HERITAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
A Faithful Journey
HERITAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
By Lisa Abbott
Published and distributed by: Heritage Christian School Book design by Kristen Hambridge in association with: IBJ Book Publishing, LLC. 41 E. Washington St., Suite 200 Indianapolis, IN 46204 www.ibjbp.com Copyright © 2015 by Heritage Christian School ALL RIGHTS R ESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of Heritage Christian School. Library of Congress Control Number: 2015956751 ISBN 978-1-939550-35-4 First Edition Printed in the United States of America
For Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
CONTENTS BEGINNINGS 6
Heritage History in the Making
BIOGRAPHIES 14 FRANK, WALTER, AND DONALD BEST
Behind the Vision: Heritage Christian School Was Founded on Faith and Family
16 SUSAN WHICKER
Recalls the School’s Early Days
17 KYE HARRIS
First Administrator Laid Important Groundwork
18 DAN STROUP
Brings the Bible to Life for Heritage Middle Schoolers
21 DR. DOUG HEIMBURGER
All of Life Is Sacred
22 DR. KENT BRANTLY
Preserved for a Purpose
28 CATHY BARTEMUS
Makes Music Magical for Elementary Students
30 TODD ABERNETHY
Lives for More Than the Game He Loves
32 LEN SOMERS
Teaches History as God’s Plan for Mankind
34 WILLIAM VIMONT, DEVERN FROMKE AND JAMES BECK
Heritage’s First Headmaster and Principals
35 JAMES WEAVER
Leadership in Action
36 MARY JANE ENGLISH
Her Educational and Spiritual Legacy
38 AL LEINBACH
The Treasured Face of Heritage Christian School History
43 MATT WARE
Lives a Life of Abundance and Faith Despite Personal Tragedy
44 BRENDA KLINGERMAN A Teacher of Teachers
46 JENNIFER NUTTER
Gives Back and Reaches the World, Right Here in Indianapolis
48 TERESA STROOP
Cherishes Every One of Her “Stroop Troops”
50 DAVE NEFF
On the Leading EDGE
51 LAURA PAYNE
Shows Students the Heart of Music
52 KELLY FARIS
Lives a Life Full of Basketball and Faith
54 JULIE HIATT
Turns Learning into Fun for Kindergarteners
56 KRISTIN YOUNG
Brings Grace and Talent to the Stage
57 DAVE WATT
Brings Heart to History
58 MEG OSBORNE AND LAWRENCE SMILEY
Cultivate Students’ Athletic Talents and Faith
60 J. SCOTT MCELROY
Helps Believers Discover the Power of the Arts
62 ERIN FOX
Shows Students Expression through Song
64 ANDREW MARTIN
Atom Probe Technology Is All in a Day’s Work
65 DIANE RENNICK
Her Classroom Is a Window to the World
66 JOE REED
A Witness to God’s Power
67 JIM BENEDICT
Points Students to Christ, Inside and Outside of the Classroom
68 BILL BURDINE
Fifth Grade Chose Him
70 KELLY TAYLOR
Creates Beauty in Song
72 LISA FOSTER
Encourages Students to Think Deeply and Critically about Science
74 RYAN AND DAVID LEDBETTER
86 MARGARITA THIENES
Stay Grounded in Their Faith in the World of Professional Baseball
Translates Love into Language
75 SHELLIE THOMAS
88 NATHAN LITZ
Her Secret Ingredient: Joy
One of Our Nation’s Elite
76 JULIE COOPER
89 CARTER BOOKER
Creates a Space Where Art and Faith Intersect
Prepares Students for Life beyond High School
78 ROB COSTLOW
90 GREY TOMLIN
Writes from the Heart and Inspires from the Keyboard
From a Place of Strength
80 JENNI KOLENDA
92 SHERMAN WILLIAMS
Indiana Basketball Hero Makes Heritage Athletics His Ministry
96
A TRADITION OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Puts Jesus into All of It
81 YOOJIN CHO-KIM
Combines Music and Ministry
82 LONDON SWAN
Follows Her Dreams in TV News Broadcasting
83 DIANN BOONE
Reaches Sixth Graders’ Hearts and Minds
84 DOC RICHARDS
Coached Athletes to Glorify God, Play Hard, and Have Fun
103 CLASS
PORTRAITS
138 EMBRACING 152 ACHIEVING
THE FINE ARTS
THROUGH ATHLETICS
162 PARENT-TEACHER
FELLOWSHIP
85 KIM CANDLER
Teaches the Whole Child
166 BEYOND
THE CLASSROOM
We will glorify God through the discipleship of students and the pursuit of excellence in education, with the Bible as the foundation and Jesus Christ as our focus.
OUR HERITAGE IS OUR FUTURE eritage Christian … a Christian heritage. For fifty years, Heritage Christian School has established a rich heritage of providing quality, biblically based Christian education at the corner of 75th and Binford Boulevard in Indianapolis.
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The same vision that was embraced by the founding fathers of Heritage Christian fifty years ago still rings true today: to prepare the next generation of leaders to impact the world for Christ. Our school’s mission also remains the same today as it did at our founding: to glorify God, disciple students and pursue excellence in education, with the Bible as our foundation and Jesus Christ as our focus. The Heritage Christian School success story is one that comes directly as a result of God’s blessing. From its humble beginnings to its current position as a leader in Christian education, God has blessed Heritage Christian School and He is still in the blessing business. Much has changed in the world, in our culture and at Heritage Christian over the past fifty years. One thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to provide an outstanding education with a biblical worldview; a view of the world through the lens of the Word of God, and biblical principles with Christ at the 2 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
center. The case for and cause of Christian education has never been more important than it is today. Heritage Christian is responding to the dynamic and ever-changing challenges facing Christian families in the twenty-first century. While our mission and vision have not changed, our methods and the way we deliver Christian education will always need to change and improve. We are committed to excellence in education and have increased and enhanced the quality and quantity of our academic offerings, as well as enhanced the use of technology in the classroom. We are utilizing our Teach, Mentor, Train approach to refine and elevate our culture of discipleship, while maintaining our commitment to integrate a biblical worldview into every aspect of the educational experience. We are fervent in our desire to connect, enrich, and develop more people, by attracting and retaining the highest quality, mission-minded faculty and staff and enriching the racial, ethnic and socio-economic diversity in our school community. We desire to expand our reach as we grow our admissions and marketing practices, to increase new student enrollment and expand our presence to impact further our internal and extra communities
for Christ. Lastly, we are working fervently to secure our future, to improve the school’s value proposition by executing our strategic plan and strengthening our culture of donor discipleship. Our dream for the next fifty years is that “Heritage Christian School will be a light that shines in the darkness, a premier institution increasingly recognized as a model of twenty-first century Christian education, transforming lives and reaching the world for Christ.” Whether you are affiliated with Heritage, past or present, thank you for being part of our family and part of our dream. Please enjoy reading through this fiftieth anniversary commemorative book. We so appreciate the vision and support of the Heritage Christian founding fathers, Board members, administrators, faculty and staff, alumni and others throughout the years, for all they have done to make Heritage what it is today. Our school’s future is bright because of the godly heritage of our past. God bless,
Jeff Freeman, Chief Executive Officer
“The Heritage Christian School success story is one that comes directly as a result of God’s blessing.” A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 3
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
BEGINNINGS
HERITAGE HISTORY IN THE MAKING A STORY OF SOVEREIGNTY
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he story of Heritage Christian School is one of providential design and of a God for whom nothing is impossible.
The year was 1964 and brothers Walter and Donald Best had relocated their young families from Seattle to Indianapolis. The men played key roles in the Best Lock Corporation, a lock manufacturing company founded by their father, Frank Best. The organization sought to expand its operations on the northeast side of Indianapolis. Interstate 465 construction was underway and a large, undeveloped parcel of land at State Road 37 and 75th Street was a prime location. Frank Best acquired the acreage and it became the location for Best Lock’s headquarters. Through his generous donation, a portion of the land also would one day become the home for Heritage Christian School. Meanwhile, the Best brothers searched the Indianapolis area for a non-denominational Christian school for their families. Their children had attended Christian schools in Seattle, where a vibrant Christian school movement was gaining momentum. The Bests prayerfully considered their options and decided that, with God’s help, they would start
6 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
an interdenominational school that delivered excellent education from a biblical point of view. They determined that if God would bring in fifty-nine students, they could make it work.
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK As a first step, they recruited Kye Harris, a Seattle acquaintance with significant experience in starting and helping to run Christian schools. Harris and his family relocated to Indianapolis in 1965 and launched a mail campaign to area pastors, inviting them to informational meetings over coffee, in supporters’ homes. Interest quickly grew and within four months, the school had enrolled more than one hundred students. Harris recruited William Vimont, another seasoned Christian school pioneer, for the role of principal. He moved his family from Arizona to Indianapolis on faith, since there was no up-front guarantee of receiving his salary. A Board of Directors was created to provide leadership for the school. The original group included: Leonard Hunt, long-time director of Wheeler Mission; Indianapolis businessman, Dale Malcomson; Robert Porter, president of Lifegate, Inc.; and Walter and Donald Best. (continued on page 8)
Pictured here, at the 1966 groundbreaking, are (left to right): Robert Porter, Donald Best, Dale Malcomson, Walter Best and Leonard Hunt.
“The story of Heritage Christian School is one of providential design and of a God for whom nothing is impossible.� Aerial view of the property at 75th St. and State Road 31, circa 1958 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 7
The next challenge was to tackle student transportation. Harris proposed the purchase of six 1-ton panel trucks that could be converted to passenger vans. An ingenious idea, really, in a generation that far pre-dated current-day minivans. Finance companies, however, were less than excited about lending money to a school that had not yet even been incorporated.
your project, I will do it. He is my best friend.” He sealed the deal with no down payment and personally financed a year of insurance and the cost to convert the vehicles to special purpose buses. Through providential circumstances and a generous $30,000 gift from Lilly Endowment Inc, God enabled the school to pay the debt in full.
Undeterred, the Heritage men approached the owner of Johnson Chevrolet. He was polite, but uninterested in assuming risk for a $24,000 purchase from an unestablished legal entity. In a last attempt to persuade the man, Harris pulled out a sheet of the school’s newly printed letterhead. On it were the names of Christian school experts and advisors from across the nation and a handful of Indianapolis businessmen.
PRAYERS ANSWERED AND DREAMS REALIZED
The dealership owner casually glanced at the list and pointed to one of the names on it. He excused himself to make a quick phone call. When he returned, he announced, “Gentlemen, if this man is interested in
The school moved forward, receiving its official articles of incorporation as Heritage Christian Schools, Inc. on June 14, 1965. With Harris as administrator, the school hired necessary faculty and staff. Victory Baptist Church stepped up to house classes. Heritage Christian School officially opened its doors to one hundred fifty-nine pre-kindergarten through ninth grade students on Sept. 8, 1965. It seemed no small coincidence that the number of students God had provided was exactly one hundred beyond the fifty-nine students that the school’s founders had originally prayed for. Throughout the school day, students occupied virtually every inch of space at Victory Baptist Church. The pastor gave Harris and Vimont use of his office. In the mornings, teachers moved the church pews aside to make room for tumbling mats, creating a makeshift gymnasium down the center aisle. In the afternoon, pre-kindergarteners used the pews for their daily naptime.
