About Ridge Manor Christian Academy
Ridge Manor Christian Academy opened its doors in 2006 with three students and two staff members. Dr. Fred Puentes and a volunteer church member were the first teachers of RMCA. We have come a long way since then. Presently, Ridge Manor Christian Academy employs seventeen full and part time staff and faculty members. This makes RMCA one of the larger employers of the Ridge Manor community.
On average, the school has between 120 to 135 students during an academic year. The average class size is 10 to 14 students per grade level. We find that this ratio of students to teachers is very manageable and very productive giving teachers an opportunity to spend more quality time with their students.
The board members of Anchor of Our Souls Ministries have always believed that part of the great commission includes making Christian education available to our nation’s youth. The need for students to receive an education is not solely led by the merits of the educational system but one that reveals God’s character, qualities, and love. Ridge Manor Christian Academy (RMCA) was born out of that need in Ridge Manor.
The necessity for a local Christian school with Biblical values in the Ridge Manor community became more and more obvious as church members and neighbors inquired about establishing a school to address their needs more specifically. While the overall vision of the church was to eventually be more involved in Christian education, the planned time frame was still several years away. After much prayer and discussion, Dr Fred and the Board of Directors agreed that starting the school sooner, rather than later would be more beneficial for the community.
Ridge Manor Christian Academy has continued to provide a quality Christian education for over 17 years. We are able to do this in part by employing the best trained and gifted teachers available in the central Florida area. Our teachers understand the importance of their role in the student’s success and Christian lifestyle. Teaching is not viewed as just a job by our educators but understood to be a calling.
Another important part of our success is providing the best caliber curriculum available in the private academic market today. It is important for our curriculums to be flexible and modifiable while also supporting and maintaining Biblical values and perspectives. Our administrative staff is continually in search of new and proven advancements in academia. We believe we need to stay on the cutting edge of educational advancements.
On average about 10% of our high school students are dual enrolled in a college of their choice while still attending Ridge Manor Christian Academy. Students that excel can graduate from High School while at the same time receive an associates degree from college. This is just one of the many wonderful possibilities with our curriculum and unique program.
However, Ridge Manor Christian Academy is not for everyone. We recommend that as a parent/caregiver you read and thoroughly understand the handbook, the school’s statement of faith and convictions. The School Handbooks state in detail the spiritual, scriptural, and moral convictions of the school as an entity. It is important that you fully understand as a parent/caregiver you will be required to sign and agree to support, respect, and help enforce all of its contents and convictions. You can find these philosophies below.
The Philosophy of RMCA
- We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).
- We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30).
- We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:33), His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:35) His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, 7:26), His miracles (John 2:11), His vicarious and atoning death (1 Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9), His Resurrection (John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:4). His Ascension to the right hand of God (Mark 16:19), His personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11).
- We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of human nature, and that men are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ, and that only by God’s grace and through faith alone are we saved (John 3:16 – 19, 5:24; Romans 3:23, 5:8 – 9; Ephesians 2:8 – 10; Titus 3:5).
- We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28 – 29).
- We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:12 – 13, Galatians 2:26 – 28). We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by who’s indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (Romans 8:13 – 14, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19 – 20; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18). We believe the term marriage has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18 – 25).
- We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18, 7:2 – 5; Hebrews 13:4).
- We believe that God’s command is that there be no sexual intimacy outside of apart from marriage between a man and a woman.
- We believe that God wonderfully foreordained and immutably created each person as either male or female in conformity with their biological sex. These two distinct yet complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26 – 27).
Ridge Manor Christian Academy is a ministry of the Anchor of our Souls Ministries of Florida. Ridge Manor Christian Academy/ Anchor of our Souls Ministries hold to the Church of God Declaration of Faith:
We Believe:
- In the verbal inspiration of the Bible.
- In one God eternally existing in three persons; namely, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
- That Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. That Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. That He ascended to heaven and is today at the right hand of the Father as our Intercessor.
