We are in the middle of an exciting spring semester at Liberty, and every day, Carol and I say that this campus just feels like home. We are getting to know more of our wonderful students, and we are seeing firsthand all the hard work that our professors, staff, and leadership teams are doing to make Liberty such a special place for them even during challenging times in our country.
For 48 years, we have been closely involved in Christian education, and we know how important it is. When we took over a small mission work in Alaska in 1971, we heard from so many parents who were seeking an alternative to public schools. So, in 1973, we started Anchorage Christian Schools, which eventually grew to about 800 students enrolled in preschool through 12th grade. We developed a competitive athletics program for our students. Everything we did was centered on keeping Christ first — our mission was similar to the mission being embraced at a new university over 4,000 miles away in Lynchburg, Va.
As our first students in Alaska graduated, they told us that they gained the foundation for their faith in our schools and that they learned their work ethic there.
In more recent years, we started to see a different kind of student, a student influenced by a media-saturated culture. What they were watching on television, in the movies, and on social media did not match the morals their parents had tried to instill in them. As a school, we had to meet that challenge and stand our ground, reinforcing a Christian worldview. We set out to recruit schoolteachers who weren’t only qualified to teach the curriculum but also had the heart for Christian education.
To change a student’s worldview from what the culture was showing them to a solid Christian worldview, we had to first explain to them the difference, point them back to believing that the Bible is the Word of God, and then base everything on His Word and teach them to apply it to their everyday lives.
Here at Liberty, we are doing all of that through our spiritual development programs, including Convocation, Campus Community, and our LU Shepherd office. We encourage our professors to work the Christian worldview into their lessons, and the students witness them practicing what they preach.
From my many years in education, I understand the concerns that parents have, how they hope and pray that the biblical morals they’ve taught their children since they were infants will remain with them as they become adults. At Liberty, I can assure you that we are reinforcing what has been taught in Christian homes.
In this issue, you can read about the ways we are protecting Liberty’s mission and learn about the many exciting developments taking place on Liberty Mountain this semester.
May God bless you with a renewed, joyful spirit this spring as we look forward to more of His many blessings on this university.
— Jerry Prevo
President