8 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
Even the baptistry served dual purposes. Students auditioned there for the choir, with curtains drawn for anonymity. Within a year, enrollment had increased to nearly three hundred fifty students, and it was clear that the school needed more space to grow. God ordained two key events during the summer of 1966. First, Devington Baptist Church offered its larger facility as a temporary location, enabling the school to expand enrollment and to include grades ten through twelve. Secondly, Frank Best generously donated an additional fifteen acres of land to the growing institution and pledged 25 acres more for future (continued on page 10)
ti Victory Bap
st Church,
1965
Devington Baptist
Church, 1966
development. Don Best reportedly drove by the land frequently, saying, “I see it, Lord, I see it.” Heritage Christian School broke ground for its new building.
A PERMANENT HOME By year’s end in 1966, construction was complete and faculty and staff moved in to the new facility over Christmas break. When classes resumed in January of 1967, they welcomed four hundred and fifty students into an initial nineteen brand-new classrooms. Word spread and enrollment continued to climb. With another 5-acre donation from the Best Foundation, additional classrooms were added in 1973.
The school’s footprint expanded over the following decades to accommodate the needs of a growing student body and to offer a full range of academic and extracurricular programs. The construction of the current high school and Commons area was completed in 2007. Today, the 38.5-acre campus houses separate elementary, intermediate, middle school, and high school buildings; a fine arts building; and athletic facilities that include an elementary gym, a 1,250-seat high school gymnasium complex, a football/soccer/lacrosse stadium, track, softball and baseball diamonds, and tennis courts.
AT THE HEART OF THE HERITAGE STORY The Heritage story has God’s fingerprints all over it; from the very beginning to its future. God instilled the school’s founding parents’ desire for their children to receive an excellent education that reinforced the faith and values they were teaching them at home. He brought just the right people at just the right times and built their faith as they saw Him provide resources and answer prayers. He created an environment where thousands of students have received valuable training for work and life as Christ- followers. The story of Heritage Christian School really is one of the God who continues to bless this institution with His favor. It’s an ongoing narrative that He’s writing in the hearts and lives of our students, families, alumni, faculty and staff. May the telling of it bring Him much honor.
10 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
GOD SHOWS UP IN SMALL DETAILS AND BIG WAYS As the first gymnasium (now the Elementary Cafeteria) was first being built, the building contractor received word that there would be a three-month delay in receiving the custom-sized structural wooden beams needed to complete the project. Construction was at a standstill. The building crew actually knelt and prayed for an answer to what seemed an impossible situation. A few days later, a semi-truck drove up to the construction site, unannounced and carrying a load of large, wooden beams. As it turned out, its intended delivery had been misrouted and mislabeled. The order actually was for a church in Ohio, but the address given was that of Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis. A completely different architect had custom-designed the beams to meet the church’s exact specifications. Remarkably, they measured at exactly the same dimensions as those needed for the Heritage project. The church was contacted, to let them know that the delivery had been misdirected. Their response? They really didn’t need the beams for another three months. They were pleased to place another order and let Heritage use them. Amazed, the Heritage construction crew installed them for the school’s new gym and further construction proceeded without delay. From that day on, Heritage faculty and staff have referred to the ceiling’s structure as the “Miracle Beams.”
50 YEARS OF HERITAGEACHRISTIAN FAITHFUL JOURNEY SCHOOL 11
BIOGRAPHIES
50 YEARS OF HERITAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 13
THE BESTS BEHIND THE VISION: HERITAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL WAS FOUNDED ON FAITH AND FAMILY
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hen you trace the origins of Heritage Christian School, you quickly discover the vision and invaluable contributions of the Best family.
Frank Best is well known for his invention of interchangeable core lock systems and the Best Lock Corporation he founded. But those in the Heritage community also know him for his generosity to the school. His land donations made it possible to develop the campus on which Heritage still stands today. It was through two of his sons, Walter and Donald Best, that God shaped a vision for a Christian school in Indianapolis. Walter, the eldest of three brothers in the Best family, served as the President of Best Lock Corporation for nearly thirty years. He was a pilot and flight instructor during World War II. As a civilian, he often took friends and colleagues on rides in his airplane and it’s from that aerial vantage point that some of the school’s early building photos were taken. He’s well remembered for the Scripture he often cited and even mounted in the lobby of the Best Lock Corporation: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, King James Version) Donald was known as a faithful prayer warrior whose intercession played an important role in the life of the school. He often walked the perimeter of the vacant property on State Road 37, claiming it for a school, for the glory of God. His daughter, Debbie (Best) Baney says, “He was a businessman by profession, but an evangelist by heart.” It was on his birthday, June 14, in 1965, that Heritage Christian 14 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
School received its articles of incorporation. Many who knew Best remember well his love for music and his powerful tenor voice that he developed when he sang opera while a student at the University of Washington. His life’s verse was Galatians 6:10: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us to do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (New International Version) The brothers’ combined talents made them a team well suited to starting an educational ministry from scratch. Their shared values of love for Christ, their families, and our country shaped the school’s foundation. They were Christian families committed to quality Christian education for their own children. God used their hard work and obedience to bring the idea of Heritage Christian School to fruition, so that Christian education could be an option for many other families, too.
“The brothers’ combined talents made them a team well suited to starting an educational ministry from scratch.”
Donald Best
In addition to being an avid pilot, Walter Best also loved motorcycles. When the Best Lock Company identified a need for land in Indianapolis, he drove all the way from Seattle to Indy on his motorcycle. He’s pictured above, in an early photo, courtesy of the Best family.
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 15
Walter Best
SUSAN WHICKER RECALLS THE SCHOOL’S EARLY DAYS ew alumni (in fact, only three) can claim fame as members of the very first graduating class at Heritage Christian School. Susan (Harris) Whicker just happens to be one of them.
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Whicker’s family was among the first on board, before the school’s doors even opened. Her father, Dr. Kye Harris, was an educator, pastor and a man with a life-long passion for Christian education. At the request of Heritage founders, Walter and Donald Best, Harris moved his family from Seattle to Indianapolis to begin the project of starting a Christian school in the area. Harris had great experience for the job, having opened other Christian schools across the country. He became the first administrator for Heritage Christian School. Her mother, Frances Harris, was a talented administrative assistant whose work helped the school operate. “She was the heart of the office,” says Whicker. “In many ways, she was an onsite mom for all who attended.” Whicker and her siblings were among the first students to begin their studies in the basement of Victory Baptist Church. Whicker was then a high school junior. She says she remembers fondly the chapel services and choir rehearsals that were held in the sanctuary. In the winter of 1967, Heritage moved into its new facilities on the current campus; 16 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
just in time for the first-ever springtime commencement ceremony that took place in the gymnasium (now the current Elementary Cafeteria). Graduation day was huge, says Whicker. An Indiana state congressman addressed the crowd. The choirs sang. The place was packed. It was exciting and a little intimidating, all at once. After high school graduation, Whicker earned a degree in science at the Indianapolis campus of Purdue University. When she married Ron Whicker, her husband of now forty-five years, their wedding ceremony was officiated by both her father and Jim Weaver, Heritage’s longest-serving headmaster. The Whickers moved to Colorado while Ron served in active duty for the Army. They subsequently moved to Westfield, Indiana and then relocated to their current home in Florida in 1973. The couple has three children and eight grandchildren. For Whicker, Heritage and family go together. It was from her parents, she says, that she learned about Christianity and service. “The foundation of my faith was strong, thanks to my parents,” she concludes. “I am so thankful that I can look back and know that my parents put Jesus first in their lives. Since my parents were Heritage to me, it had a very strong influence on my faith.”
KYE HARRIS FIRST ADMINISTRATOR LAID IMPORTANT GROUNDWORK ye Harris was one of the driving forces behind Heritage Christian School’s launch. He moved his own family to Indianapolis from Seattle, so that he could introduce the idea of Heritage to families and churches in the Indianapolis area. He built interest in and enrollment for the school prior to its opening, then served as Heritage Christian School’s first administrator.
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current school(s) capture the full force of his experience and skills as an educator, but also his heart. He loved to see children developing the character of Christ and a love for learning.”
In the words of his daughter, Susan Whicker (HCS 1967), “Daddy was a visionary, indeed…He was so moved by Pearl Harbor that he left home and joined the Marines at age fifteen and saw action in the Pacific theater. In a foxhole, in the thick of battle, he gave his heart to Jesus. After being wounded at Iwo Jima, he returned home to marry his childhood sweetheart, and they told the Lord, ‘If there is any job you can’t get anyone else to do, we’ll do it. If there is anywhere you can’t get anyone else to go, we’ll go there.’ And they meant it. This desire for the Lord to use them any way He saw fit became the driving force in our life as a family. Consequently, Daddy and Mother were always willing to be there when a group of parents in a locality called and asked for help to found a Christian school for their children. At the time of the founding of Heritage, they were involved with the start of several other schools in the Midwest, also. His commitment to Christian education was all consuming for our family, to the extent that several of us children were homeschooled when there was no Christian school where we were living. Not only did the A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 17
DAN STROUP BRINGS THE BIBLE TO LIFE FOR
HERITAGE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS hen you talk with Heritage Bible teacher Dan Stroup, it’s easy to feel as if you’re the only person in the room. You get the sense that he’s really, truly listening. That he’s genuinely interested in what you have to say. And the truth is that he is.
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This quality surely is one of the reasons why he’s such an effective instructor with his seventh- and eighth-grade students. “They want to know, do you love them? Do you enjoy what you’re doing? Do you like to be with them?” explains Stroup. “I think if they sense that, they’re going to be with you.” With him, they are. Stroup engages students from the time he commences class with a daily “pre-game warm up” review until the bell signals the end of the period. He clearly has a game plan for each day’s lesson and the kids respond well to the security of the structure, the easy-going pace, and the meaty content he delivers. The class is less a monologue and more of a dialogue about both the facts and applications of scripture. On this day, Stroup guides his eighth-grade class through Old Testament passages, pausing at times to ask them questions. “Everything written in the past is here to teach us,” he reminds them.