- That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that repentance is commanded of God for all and necessary for forgiveness of sins.
- That justification, regeneration, and the new birth are wrought by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.
- In sanctification subsequent to the new birth, through faith in the blood of Christ; through the Word, and by the Holy Ghost.
- Holiness to be God’s standard of living for His people.
- In the baptism pf the Holy Ghost subsequent to a clean heart.
- In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
- In the water baptism by immersion, and. all who repent should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
- Divine healing is provided for all in the atonement.
- In the Lord’s Supper and washing of the of the saint’s feet.
- In the pre-millennial second coming of Jesus. First, to resurrect the righteous and to catch away the living saints to Him in the air. Second, to reign on the earth a thousand years.
- In bodily resurrection, eternal life for the righteous, and eternal punishment for the wicked.
Additional Doctrinal Distinctives
Ridge Manor Christian Academy, as a ministry of Anchor of our Souls Ministries, maintains a world view that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as a male or female, and their distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27). But some individuals reject their biological sex and often present as the opposite sex. In doing so, these individuals reject god’s design and the person He created them to be. In keeping with the Word of God and with the established religious doctrines held by Anchor of our Souls Ministries, Ridge Manor Christian Academy requires all staff and students to present themselves as their God-given biological sex.
The mission of Ridge Manor Christian Academy is to work in harmony with the home and the church to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6). To that end, Ridge Manor Christian Academy strives to provide a nurturing, educational environment that is spiritually, intellectually, and socially Christ-centered.
First, the school is to be spiritually Christ-centered. Our mission is to help each child cultivate a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. We hold the Bible to be God’s Word and believe that the scriptures provide guidance and instruction in righteousness (Psalm 119:9). Daily Bible instruction and regular Scripture memorization are integral parts of the student’s spiritual development.
Second, the school is to be intellectually Christ-centered. Ridge Manor Christian Academy recognizes that each student is a unique individual, created by God with specific talents and gifts. The school endeavors to provide a strong foundation of knowledge that will prepare students for the future. Students are trained to think and express themselves carefully and critically so that they may “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3).
Third, the school is to be socially Christ-centered. We seek to instruct children in godly and moral conduct that will help them become wise and mature adults. This instruction is accomplished through an attitude that all things are to be done to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). The Christian school setting provides opportunities for students to grow socially and physically through educational trips, community projects, activities, and physical fitness programs.
Objectives
- To present Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior so that every student can receive Christ.
- To help each student develop a Christian worldview through a knowledge and comprehension of the life-principles set forth in the Word of God.
- To help each student develop understanding and acceptance of himself or herself as a unique individual God created him or her to be and to encourage the student to identify and develop his or her God-given talents and abilities based on God’s will for his or her life.
- To help the student gain a thorough command in the basic skills or oral, written, and listening communication; mathematics; and reading.
- To teach a God-centered view of history, government, and other sociological studies and to relate current events to God’s plan for man and the world.
- To teach each student to reason logically, think critically, and study independently by using Biblical criteria for evaluation.
- To encourage each student to develop self-discipline and personal responsibility based on respect for and submission to God and those whom God has placed in authority over them.
- To teach that each student is personally responsible and accountable for his or her thoughts, words, and actions.
- To teach effective stewardship of time based on an understanding that time is a God-given commodity.
- To promote an understanding and an appreciation for God’s world and an awareness of man’s role in his environment; to teach that man is to use creation wisely and properly.
- To teach that bodily discipline in pursuit of godliness is profitable by promoting habits that contribute to good health and the wise use of the body as the temple of God.
- To teach good sportsmanship and teamwork by applying the Christian principles of self-control and character while participating in physical recreation.
- To develop physical skills of coordination, grace, and poise in movement, muscle tone, balance, endurance, and agility.
- To foster an attitude of community service and responsibility as a product of Christian love.