peter 3:11)
• God, according to His foreordained plan, wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female in conformity with their genetic sex, making gender identity inseparable from genetic sex.  The two distinct, complementary genetic sexes of male and female together reflect the image and nature of God.  Rejection of one’s genetic sex is a rejection of the work of the Creator and a rejection of the image of God within that person.  (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 139:14; Jeremiah 1:5)
• Marriage, having been designed and instituted by God as an illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church, is intended to be the life-long, exclusive, union of one genetic man and one genetic woman.  Only within the context of such a marriage does sexual intimacy have God’s blessing.  (Genesis 2:20-24; Proverbs 18:2; Mark 10:2-9; Ephesians 5:22-23; Hebrews 13:4)
• Sexual practices such as adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, polygamy, and use of pornography are sinful and offensive to God.  (Matthew 5:27-28; Matthew 15:18-20; I Corinthians. 6:9-10; I Timothy. 1:8-10)

The principles expressed in the previous three paragraphs, as applicable, shall govern all matters of Cole Valley Christian Schools.

The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs.  The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and proper conduct, is the sole and final source of what we believe.  With regard to faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, the Cole Valley Christian School Board is the final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application for Cole Valley Christian Schools. (Hebrews 13:17)

Biblical Lifestyle

PARENTS

The partnership between Cole Valley Christian Schools and parents is critical to the overall development of each student. On occasion, the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home may be counter to or in opposition to the biblical lifestyle the school teaches. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, sexual immorality, homosexual practices, or inability or failure to support the moral principles of the school. In such cases, the school reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to refuse admission of an applicant or to discontinue enrollment of a student. The Statement of Faith summarizes the values and doctrines that CVCS believes to be essential.

STUDENTS

The biblical and philosophical goal of Cole Valley Christian Schools is to develop students into mature, Christ-like individuals who will be able to impact the world for Christ. While enrolled at CVCS all students are expected to exhibit the qualities of a Christ-like life espoused and taught by the school and to refrain from certain activities or behaviors. Thus CVCS retains the right to refuse enrollment to or to discontinue enrollment of any student who engages in sexual immorality, including but not limited to any student who professes to be homosexual/bisexual or is a practicing homosexual/bisexual, as well as any student who condones, supports, or otherwise promotes such practices (Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:27). In addition, 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). To reject one’s biological sex is to reject the work of the Creator and imply that God made a mistake.
Rather than assuming that God made a mistake, our mission is to challenge students to achieve their fullest God-given potential. However, CVCS reserves the right to refuse enrollment or to discontinue enrollment for those who disruptively pursue a gender identity which differs from their biological sex.

Position Paper on Creation and Evolution