Over the years, Stroup developed a creative, colorful approach to help students recall biblical content and principles. He dubbed them “sponsors,” a name loosely derived from the educational realm of Sesame Street. In actuality, they’re effective mnemonic devices infused with homiletical precepts. Every week brings a new, highly anticipated set of Stroup’s simple words and drawings. He recreates all of them for easy reference, on a single chalkboard that vaguely resembles a collection of hieroglyphics. Stroup strikes a beautiful balance of foundational biblical knowledge and practical application. From Psalm 73, he accentuates the value of making good life choices. From the pages of Joshua, he reminds the kids that their lives matter to God; that He has uniquely gifted them for service; that they can have an impact on other people. “The more you expose yourself to God’s Word, the more you start seeing your place in the world and begin to understand your purpose,” he says. To reinforce the point, Stroup moves into the “Where are They?”(WAT) segment of the class. It’s a masterful and powerful approach on many levels. Each “WAT” features a Heritage alumnus or alumna who is following God’s calling on their life and profession. (continued on page 20)
18 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 19
“They want to know, do you love them? Do you enjoy what you’re doing? Do you like to be with them? I think if they sense that, they’re going to be with you.” Stroup has introduced students to the lives of professional athletes, Broadway actors, and missionaries. Today, he dims the lights for a video about Heritage alum, Mark Smiley (2000), who’s a photographer, filmmaker, and mountain guide on a quest to scale the fifty classic climbs of North America. When it’s over, Stroup gently asks, “What is it that God wants to do in your life?” With a few minutes of class time remaining, he announces that it’s time for the “S Files,” (S is for Stroup) which he describes as random information that you don’t need to know. It’s just for fun. It happens to be “Pi Day,” when the world celebrates all things mathematical. One student has brought in individual pies to share with the class, complete with a can of Reddi Whip. Before they indulge in the sweet treats, Stroup gathers the students for a group photo to commemorate the occasion. He insists that this author join them. It’s just this kind of inclusive gesture that makes Stroup endearing. It’s that conscious, intentional acknowledgement that another’s presence matters. Of his students, Stroup concludes, “I want them to know that I know who they are. I want to be involved in their lives a little bit in the short time that they’re here in my class, so that when they leave, they’ll be able to say, ‘he knew who I was.’”
20 50 A FAITHFUL YEARS OF HERITAGE JOURNEY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Photo courtesy of Grace Ramey (HCS 2013)
DR. DOUG HEIMBURGER ALL OF LIFE IS SACRED
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he ongoing life story of Heritage alumnus Dr. Doug Heimburger (1970) is one of a man with a medical and humanitarian mission that spans the globe.
He received his MD from Vanderbilt University in 1978, completed a residency in Internal Medicine at St. Louis University, and then a fellowship and master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He joined the UAB faculty in 1981 and for the nearly thirty years that followed, he has educated and trained medical students, residents and nutrition fellows, all the while practicing clinical medicine and researching the nutritional aspects of cancer prevention. A 2006 sabbatical shifted Heimburger’s focus from domestic to global health, when he spent six months at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, researching nutritional aspects of HIV/AIDS. His appetite for global health work only increased. He received and accepted an offer in 2009 for his current role, as associate director for education and training at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health. Heimburger’s passions reflect his family’s history in both medicine and missions work. His greatgrandparents were missionaries to China from 1864-1920 and his grandparents served as medical missionaries from 1912-1934. His father, Dr. Robert Heimburger, had a long, distinguished career in neurosurgery at Indiana University School of Medicine and frequently engaged
with surgeons from south and east Asian countries. He also pioneered surgical procedures for infants born with spina bifida. He was credited with operating on one such patient in 1951, who would grow up to become a celebrity. In 2014 that patient, singer John Mellencamp, was reunited with the ninety-seven-year-old Dr. Robert Heimburger in Indianapolis, just nine months before Dr. Heimburger passed away. Doug and his brother, Corbett (HCS 1969, who is a pastor in Birmingham, Alabama) accompanied their father for the reunion that became a national news story. “My Heritage Christian High School education had a monumental impact on my life, at the core,” Heimburger notes. “Heritage played a major role in introducing me to a life of Christian discipleship, which I see as absolutely foundational for the work I do every day now. All of life is sacred, and I pray that my ‘secular’ work will be true kingdom ministry, with impacts felt both now and through eternity.”
“Heritage played a major role in introducing me to a life of Christian discipleship, which I see as absolutely foundational for the work I do every day now.” A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 21
DR. KENT BRANTLY PRESERVED FOR A PURPOSE : THE REMARKABLE, UNFOLDING STORY OF EBOLA SURVIVOR AND HERITAGE ALUMNUS is visage has graced the cover of Time. He and other Ebola fighters were named the magazine’s “Person of the Year.” His story made the front page of USA Today and he has appeared in countless media outlets across the globe. He made history when he became the first person to be treated for Ebola Virus Disease in the United States.
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But Dr. Kent Brantly (HCS 1999) would rather focus on the thousands in West Africa whose nameless faces portray the horrors of the Ebola virus and the healthcare workers who selflessly treat them. He gives voice to their suffering with a deep sense of knowing, because he understands the disease intimately. He has both cared for its victims and faced near-death at its hand. Here is the remarkable story of this Heritage alumnus, whom God continues to use in unforeseen ways.
THE MISSION Brantly, his wife, Amber, and their two small children moved to Monrovia, Liberia in October of 2013, working as medical missionaries on a two-year assignment with Samaritan’s Purse. Ebola wasn’t on their radar. They didn’t even hear about the outbreak in Guinea until the end of March.
The epidemic spread to Liberia and Brantly and the medical team at the ELWA (Eternal Love Winning Africa) Hospital were ready when the first Ebola patient arrived in June. Brantly treated patients in the general clinic and in the Ebola treatment center, where he and the team followed strict international codes to avoid contamination. As the number of Ebola patients increased steadily over the next two months, Brantly took on the role of medical director for the Samaritan’s Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center. Each patient received medical care and compassion, says Brantly. “Through our protective gear, we spoke to each patient, calling them by name and touching them. We wanted them to know they were valuable, that they were loved, and that we were there to serve them,” he told Time. “I was able to sit with patients and hold their hand, sing to them, pray with them,” he told the Indy Star, “and give them some respect and dignity amid the tragedy they were experiencing. I was able to show them compassion, and that was why we were there.”
THE DIAGNOSIS On July 20, Brantly took Amber and their children to the airport to return to the States (continued on page 24)
22 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 23
Photo courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse International Relief
for a family wedding in Texas. He poured himself into his work. On July 23, he woke up feeling under the weather. His condition declined rapidly. He was diagnosed with Ebola Virus Disease. “Even with the bad news, I felt calm,” he told Time. “I never shed a tear when I called my wife and said, ‘Amber, my test is positive. I have Ebola.’ Though the rest of my family wept, I felt strangely at peace. God blessed me with that peace that surpasses understanding.” In the nine days that followed his grim diagnosis, he grew sicker and weaker from the disease that claims ninety percent of its victims. He and his family prepared for the worst. “It was the words of scripture set to music that brought me the greatest comfort in the darkest times of my illness,” Brantly remembers. “Those songs reminded me that nothing can separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. They reminded me that like Job, even if this is my last breath, I ought to cry out ‘Hallelujah.’ They reminded me that God has done great things in my life and I ought to give Him thanks. I identified with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and with Job, and I just wanted to be faithful so that God might be glorified in my life or in my death.” He had
no idea then that people around the world were praying for him, including the Heritage Christian School family of which he had once been a part. Through the care of the missionary team, a plasma donation from a fourteen-yearold survivor whom Brantly had treated, and a dose of the experimental drug, ZMapp, his condition improved. He was airlifted to Emory University Hospital, where he made a complete and miraculous recovery. The world watched intently as Brantly left the hospital with a clean bill of health and reunited with his family.
THE SPOTLIGHT Almost immediately, he stepped into a global media spotlight. Interview requests poured in. He seized the opportunities to share Christ and build awareness about the horrible disease from which God had healed him. In an interview with National Public Radio, he shared, “When we can get to that point where we feel the same sense of empathy and compassion for people who are suffering, even though we don’t know them; I think that’s what Jesus is talking about when He says ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” He told Time, “I chose a career in medicine because I wanted a tangible skill with which to serve people, and so my role as a physician is my attempt to do that.”
Photo courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse International Relief
24 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
Brantly has met privately with the President of the United States and testified on Capitol Hill about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. He has urged the United States and the international community to intervene with supplies and personnel to treat those still suffering. When other fellow Americans contracted Ebola Virus Disease, Brantly voluntarily donated his plasma, hoping to aid their recovery.
THE CALLING To understand the back story of Brantly’s narrative, one needn’t look far to discover that his sense of compassion and his interest in medicine were nurtured from an early age. His Christian family, his close-knit community at Southeastern Church of Christ in Indy, and the Heritage family played big roles. “I had many spiritual mentors in my family, my church community, and at Heritage,” he says. “I grew up in a Christian home with parents who taught me to love the Lord. My parents were faithful Christians who set an example for me of always trying to live as a disciple of Jesus, wherever you are. I grew up with an expectation that I would serve God with my life. I gave my life to Christ and was baptized by my grandfather when I was nine years old. I continued to learn to walk with the Lord as I grew up; and hopefully am continuing to grow even today.”
“When we can get to that point where we feel the same sense of empathy and compassion for people who are suffering, even though we don’t know them; I think that’s what Jesus is talking about when He says ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Brantly’s family was focused on missions in many forms. “I had two sets of uncles and aunts who were missionaries in Africa during my childhood. Bob and Joan Dixon worked in Nigeria and Frank and Lou Ann Black were medical missionaries in Tanzania,” he says. “Many other family members served as mentors, as I saw them live out the life of a disciple in many different life circumstances; teachers, nurses, stay-at-home moms, school administrators, accountants, etc.” His church family nurtured Brantly’s faith from the time he was very young. As a high school student at Heritage Christian School, Brantly’s faith flourished. “Coming to Heritage as a junior in high school was a time of great growth for me,” he (continued on page 26)
Photo courtesy of the Brantly family
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says. “I was challenged by teachers like Mr. Terry, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Birkel, Mrs. Board, and others who challenged me to excel in what I did, for the glory of God.” Erik Smith, former Heritage high school teacher, remembers Brantly well, having taught him in the classroom, coached him on the soccer field, and spent a week with him on a Canadian wilderness trip. “In every arena, he struck me as a both a very hard worker and a person of integrity. Kent was highly respected by others for his character, maturity and positive attitude,” Smith says. “Even back in high school, his humility and servant’s heart were evident. He genuinely cared for others and put their needs before his own, so it was not surprising to me that he was willing to sacrifice so much to travel to Africa and work with Ebola patients. That’s just the kind of person he is.” Heritage teacher Dan Ambrose adds, “Kent was one of the most mature high school students I have ever worked with. He was friendly to all other students around him, and while able to relax and be fun-loving, he was also a serious deep thinker. He seemed to have a deep love and respect for the Bible and, even more, his Lord.”
