Called To Teach

Crossover PREP

We are committed to developing educated, godly young men who love north Tulsa.

Called to Teach

by Katie Long

where they receive a rigorous, high-quality, Christian education that will prepare them to be all God designed them to be? These thoughts weigh on me as I contemplate the positive experience my children had on their first day, knowing this is not the case for everyone.

Crossover Community Impact 6 From the back seat, my three-year old exclaimed, “DON’T SPIT, DON’T HIT, ASK JESUS FOR HELP IF YOU ARE SHYYYYYY!” It was her first day of school, and while SHE was ready and excited- I was not. My children, ages 3 and 2, were eagerly anticipating their first school encounter. I had been a teacher for nearly 10 years but had never experienced entrusting my child to a teacher and a school. Suddenly the worried looks I saw on parents’ faces the first days of school made perfect sense as my mind was flooded with concerns. Would my children like school? Would the school like my children? Would they learn all they need to prepare them for the next step? Will they see my child as precious and made in God’s image?

Thankfully, I was able to drop my kids off to a very loving and welcoming school where they sang songs about Jesus, met new friends, and had a wonderful first day. But what if I did not have this experience? How many parents want their child to go to a school Statistically, we see that north Tulsa has a long way to go in creating schools in which African-American boys can thrive and graduate college-ready. In 2015, all of Tulsa Public schools graduated only 22 collegeready African-American boys. This inequality cannot be ignored. Throughout the New Testament Jesus sides with the disadvantaged and marginalized. As Christ followers, we are also called to be on the side of the disadvantaged.

This is why I feel called to teach at Crossover Prep. My husband Caleb and I moved to north Tulsa 4 years ago when he was called to be the Assistant Pastor at Crossover Bible Church and eventually planted Crossover’s first daughter Church, New City Fellowship. While I was always excited about his work with the church, when Philip Abode told me about the plans to start Crossover Prep, I became ecstatic! Hearing the vision for an all-boys school that would not only address the deep academic needs of north Tulsa students, but would also be Biblically-based, tuition-free, and would view each student as a person created in the image of God with the potential to change his family, community, and world, impacted me. Immediately, I knew this was the place I wanted to teach!

For 10 years I have reassuringly looked into the eyes of concerned parents as they have graciously trusted me with their children. Now that I know how it feels to be that parent, I am even more convinced of the great importance of a school like Crossover Prep in north Tulsa. Every parent should have the opportunity to bring their child to a school where they know they will be loved but will also be pushed to be all that God has created them to be. I am thankful for all the progress we have seen in the two short years that Crossover Prep has existed. I think of boys who started out with such difficulty and are now thriving! God is moving, and I am so thankful to have a small part in His plan to restore north Tulsa through Crossover Prep.

Throughout the New Testament Jesus sides with the disadvantaged and marginalized. As Christ followers, we are also called to be on the side of the disadvantaged.

-Katie Long

Picture above: Katie & New City Kids planting flowers at the Edenwood Apartments

Picture above: Katie & Caleb Long with family

Katie Long is a part of the dynamic team of Co-Science teachers at Crossover Prep. She is in her 10th year of teaching. She and her husband of ten years, Caleb, have three children, Merry (4), James (2), and New City Fellowship, their church plant that will celebrate its first birthday on Easter 2020. She is passionate about education, relationships, and the gospel. She is wise beyond her years, and she is easily the best kept secret of north Tulsa. If you would like to learn more about Crossover Prep Academy, please go to: http://crossoverprep.org.

C r o s s o v e r P r e p a r a t o r y A c a d e m y

Crossover Scholarship Fund

These students are our future health professionals, social workers, teachers, policy makers, and military men—they are the future of our nation.

We must do more. And with your help we can. If you would like to learn more about the Crossover Scholarship Fund, please go to http://crossoverscholarshipfund.org.