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Teacher Dave Watt recalls, “He came into class smiling every day and was friendly with everyone in the class. I remember him talking about his desire to be a doctor during his senior year of high school. He was not shy about talking about his faith in Christ back then, as well.” Brantly was honored with the distinguished Spiritual Leader Award during his senior year at Heritage.
Dr. Kent Brantly visited the Heritage campus on April 9, 2015 and spoke to our middle and high school students at their chapel service. “I am very much a person who grew up in the shoes you’re wearing,” he told them. He shared his personal story and encouraged them to pursue God’s calling on their lives. He’s pictured below with his former Heritage teachers (left to right): Erik Smith, Dave Watt, and Dan Ambrose.
After graduation, Brantly headed for Abilene Christian University. “I earned a degree in Biblical Text,” he says. “During that process, through short-term mission trips and summer internship programs, I began to sense God’s calling on my life, to be a missionary. For me, medicine was a tool I would be able to use in service to others as I followed God’s call on my life.” On a church-sponsored medical mission trip to Central America, he met his future wife, Amber, then a prenursing student. The couple married in 2008 and began to pursue their mutual calling to full-time medical missions. It’s a calling that Brantly says he’ll never regret following. Even while facing the disease, he told Kent Smith, an elder at the Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas, “God’s going to deliver me from this, but even if he doesn’t, I
Photos by Studio Thirteen Photography
have lived my life for him and I have no regrets.” His experience has deepened and strengthened his walk with Christ. “I’ve seen the power of intercessory prayer and the importance of praying for others in those times when they probably can’t pray for themselves. I hope this will help me to pray better for others,” Brantly says. “Through my experience with Ebola, both as a physician and as a patient, I was faced with the mortality of man over and over; and I learned in a new way what it means, that God will provide what we need to be faithful to Him in all circumstances,” Brantly explains. “When you are facing death, your own death, the idea that nothing can separate us from the love of God; neither death nor life nor nothing in heaven or earth, that idea takes on new meaning and you recognize that nothing else matters when you are safe in the love of God.”
THE FUTURE In the end, Brantly’s incredible account is not solely about his experience with Ebola Virus Disease, nor even his miraculous treatment and recovery from it. His story ultimately is one of the God
he knows and serves. “This is not about me,” he told an audience at Abilene Christian University. “This is about our great, loving, compassionate God who has called us to love our neighbors. This is about the more than 3,800 people who have died from Ebola disease in West Africa.” It’s for the growing number of Ebola victims that Brantly continues to advocate.“I think every day about going back, but I feel like I’ve been given a platform through my experiences, to be a voice here in this country for people in West Africa,” he shared in an interview with National Public Radio. “If I were in West Africa right now, I’d be treating twenty-five or fifty patients a day. Hopefully through my activities here, I can have an impact that will benefit thousands of people.”
“I learned in a new way what it means, that God will provide what we need to be faithful to Him in all circumstances.”
So, will the Brantlys ever return to the mission field? “I’ll probably get tired of talking about my experience some day, but I went to Liberia because I long felt it was my vocation to spend my career as medical missionary,” he told Time. “Deep in the core of my heart, I still think that’s my calling. I don’t want to go on with life and forget this.” Photo courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse International Relief
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CATHY BARTEMUS MAKES MUSIC MAGICAL FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS
magine a colorful, spacious classroom at Heritage Christian School, where sun spills through big windows. Conga drums, xylophones, keyboards, and a well used guitar adorn the room. No need here for desks and chairs that typify other elementary school rooms. Fourth graders cluster in circles on the floor, creating and clapping out rhythms and rhymes. Third graders crouch and jump, slink and glide around the room to the sounds of Mussorgsky’s concerto. Throughout the week, Heritage prep-K through sixth grade students experience exceptional music instruction here, all wrapped up in big fun.
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Welcome to the wonderful, musical world of Heritage elementary music teacher and music department head, Cathy Bartemus. For over thirty-five years, she has carefully orchestrated each component of her music classes to make learning experiential and meaningful for her young students. Don’t be surprised to find her seated on the floor with the kids, singing, clapping, and moving right along with them. Her hands-on approach resonates with her students. As she puts it, God has given her the gift of “kid speak.” She prays that music becomes a conduit for spiritual truth. “When kids come into my classroom,” she says, “I want them to see God; to
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see His hand in the creativity, order and beauty of music. It’s all for His glory.” She often references Habakkuk 2:14: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Bartemus credits long-time former Heritage principal, Mary Jane English, for helping to shape her perspective on teaching. “She always wanted us to keep Jesus in front of the kids,” she shares. Bartemus keeps a photograph of her and English thumb-tacked to her bulletin board, in memory of her mentor and friend. “Mary Jane emphasized that the uniqueness of our faith rests in Jesus.” For Bartemus, her love for Jesus and her love for music make a great combination. “I love teaching at Heritage,” she concludes. “I’m convinced that this is exactly what God wants me to do.”
“I love teaching at Heritage. I’m convinced that this is exactly what God wants me to do.”
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
TODD ABERNETHY LIVES FOR MORE THAN THE GAME HE LOVES
f you looked only at his career as an international professional basketball player and collegiate assistant coach; or at his awards and impressive statistics, you might be tempted to think that life for Heritage alumnus Todd Abernethy (2003) is all about basketball. Nothing could be further from the truth. “Being a Christian is an everyday thing,” he says. “It changes everything I do.”
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He says that his faith grew while he was a Heritage student. “Heritage played a huge role in my life. It helped to build the foundation for my faith,” he says. “I learned that you don’t have to be in Bible class to talk about how to apply it to your life.” In both middle and high school, Abernethy led chapel worship as a member of the worship band. Al Leinbach, then principal, remembers, “Todd’s influence on the student body was huge and in the right and godly direction. He has a real passion for anything he gets involved in.” Abernethy played all four years on the Heritage varsity team and became the school’s all-time leading scorer, averaging twenty-eight points per game during his senior year. His scoring averages during his junior and senior years were among the top five in the state.
30 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
He was named City Co-Player of the Year and was selected for the Indianapolis Star Super Team in 2002-2003. In the off-seasons, Abernethy played tennis for then-Heritage tennis coach, Ron Young. “Todd’s presence at practice and matches greatly contributed to one of the most successful seasons for the boys’ tennis team,” recalls Young. “I measured this success not by wins, but by the players’ maturity as individuals, athletes, and Christians. Todd made a difference in the lives that he touched.” An unfortunate and serious shoulder injury kept Abernethy off the basketball court during part of his senior year at Heritage. It was a tough time. But, he says, “God is sovereign.
Being a Christian helps you put everything in perspective. God’s still good even if things don’t go your way.” He signed on with the University of Mississippi and started every game during his freshman season. He finished his Ole Miss basketball career with over one thousand points. Abernethy married Micah, a fellow Ole Miss athlete, in 2007. He immediately began a six-year international professional career that included stops in the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and the Ukraine. “Micah and I realized just how big the world is,” he says. “It was during this time that we developed a real heart and love for Eastern Europe.” Upon returning to the U.S., Abernethy became director of basketball operations at IUPUI in 2013. He and his young family (Micah and their daughters, Ruthie and Maria) returned to Ole Miss in 2014, when Abernethy accepted his current role as assistant coach for his alma mater. Looking at all of his life experiences, Abernethy says he’s grateful for each one. “I’ve definitely experienced God’s favor and His hand,” he concludes.
“Heritage played a huge role in my life. It helped to build the foundation for my faith. I learned that you don’t have to be in Bible class to talk about how to apply it to your life.” A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 31
LEN SOMERS TEACHES HISTORY AS
GOD’S PLAN FOR MANKIND his is my passion,” says long-time Heritage U.S. history teacher, Len Somers. “I love what I teach.” It shows. Somers exudes an infectious enthusiasm for his subject, his ministry, and his middle school students that can only come from the inside out.
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To understand Somers’ zeal, you must go back in history. Literally. Back to the days of the Civil War and his favorite U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln. In Somers’ classroom, it’s easy to imagine. Lincoln’s likeness is everywhere. Over the years, Somers has built an impressive collection of Lincoln artwork, textiles, statues, busts, and even bobble heads. There are so many of them that he leads incoming eighth graders on a classroom scavenger hunt to find as many Lincoln reproductions as they can. There are ninety-seven. Somers never tires of teaching the nine-week elective course about Lincoln that he developed over twelve years ago. Lincoln’s life has become a springboard for Somers to draw spiritual applications from the pages of history. The legendary president’s life changed in 1863, when he came to know Christ. “Lincoln became a new creation,” he explains. “His viewpoint on humanity changed. How can you not get excited about that?” The historical parallels don’t end
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there. “I want to help students see that God is always in control; that there are no accidents or coincidences; that history is the progressive unfolding of God’s plan for mankind,” he says. Each spring, Somers and fellow history teachers, Dave Watt and Dan Ambrose, lead a large group of Heritage eighth graders and families on a guided tour of the nation’s capitol. “We try to make history come alive for them; to make it as real as possible,” he explains. The trip is so popular that it takes three charter buses accommodate the annual trek. Somers also coaches Heritage’s middle school football and basketball teams. There, too, he seizes teachable moments. “We talk a lot about the fact that life is not about what happens to you. It’s how you handle it,” he says. As a teenager, Somers never dreamed he’d teach one day. As a sophomore in college, the Lord clearly directed him to his vocational calling. “God knows me better than I know myself,” he reflects. He shares this life lesson with his students, too. “When you know that the Lord wants you to do something,” he says, “ it’s safe to trust Him.” After twenty-four years in his profession, the rest of Somers’ own story, you might say, is history. “I’m doing exactly what He created me to do,” he concludes.
“I want to help students see that God is always in control; that there are no accidents or coincidences; that history is the progressive unfolding of God’s plan for mankind.”
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
HERITAGE’S FIRST HEADMASTER AND PRINCIPALS eVern Fromke holds a special place in the fifty-year history of Heritage Christian School, having served as the school’s first elementary school headmaster, from 19651967. He saw the school move from church basements to a new facility. He spoke at the 1967 commencement ceremony for the first graduating class. He even directed the school’s first band.
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DEVERN FROMKE, Heritage’s first elementary school headmaster.
Fromke also is an author, speaker, and teacher in his own right. He has written nearly a dozen books on Christian living and is known for his Hive of Busy Bees collection of children’s stories. After serving at Heritage, he traveled for more than fifty years and ministered in Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, Europe, and Japan. He is the president of Sure Foundation Publishers and Ministry of Life literature outreach. Long-time Heritage principal, Mary Jane English, said, “He used to lead the kids in a song about the books of the Bible. He learned it when he was a child and taught the kids this unique song. It is a great tool. He was such a kind and gentle man.”
DR. JAMES BECK served as Heritage Christian School’s first high school principal. In addition to his administrative roles, Beck taught high school ethics, Bible and German classes. 34 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
WILLIAM VIMONT was Heritage Christian School’s first principal, when the school first opened its doors at Victory Baptist Church in 1965. He established the school’s academic program and provided leadership for the first year of its operation. He also was instrumental in the founding of numerous other Christian schools across the country.
JAMES WEAVER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
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ames Weaver holds the honored distinction as the longest-serving headmaster at Heritage Christian School, having served from 1967-1982. He is credited with many contributions to the life of the school over the fifteen years of his work and ministry with Heritage faculty, students, and families. “My primary job,” he once said, “was to help build the spiritual lives of my teachers. I knew that if their lives were strong, the classrooms would be, too.” Daily morning devotions with faculty and staff were one of his favorite parts of his role. Weaver brought passion, enthusiasm, and a love for education to his position as headmaster. We’re grateful for his strong leadership and faithful service over many years of the school’s history.
“My primary job was to help build the spiritual lives of my teachers. I knew that if their lives were strong, the classrooms would be, too.”
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MARYHER JANE ENGLISH EDUCATIONAL AND SPIRITUAL LEGACY
bronze statue in front of the Elementary Building honors the memory and ministry of former Heritage elementary principal, Mary Jane English. It reads, “In honor of Mrs. Mary Jane English, for thirty-seven years of faithful service to the Lord at Heritage Christian School. She was a joyful servant, friend, leader, teacher, mentor, and shepherd. We will miss her laughter, her stories, and her presence with us. To God be the glory! She is home.”
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English had a burden for children who had the intellectual capacity to advance but had been identified with learning differences that caused them to struggle in the classroom. In 2010, the HOPE (Helping Others Pursue Excellence) Fund was inspired by English and was established to honor the memory of those who have either supported our students or who received services through the academic support of a tutor or Heritage Educational Support Services teacher. English’s colleagues and the teachers whom she supervised remember her with fondness and respect. “Mary Jane had great understanding and empathy for struggling students and students who march to the beat of a different drummer, because as she told us many times,
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she was one of those students, too,” says Teresa Stroop. “Mary Jane was real. She was direct, she was honest, she was funny and she loved to laugh. She had a heart for Jesus, a heart for her family, a heart for children, a heart for her friends. She had a heart for truth, a heart for nature, and a heart for knowledge,” recalls Julie Hiatt. Heritage academic director and elementary/intermediate school principal, Brenda Klingerman, says, “She mentored me and invested time in me. She taught me so much spiritually, about depending on the Lord in making decisions and looking for what He has next. She really enjoyed life.”
“Mary Jane had great understanding and empathy for struggling students and students who march to the beat of a different drummer, because as she told us many times, she was one of those students, too.”
–Teresa Stroop A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 37
AL LEINBACH THE TREASURED FACE OF
HERITAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL HISTORY f Heritage Christian School’s history had a face, it surely would be that of the sole individual who has been part of that history from nearly its very beginning. If the school’s history were personified, one man would represent the school’s spiritual, academic, and athletic impact over many generations.
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But if you ask Al Leinbach, his role in the Heritage narrative simply has been one of a participant and a witness to God’s provision and blessing over the past fifty years. For forty-nine of those years, his life’s work has been pouring into the lives of more than three thousand students who have graduated from here. Interestingly, education was not a path that Leinbach would have chosen. The son of a pastor/street preacher, he initially pursued his interest in medical missions. But in his sophomore year at Indiana University, he left his pre-medical studies and transferred to Columbia Bible College. It was a lifechanging experience. On a summer mission trip to Colombia, South America, Leinbach established a relationship with Wycliffe Bible Translators and discovered a latent interest in linguistics. He planned to work as a missionary for the organization after his college graduation in 1966. He and his fiancée,
Donna, made preparations for summer linguistics training and future missionary work with Wycliffe. In the meantime, Leinbach sought income through temporary work. A friend told him about a new Christian school that had just formed on Indianapolis’ northeast side. Leinbach applied for a teaching job at Heritage in April of 1966. On a day in late May, he and his bride-tobe had their bags packed, ready to leave for Oklahoma for linguistics training with Wycliffe. That very morning, Kye Harris, the school’s first administrator, called to set up a job interview. The men met that afternoon at a location in the then-remote Castleton area, on Indianapolis’ northeast side. The Leinbachs left for Oklahoma immediately following the interview. On July 7 (which just so happens to be Leinbach’s birthday), Harris called to extend Leinbach an offer for a teaching position. He needed an immediate answer. The couple talked it over and decided to return to Indianapolis in August to take the job. “Coming to Heritage was not by my design,” explains Leinbach. “It was specifically by God’s design. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, I knew that God had led me here.” (continued on page 40)
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“Coming to Heritage was not by my design. It was specifically by God’s design. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, I knew that God had led me here.”
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 39
Leinbach attended in-service teacher training at Heritage at the end of August 1966. The training concluded on a Friday. The couple married the following day and Leinbach began teaching when school opened its doors at Victory Baptist Church on the following Wednesday. He taught seventh-grade geography, eighth-grade American history, world history, physical education, and health. In the absence of a sports program, Leinbach pioneered and coached the school’s basketball team that same year. It was a crazy, busy time of transition for the newlywed couple. But, says Leinbach, “by the end of that first year, I knew that God had changed my mission field, my direction, and my heart toward teens.” Leinbach was himself surprised by the joy he discovered in teaching. “I thoroughly enjoyed working with the middle school and high school students,” he says. “I loved engaging the students spiritually, and even socially. We were learning to have a lot of fun while we were trying to learn.” In the years that followed, Leinbach coached the boys’ basketball and soccer teams. He taught in the classroom. He took the senior classes on their annual trips. He spoke in chapel. He served at various times as high school guidance counselor, athletic
director, and principal. He was the school’s headmaster/principal from 1970 to 2007. Over more than four decades, he has mentored and trained students in the faith and in preparation for their vocations of every sort. Leinbach has attended every commencement, except one, due to extenuating circumstances. He has seen his own children graduate from the school (Ed in 1990; Jodi in 1992; and Lori in 1994). One of his six grandchildren is a current Heritage fourth grader. This year, Leinbach will be part of graduation ceremonies for Heritage’s fiftieth graduating class. (continued on page 42)
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
LEINBACH SERVANT LEADERSHIP AWARD HONORS GRADUATES In 2009, Heritage honored Al Leinbach for his long-time service to the school, by initiating the Leinbach Servant Leadership Award. Both a male and female student are selected for the award each year. Candidates are nominated at the end of their senior year by a Heritage teacher or coach who has been involved in the student’s life during high school. The award is intended to recognize students who reflect the spirit of servant leadership by qualifying in four out of six criteria categories: student government activities; academic activities and achievements; athletic achievements; fine arts achievements; or other Heritage ministries, clubs, or outside ministry involvement. Pictured here, with Leinbach (center), are the 2015 Leinbach Servant Leadership Award recipients, Sam Lyons (left) and Katherine Yeager (right).
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He takes great pride in Heritage alumni because, he says, “they are a great part of what we want to accomplish here. In the years after their graduation from high school, it’s exciting to see the outgrowth of their commitment to Christ.” Leinbach says that he felt privileged to assume his current role as alumni relations coordinator in 2007. He attends class reunions, weddings, funerals, and other big events in the lives of graduates. Facebook has given him a venue for regular communication with alumni. On each graduate’s birthday, he sends each of them a greeting and devotional thought via social media or email. Remarkably, he remembers details and graduation years for many of these former students, just off the top of his head.
Sure, some things have changed since those early days of the school’s beginnings. Buildings have been constructed, programs have been established and grown, the student body has grown in size. But the fundamental values upon which the school was created, says Leinbach, have never wavered. “We stand on the shoulders of the men and families who founded Heritage Christian School,” he explains. “Even though it wasn’t written down at first, our mission always has been, and always will be, to glorify God through the discipleship of our students and the pursuit of excellence in education, with Bible as our foundation and Jesus Christ as our focus.”
MATT WARE LIVES A LIFE OF FAITH AND ABUNDANCE DESPITE PERSONAL TRAGEDY
hat’s perhaps most amazing about Heritage alumnus Matt Ware is his unwavering insistence that even in the midst of great tragedy, God is good and sovereign. By personal experience, Ware knows of what he speaks.
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It was a Heritage after-school basketball team practice, the same as any other. At about 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 28, 1998, Ware, then a Heritage sophomore, dove for a loose ball that was headed out of bounds. He slid into the protective padding that covered the Elementary Gym walls. The back of his head hit at an angle that shattered and severed his fourth vertebrae. He was paralyzed from the neck down. In the days, weeks, and months that followed the terrible accident, strangers, professional athletes, churches, and the Heritage community reached out to support Ware and his family. Mail and email poured in from across the world. Media picked up the story of the remarkable teen whose faith sustained him. “The only thing you can do in a situation like this is to totally trust God,” Ware told the Indianapolis Star. “None of the doctors really know what will happen, and they can’t, because God is in control. I just have to be patient and remember it’s His time, not mine.”
As Ware embarked on months of intense rehabilitation, his Heritage family came alongside. Al Leinbach, then high school principal, met with him weekly. His best buddies and fellow classmates made sure that he didn’t lose his sense of humor. His teachers went to any length to help him continue his studies. Remarkably, Ware graduated at commencement, right along with his classmates, in 2000. Fast-forward to the fall of 2014, when Ware returned to campus during homecoming week to address high school students during chapel services. Sure, he talked a little bit about his accident. “I’m glad that God has brought me this far. I have a great life,” he shared with them. But in relatable terms and his no-nonsense style, Ware spoke mostly of the importance of Christian friends; of what it means to be a “real” Christian; of the danger of complacency and stagnation. He challenged them with the question, “Will you be on the winning team when it’s your homecoming?” Afterwards, Ware’s former teachers, his friends, and family gathered around him for photos. On either side of his wheelchair stood his wife, Erika (a Heritage employee) and daughter, Aubree (a Heritage third grader). Heritage science teacher, Stephen Terry, approached Ware, laid his hand on his shoulder, and whispered, “You’re my hero.”
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 43
BRENDA KLINGERMAN A TEACHER OF TEACHERS hen the front doors to the elementary school building swing open each morning, you’ll find Brenda Klingerman serving in one of her many roles at Heritage Christian School. To parents, faculty, and staff, Klingerman is well respected as academic director and elementary school principal. But to the kids who flood through these doors every day, she is one of the very first faces they see when they enter the building. Sometimes with a coffee mug in hand, always with a smile on her face, Klingerman takes seriously her role as greeter and unofficial hugger.
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Klingerman says she treasures these early morning minutes, when she interacts directly with students. It’s a reminiscent taste of the connection she enjoyed for many years, as an elementary school classroom teacher. She cherishes the now thirteen years she has spent in an administrative role at Heritage, but “I’ll always miss the classroom,” she says. To that end, she finds ways to stay in touch at a grassroots level, by reading in classrooms at any given opportunity, teaching the fourth-grade Peacemakers study, speaking in elementary school chapel services, and even creating and hanging bulletin boards
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in the elementary school hallways. On her own initiative, she keeps her teaching license current. For the role of principal, Klingerman says she was well prepared, thanks to the time and spiritual investments of her mentor, close friend, and former Heritage elementary school principal, Mary Jane English. “Not a day passes, when I don’t think of her,” says Klingerman. The memorial statue that’s visible from her office window serves as a visual reminder of the kinship she enjoyed with English, during the years when Klingerman taught fourth grade and then, at English’s encouragement, assumed responsibilities as assistant principal and, eventually, principal. Mary Lou Cooper, elementary school assistant principal, says of Klingerman, “One of her favorite roles is teacher of teachers. She’s a faithful mentor to our staff and our parents…a good listener, dependable, and a special friend to all. Her staff loves and respects her.” As they worked together in the early 2000s, Klingerman, English, and Cooper supported one another and invested in each other’s lives, both professionally and spiritually. At one
point, Klingerman juggled part-time classroom teaching and assistant principal duties, while also commuting to Ball State each week, to complete her master’s degree in education. Cooper supported her friend’s efforts by preparing a weekly meal for Klingerman’s young family on her travel days. These kinds of gestures are part of what makes Heritage a privileged place for work and ministry, says Klingerman. She points to the tenure of Heritage faculty as one measure of the school’s strength. “We’ve created an environment where they want to stay,” she explains. “I’m so proud of our faculty and staff and how they respond to the demands on them.” But for this teacher-at-heart, Heritage students are one of the greatest sources of her inspiration. Part of the school’s uniqueness lies in the fact
that many students spend up to thirteen years on the same campus. It’s a rare privilege, says, Klingerman, for elementary teachers to participate in their students’ commencement ceremony. She has, in fact, seen all three of her own children graduate from Heritage. These days, two of her grandchildren are students in the elementary school. On the wall of Klingerman’s office is a handpainted mural of children at play, and the words of one of her favorite promises: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV) It’s a fitting image, says Klingerman. “The Lord had plans for me at Heritage. He has so prospered me here.”
“We’ve created an environment where they want to stay. I’m so proud of our faculty and staff and how they respond to the demands on them.” Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 45
JENNIFER NUTTER GIVES BACK or Heritage alumna Jennifer Nutter (1988), her grade school and high school alma mater is more than just a memory. In fact, she revisits the hallways and classrooms of the elementary building every day, as one of Heritage Christian School’s most beloved teachers. She’s right at home. “It’s like my family, here,” she says. Nutter says she’s continuing the legacy her parents began when they sent her and her sister (Laurie Griffin, HCS 1980) to Heritage, beginning in kindergarten and continuing on through high school graduation. “Mom and dad loved the Lord and loved Heritage. They sacrificed for us to be able to go to school here,” she shares. Her parents believed wholeheartedly in the value of Christian education. They viewed their daughters’ schooling as part of a three-legged foundational stool, says Nutter. Each “leg” represented an important facet of raising their children: home, church, and school.
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Nutter has always known that she wanted a life filled with children. As a mere second grader, she decided that she wanted to become a teacher. She never changed her mind. During the summers, while she studied education at Grace College, Nutter travelled to Europe and worked as a nanny. It was an incredible experience, she says, working for a family in the beauty of the Alps.
talents and energy in a ministry that means so much to her. “I absolutely love what I do, and I look forward to going to ‘work’ every day,” she says. “I continually thank the Lord for allowing me to serve and give back to the school that, without a doubt, gave me a solid foundation based on Jesus Christ.”
Upon her college graduation in 1992, Nutter taught third grade at Heritage for five years, under the leadership of long-time principal, Mary Jane English, who also had been her first-grade teacher. She returned to teaching at Heritage in 2008, after spending several years at home with her children. Today, she’s part of the third-grade teaching team in a role she relishes. “Third grade is my passion,” she says. Gratitude is a consistent theme in Nutter’s life and even in her conversation. Working at Heritage is, for her, a form of giving back; of reinvesting her
“I absolutely love what I do, and I look forward to going to ‘work’ every day... I continually thank the Lord for allowing me to serve and give back to the school that, without a doubt, gave me a solid foundation based on Jesus Christ.” 46 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
REACHING THE WORLD, RIGHT HERE IN INDIANAPOLIS n the Heritage Christian School parking lot, in spot number 431, sits an inconspicuous gold 2006 Honda Odyssey minivan. Unbeknownst to many, it’s an informal donation place for a global outreach on Indy’s west side. Its doors are always left unlocked so that anyone can drop off gently used clothing and household goods inside. The unassuming van just happens to belong to third grade teacher, Jennifer Nutter.
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By day, the van is a vehicle for transportation. But on many weekends, it transforms into an answered prayer on wheels, when it pulls up to the Stratford apartment complex, where numerous refugees and their families live. They come to Indy from around the globe; from Kenya, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Thailand, Burma and beyond. When they receive their American paperwork and arrive in the States, they come with little more than the clothes they’re wearing. Virtually none of them are prepared for cold Indiana winters. So when Nutter, her family and a few other volunteers begin to unload the van’s contents, it’s like Christmas morning. A floor lamp here, a baby blanket there…what seems like a random collection of goods consistently and specifically meets the needs of this appreciative international community. Nutter says that over and over, God delivers exactly what each family needs. Recently, two families struggled to provide required uniforms for their children in urban schools. Nutter was delighted to find nineteen pairs of uniform pants at a garage sale the exact week that they needed them. When an elderly family member desperately needed a wheelchair to get around, it was no coincidence that one was donated that very week.
The items do more than meet a physical need for the recipients, says Nutter. “It’s a way for us to share Jesus’ love and develop relationships with them,” she explains. For five years, Nutter and her family have worked with friends to reach this little-known population in our city’s borders. It all began as a one-time family project to provide Christmas gifts for a refugee family. When the Nutters met and delivered their gifts to the family, God sparked a desire to do more. The ministry burgeoned through word of mouth within the Heritage and church community. Within a short period of time, the Nutters had accumulated so many donations that they outgrew the confines of their garage and rented a 10 x 20foot storage unit. Even still, the weekend runs today find the van packed to the gills with items for waiting families. “You just never know what the Lord is going to do when you focus on someone else,” says Nutter. “This is a ministry we never dreamed we’d have. Through it, God has brought the world to us. We’ve seen God supply over and over. We get to share the love of Jesus right here in Indy.”
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 47
TERESA STROOP CHERISHES EVERY ONE OF HER “STROOP TROOPS”
n a window ledge in Teresa Stroop’s first-grade classroom sits a black, three-ring binder whose contents this Heritage teacher cherishes. In cutout letters and shapes, it’s labeled “The Stroop Troops.” Inside its covers are slipcovered pages with class photographs of every student she has taught during her twenty-seven years at Heritage Christian School.
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Over the years, the pictures have migrated from black-and-white to color. The hairstyles and clothing have changed. The classroom and grade levels have varied. Yet, says Stroop, one thing never has. She firmly believes that every student comes to school with a need to feel loved and accepted. “At the end of the day,” she explains, “the most important thing is that students know God’s love. Education is really important, but they need to feel the love of Christ here, too.” And love them she does. As soon as she receives her classroom list during the summer, Stroop begins to pray by name for each of her incoming students. “It’s such a privilege to be their teacher. I have the best job in the whole world,” she says. Sometimes, love finds its expressions in the smallest of ways; a hug, a smile. Other times, it’s in helping and comforting students when they face tough circumstances. “I want to be a cheerleader for my kids,” she explains. “In whatever they’re dealing with, I want to be able to point everything to Jesus. It’s so exciting to see what God
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can do; how He can work in a life in ways you don’t even expect.” Stroop says she sees her students grow over the course of the school year, especially as they learn to pray for and serve others. Every morning, her class prays specifically for orphaned children at a school in Mexico. Twice each year, they write letters to U.S. soldiers. Exercises like these, she says, cultivate compassion and set an example for a faith that serves. Her teacher’s heart may come in part from a family dedicated to education. Her mother taught in the Westfield school system for thirty years. At one point in her Heritage career, Stroop served alongside her brother, Gary Walker, who was the elementary school principal during the 1980s. Her son, Chris (HCS 1999) is a senior lecturer at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration in Moscow. Outside the classroom, Stroop shares her skill and love for writing with eager elementary students who join the after-school Creative Writing Club. One day, she’d like to write children’s books, maybe even co-write a children’s musical with her husband. But for now, her life is full of all the things she loves best; school, church, and family. Every now and then, Stroop receives a visit from one of her former students, whose picture she keeps in her homemade scrapbook. “I’ll never forget any of them,” says Stroop. “They’ll always have a piece of my heart.”
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is that students know God’s love. Education is really important, but they need to feel the love of Christ here, too.” A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 49
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
DAVE NEFF ON THE LEADING EDGE aul and Timothy. Moses and Joshua. Naomi and Ruth. The Bible is full of examples of the unique relationship between an older, seasoned mentor and a younger, less experienced mentee. The experience can be powerful and life changing. Just ask Heritage alumnus Dave Neff (2003), executive director of EDGE Mentoring. He’s passionate about EDGE Mentoring’s mission of equipping the next generation of godly leadership and about his role in connecting mature leaders with younger, emerging ones.
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Neff knows firsthand just how important these purposeful relationships can be. After graduating with a BS in sports administration from Ball State in 2007, he began a successful business career in influential roles with the Indiana Pacers. He frequently interacted with executives and community leaders. In the course of business, he met Elanco president, Jeff Simmons, and discovered that they had much in common. They attended the same church on Indy’s north side. They were equally passionate about business. They shared a similar world view. (And, incidentally, they both have a Heritage connection; Neff as a grad and Simmons as a parent of 2015 alum, Madison.) Over Saturday morning breakfast at the Roost in Fishers, the two men met informally to talk about faith, career, and life. They struck up a friendship that grew into a unique relationship, akin to that of a mentor and mentee. Simmons invited Neff to join an “EDGE” group of three twenty-something men from across the nation, whom he’d been mentoring through hour-long conference calls. Neff accepted the invitation and began to look forward to their bi-monthly conversations about faith, career and biblical leadership. When he 50 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
moved from the Pacers into marketing management at ExactTarget, the group supported and encouraged him in the transition to his new role. Over time, the closely knit unit burgeoned to seven, then nine. The virtual group occasionally met in person and even took mission trips together. It became a model for what later would develop into the structured, turn-key EDGE Mentoring program. Meanwhile, Simmons enlisted the help of the non-profit, Truth@Work, to launch the fledgling organization and provide operations and marketing support. In 2012, Truth@Work developed the “America’s Best Hope” national leadership conference that featured noted business figures and leadership experts. It became a strategic conduit for greater exposure and growth potential for EDGE Mentoring. Neff attended the second-annual conference in 2013. Soon thereafter, Simmons approached him with a surprising offer; to help propel EDGE Mentoring to the next level by becoming the organization’s executive director. Neff was in the midst of an exciting career at ExactTarget and had just married his wife, Joelle, two weeks prior to Simmons’ phone call. It was a big decision to contemplate, says Neff. He and Joelle began to pray for God’s direction. The answer came with inexplicable peace for both of them and through affirming circumstances that seemed far from coincidental. Two months later, Neff stepped out in faith and accepted the offer. “It took so much faith, so much courage to step up and take this role,” says Simmons. “This new venture has built Dave’s dependency on God. He has a ‘kingdom lens’ on life.”
LAURA PAYNE SHOWS STUDENTS THE HEART OF MUSIC n Heritage teacher and orchestra director, Laura Payne, students receive the caliber of instruction that has earned the school accolades from the music community. But when students first set foot in her classroom, they acquire more than an education. They receive from Payne access to a teacher who sees them as individuals as much as, and maybe even more, than musical protégés.
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Make no mistake; her expertise and experience are exceptional. Prior to joining the Heritage faculty, she taught in schools from Tucson to Bloomington. She pioneered and directed the orchestral program at Noblesville High School for thirteen years. This year marks her fifteenth at Heritage and the thirty-first anniversary of teaching the subject she holds dear. Music occupies Payne’s life inside and outside of the classroom. For twenty-six years, she has lent her abilities to the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, as a string bass player. “Performing is what keeps music fresh for me,” she explains. “It’s my point of expression.”
students’ music ability, but also their personhood. “This is my ministry,” she says. “God has put me here to have an impact on them.” Above Payne’s desk are tacked myriad 3” x 5” senior photos of former students from the past three decades. She stores another huge stack of the photos in a desk drawer. “Once they graduate, I hope they consider me a friend instead of a teacher. They have become an extension of my family,” she says. Payne stays in touch with many former students and often makes stops to visit them during her summer travels. Two Heritage graduates’ images are her favorites, though; daughters Stephanie (2010) and Rachel (2012). “I love being a teacher, but being their mom is the best thing in my life. They are the reason God led me to teach at Heritage,” she says.
“The fact that it comes out of the heart is what makes music unique. It’s a privilege to find that emotional connection with the audience.”
“When students leave here,” she concludes, “I want them to have an appreciation for the role music has in their life. They can do music their entire lives. It’s a lifelong opportunity.”
It’s exactly that kind of expression that she hopes to inspire in her students. “They have to have the basic skills to turn music into expression. My job is to deconstruct music in a way that’s accessible to the kids,” she says. “As a teacher, I want to help them to understand the big picture, then be able to take it to a new piece of music.” Once the fundamentals are in place, she says, students can learn to tap the emotional resources that connect a musician to the audience. “The fact that it comes out of the heart is what makes music unique,” she explains. “It’s a privilege to find that emotional connection with the audience.” Perhaps it’s this well tuned ability to establish emotional connection through music that enables Payne to relate with her students and their families, too. She nurtures
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 51
KELLY FARIS LIVES A LIFE FULL
OF BASKETBALL AND FAITH ost recently, professional athlete and Heritage alumna (2009) Kelly Faris played for the Euro League’s Adelaide Lightning in Australia. But if you follow her basketball journey to its beginnings, you’ll find the makings of her career in the school’s gymnasium, where today her jersey is proudly displayed.
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“My decision to attend Heritage Christian was a decision I would make time and time again. I had an incredible four years there and would not trade it for anything. As an athlete, I look back and realize how blessed I was to be a part of the teams I was on,” says Faris. Faris helped lead Heritage to four consecutive IHSAA state championships, with an incredible combined team record of 108-8. This accomplishment earned the team a
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congratulatory resolution from the General Assembly of the State of Indiana. She remains Heritage’s all-time leader in rebounds, assists, and steals. She earned two gold medals with USA Basketball. As a senior, she competed for the East team in the McDonald’s All-America game and also was named Indianapolis Star Super Team Player of the Year. Somehow, Faris found the time and energy to compete for the Eagles’ volleyball and track teams, as well. She earned all-state honors in volleyball, in both 2007 and 2008, and also won national honors in 2007, being named to the 2007 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships All-American team. She also was an excellent student, earning high academic honors as a senior, and being a member of the National Honor Society. “As a student, I look back and realize how blessed I was to have teachers who were so invested in my wellbeing, in and out of the classroom,” says Faris. She then went to the University of Connecticut, where she reached four Final Fours and won two national championships with the Huskies. As a senior, she was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and played for the All-Big East Second Team.
During UConn’s final regularseason game, she sustained an unfortunate and serious foot injury. Faris made the news when she was selected by the Connecticut Sun in the first round of the 2013 WNBA draft. Unfortunately, another foot injury sidelined her for the last ten games of the Suns’ schedule. Faris turned her sights overseas and moved to Sopron, Hungary in 2013, to play for UNIQA Euroleasing Sopron. In 2014, she moved to “The Land Down Under” to play for the Adelaide Lightning.
Of her Heritage experience, she says, “I made so many memories and lifelong friendships that I never thought I’d have. Not only that, but I really grew in my faith. I don’t think I really realized the type of spiritual impact it would have on me at the time. But I know now, I would not be where I am spiritually today, if it weren’t for the individuals I was surrounded by at school,” Faris concludes. “I am so thankful I had the opportunity to attend Heritage and I can only hope many others will be impacted in the same ways as I was.”
“I am so thankful I had the opportunity to attend Heritage and I can only hope many others will be impacted in the same ways as I was.”
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 53
JULIE HIATT
TURNS LEARNING INTO FUN FOR KINDERGARTENERS t was a full thirty-minute drive, just to get to the bus stop. The daily bus ride from there to the doorstep of Heritage Christian School took another full hour. For then-seventh-grade student Julie Hiatt and her family, it seemed a small price to pay for an education that they valued so highly. They perhaps never would have guessed that one day, the 1979 graduate would later return to the school she loved as a talented and valued member of the faculty.
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Heritage has been the workplace for teacher Julie Hiatt for twentyeight years, but it’s not merely the longevity of her service that makes this place so endearing. Her heartfelt love for and loyalty to this educational institution is firmly rooted in what she has received here, both as an educator and as a Heritage student herself. Today, Hiatt lavishes her students with the same spirit and excellence she herself experienced firsthand. She’s the quintessential kindergarten teacher, with an ability to make a song out of just about anything; from the day’s weather, to letter sounds, to anything else that makes learning fun for a room full of squirmy, energetic five year-olds. To learn about the letter “K” on a designated week, she has dubbed each of her male students a king. They sport crowns made of yellow construction paper and she consistently refers to them as “king,” inserting their individual name after the title. Judging by the excited inflections in her voice and her dramatic reading of The Hungry Caterpillar, you get the sense that she’s enjoying the story of the insect’s metamorphosis almost as much as the kids are. In fact, she is, because she sees it as a fresh opportunity to remind this group of young students that the God of the
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universe is the sole architect of this scientific wonder. Never mind that it’s probably the umpteenth time she has flipped through the book’s well worn pages. After shaking out their wiggles, Hiatt’s students find their assigned places at squeaky, small human-sized wooden chairs and tables. You’d never know that they are about to embark on some impressively difficult word problems involving standard configurations, cleverly disguised as a story about Fredrika the frog and her friends at Willow Pond. Remarkably, the students stay engaged, pencils in hand, for the full twenty minutes of the exercise, because Hiatt has enraptured them with a tale that elicits gasps and giggles at various points in the plot. Every so often, they pause to fill in the blanks of the accompanying math worksheet. Delivering this kind of energy every day of the school year requires stamina and a deep-seated love for kids and education. Hiatt possesses both in large measure. It comes from a place of gratitude, she says. “I just wanted to give back,” she explains. “It was at Heritage that as a student, I solidified my faith and my walk with Christ. I saw what’s important; what matters in life. I saw how fun education can be.” She’s replicating her own experience exponentially with each year’s new group of students and families. Who knows? These youngest of Heritage students may one day recall the seeds of academic interest or lifelong passion that were planted in their formative years, when a gifted teacher made learning seem like play.
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
KRISTIN YOUNG BRINGS GRACE AND TALENT TO THE STAGE
am living every little girl’s dream,” says Heritage alumna, Kristin Young (2007). She’s right. As a ballerina with the Nashville Ballet, she’s living the dream that God planted in her heart when she was just five years old and a student at Heritage Christian School.
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By the time she was in third grade, Young realized that ballet was her passion and began serious training with Ballet Internationale’s Academy. After practice one day, she remembers telling her mom, “Have you ever done something that you don’t want to end?”
Photo courtesy of Anthony Matula
the Harid Conservatory and Boston Ballet. Before her sophomore year of high school, she was one of five student dancers chosen to tour in Taipei, Taiwan with Ballet Internationale, performing The Sleeping Beauty. After high school graduation, Young received her degree in ballet performance from The University of Oklahoma (OU). She performed lead roles in The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Firebird, Carmina Burana, and Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15. After graduating from OU, she was a guest artist with the Tulsa Ballet.
Young’s parents and the Heritage family supported her from the beginning. When she played the lead role of Clara in a modern adaptation of The Nutcracker with the Gregory Hancock Dance Theater, her teachers planned a field trip so that her entire sixth-grade class would be able to see her performance.
Young joined the Nashville Ballet in 2011. She has performed in Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Billy the Kid, The Sleeping Beauty, Carmina Burana, Romeo & Juliet, Peter Pan, George Balanchine’s Serenade and more. Her parents are her biggest fans and haven’t missed one performance. (Her father, Ron Young, is a long-time Heritage employee.)
By the time she reached high school, Young practiced for five hours, six days each week. It wouldn’t have been possible, she says, without the support and flexibility that Heritage provided. Her teachers understood her commitment to dance and flexed with her rigorous practice schedule.
Young says that hers is a blessed life. Whatever sacrifices she has made along the way have been minor in comparison to the joy she finds in her career. She has yet to lose her wonder for the dance that first captivated her heart as a child. She loves it all; the makeup, the hair, the stretching. Even today, she says, “it makes me feel like I’m flying.”
Young spent her summers as a student at the Kirov Academy of Ballet, the School of American Ballet,
“As a ballerina with the Nashville Ballet, she’s living the dream that God planted in her heart when she was just five years old and a student at Heritage Christian School.” 56 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
DAVE WATT BRINGS HEART TO HISTORY aybe it’s his easygoing, laid-back nature. Perhaps it’s his obvious enthusiasm for the subjects he teaches. It could be the way that he approaches high school students with a perfect balance of light-hearted humor and genuine personal interest. Whatever the case, students in Heritage teacher Dave Watt’s classroom quickly pick up on the very real fact that he enjoys their company and takes each of them at face value. Who wouldn’t want to learn about history or government, or frankly any subject, from a teacher like that?
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It’s no wonder that his current and former students sing his praises. Heritage alumni, Austin and Blake Puckett (2012), fondly remember their experience in Watt’s Advanced Placement (AP) class in U.S. history. His approach to the heavy course content and demanding workload prepared them well, they say, for the rigors of collegiate study. Anyone who has ever taken an AP course knows that the final exam is all-important, because it determines whether or not it will count for college credit. Watt wants to build students’ confidence and resolve as they head in to the test. He builds momentum for the exam in the days preceding it. He often recites the inspiring pre-battle speech from the movie, Braveheart. He has even made the event memorable by recruiting former AP U.S. history students to form a human tunnel in the hallway, outside the classroom. Current students run through the center of it, amidst cheers of encouragement from the graduates who have walked in their shoes in years past. “He’s a teacher who reveals his heart to his students,” shares Blake. “He very real. Very authentic.” His twin sibling, Austin, agrees. “He has a genuine respect for his students. He treats you like an adult. That eye-to-eye relationship manifests itself in the way that he invests in you as a student in his classroom.”
After twenty-seven years of teaching at Heritage, Watt says his hands still perspire with excited anticipation of teaching U.S. history and government to his teenaged students. His Socratic approach challenges them to imagine themselves in the pages of history. “I want them to envision what they would do if they were in that same situation,” he explains. This week, as he has done each summer for the past fifteen years, Watt will help lead Heritage eighth grade students and families on a tour of the nation’s capital. It’s a great opportunity, he says, to get to know the students before they begin their high school experience, and to spark their interest in American history and government from the outset. Watt’s love for teaching ranks right up there with his penchant for snow skiing and baseball. A collection of well worn, colored baseball hats decorate an entire wall of Watt’s classroom; a tip-off to his love for the sport. He pioneered the current baseball program at Heritage in 1991. To know Watt is to know both a gifted teacher and a dedicated dad. He and his wife, Shelly, have five children, four of whom are current Heritage students: Andrew, Hollyn, Jessa, and George Mason. Watt says he’s living proof to his students that with hard work, anyone can make it. He graduated from Crown College in Minnesota. Prior to becoming a teacher, he worked at twenty-one different jobs, everywhere from a steel mill in Gary, to a pipeline in Wyoming, and a grocery store in south Chicago. “I want them to understand that God has a plan for their lives; that He is a good God; that He equips each of us with gifts and talents,” he explains. “If you give them back to Him, He has a wonderful plan.”
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 57
MEG OSBORNE AND LAWRENCE SMILEY CULTIVATE STUDENTS’ ATHLETIC TALENTS AND FAITH he smell of chlorine and the sound of rhythmic strokes fill the air. It’s here, in an off-campus natatorium, that you’ll find Heritage Christian swimmers and divers, hard at work. The sun comes up and goes down before they leave the pool during the IHSAA season each year. Poolside, whistle in hand, is Coach Meg Osborne.
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It’s an environment familiar to her. Osborne’s coaching career spans more than forty years and includes experience in multiple Indianapolis-area public high school swim teams and USA Swimming programs. Her decision to become a swim coach came from her own love for swimming and for kids of all ages and because of encouragement she received from legendary Indiana University and USA Olympic swim coach, James “Doc” Councilman. Her love for God and for the outreach ministry of Heritage Christian School led her and her husband, Brad Osborne, to create the school’s swimming/diving program in 2002. “Through the vehicle of swimming, I have the platform to teach and mentor kids not only about life skills, but also how to walk with Christ, both spiritually and daily,” she says. Heritage alumnus, Matt Vieke (2008), trained under both Osborne and Heritage diving coach, Lawrence Smiley, and appeared in state championship competition 58 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
three years in a row. Vieke went on to compete for the Louisiana State University (LSU) Swimming and Diving Team. Today, he’s the co-head coach for the Coral Springs Diving Team. He recalls Osborne’s influence on the team and on his own life: “Meg worked very hard to push our swim team to be the very best we could be, both as athletes and people. You can ask anyone that has been part of the Heritage swim team with her, if they didn’t learn some valuable life lessons, then they weren’t listening. She took the time to invest not only into our athletic career, but she also taught us biblical principles about life and how what we were doing in and out of the pool was training us to be better, faith-driven people. She cared for us and really fostered a family atmosphere on our team. The way she loved us then and loves us now is definitely evidence of her faith in Christ. Her enthusiasm is something I will always remember about her, during all those early morning practices and meets.” “The Heritage Christian Swim and Dive program is not a program to win state titles (although we do like it when we win, as long as it is in the right spirit),” says Osborne. “It is a program to win, develop, and mentor kid’s lives. I am grateful God has entrusted me with these kids. They have taught me many lessons, too, and given tremendous blessings.”
iving is not a sport for those faint of heart. The mere thought of springing high off of a one-meter board, flipping and twisting into a headfirst entry, is enough to make most of us dizzy.
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By its very nature, says Heritage Christian School’s diving coach, Lawrence Smiley, diving challenges athletes to push their limits and overcome fear. For more than fifteen years, Smiley has not only cultivated his students’ athletic abilities, but also has enriched and nurtured their spiritual lives. He teaches each of his divers to “Pray for God’s help; focus on the dive; and execute the dive.” He follows up the admonition with what he calls rules number one, two and three: “Never change your mind in the middle of a dive.” Smiley’s rules, numbers four and five? “Can’t is not a word” and “When the horse bucks you off, you have to get back on and try again.” During team devotions, Smiley shares lessons from The Dream Giver, a modern-day Pilgrim’s Progress; and from devotions he has assembled over his years of working with youth.
Egenolf (Long), who won the state championship in 2007, and Matt Vieke, who won third-and fourthplace state rankings in 2007 and 2008. Long says of Smiley, “ He cared about my diving, but more importantly, he cared about me as a person and my spiritual development. Coach Smiley and his wife, Rachel, continued to watch me dive throughout my collegiate career…and they even came to our wedding!” Some of the greatest accomplishments have come after student athletes have graduated from high school, says Smiley. “I’m most proud of the positive life decisions that my athletes of the past have made,” he says. “You see, a diver must leave their comfort zone many, many, many times during their diving careers to advance to the next levels in the sport…and most times, crashes (pain) accompanies perfecting the next dive. When the courage, persistence and prayer power is transferred to one’s life in the form of careers and life accomplishments, it is very rewarding to know that you, as their coach, had a small part in their development.”
Under Smiley’s leadership, the Heritage diving program has enjoyed success and seen champions emerge. Of note are former Eagle divers Audra
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J. SCOTT MCELROY HELPS BELIEVERS DISCOVER THE POWER OF THE ARTS
C with Him.”
reativity is a huge part of God’s character,” says Heritage alumnus, J. Scott McElroy (1981). “In fact, He is beauty and creativity. And He invites us into a creative partnership
McElroy speaks with passion for a subject that’s near and dear to his heart; and one that has grown out of years of his own experience in various forms of the arts. He’s an established author and national speaker on the subject of arts in the church. Intervarsity Press recently released his second book, The Creative Church Handbook: Releasing the Power of the Arts in Your Congregation. In it, he explores the reasons why the arts are so important to the body of Christ. “Being a Christian is not just about knowing God with our minds. We are designed to know Him with all of our senses,” he says. “God designed the arts and creativity to help us do that.” McElroy attended Heritage Christian School from fourth through twelfth grade. At the conclusion of his junior year of high school, he renewed his long-held faith in Christ and, in his senior year, dedicated his life to following God’s path. In addition to his high school studies, he completed broadcasting school by night, graduating from Heritage with a desire to use his voice to reach people with God’s love. Immediately following graduation, McElroy began as the on-air talent for Love 98, Indianapolis’ only Christian music station at the time. After several years in the Indianapolis and Chicago radio markets, he experienced a renewed perspective on life and faith, while going through
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a life crisis in the mid-1990s. “My relationship with God became more conversational,” he says. “I asked Him how I could partner with and collaborate with Him. I discovered that I could give Him my creative endeavors. I’d ask Him for direction, and He would guide me. This took my work to a whole different level.” In 1998, God impressed McElroy with an interest in sharing what he was learning, through writing. Over the next several years, he combined his writing with his professional pursuits, that included everything from film critique to on-air broadcasting and directing the production department with Emmis Communications, to voiceover work for the Animal Planet TV series, “Wildlife Journal.” His radio career spanned twenty-eight years. McElroy’s first book, Finding Divine Inspiration: Working with the Holy Spirit in Your Creativity, was published in 2008. The following year, he launched The New Renaissance Arts Movement, a non-profit organization that connects churches and artists and hosts the biennial Creative Church Conference: Embracing the Arts and Artists in Your Church. McElroy’s ministry takes him to churches and speaking engagements across the nation and the globe. He encourages churches to embrace the arts and gives them direction and ideas on how to foster art as an expression of God’s love. He feels it’s an exciting and important mission. “God has designed us to collaborate with Him in so many ways,” explains McElroy. “Imagine what could happen if we really lived our daily lives like that.”
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ERIN FOX SHOWS STUDENTS
EXPRESSION THROUGH SONG ictor Hugo once said that “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” For Heritage choir teacher, Erin Fox, truer words were never spoken. She invites each of her students to go beyond the notes and words to find music’s deepest expression. She often challenges them to think, “What does this song mean for your soul, your mind, your emotions?”
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Teaching at Heritage gives her liberty to share spiritual truth in the context of song. “When we study how the voice works,” she explains, “we talk about how God has woven our voice into the fabric of our being. We also learn that you have to give up some control to sing at your best. It’s a great spiritual metaphor about how we need to give up control of our lives to the Lord.” Fox firmly believes that every student has the ability to sing. Even, and maybe especially, those who don’t think
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that they can. Over her four years of teaching here, she has seen many students attain vocal achievements that they never dreamed possible, by embracing their unique voice and working hard to develop it. For her fifth-grade students, up through those in the Colla Voce advanced high school choir, Fox frequently and intentionally takes them out of their comfort zones to teach important lessons. “This is the room to make mistakes,” she explains. “I want them to know that it’s okay; you don’t have to be perfect. We’ll work on it.” Maybe it’s that freedom to err that makes Fox’s classroom such a safe place for her students to push themselves musically and personally. “Singing gives students an opportunity to express their emotions in a healthy, beautiful way,” she says. Fox pursued her own musical interests when she studied for her degree in music education at St. Olaf College, an institution internationally recognized as a premier music school. She is an accomplished professional musician and spends much of her spare time singing with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir. What transpires daily in Fox’s classroom, though, transcends her academic training and natural vocal ability. There’s a spirit of mutual trust, respect, and admiration; a connection with her students that’s tough to describe. If Hugo had it right, it must be the spirit of music.
“When we study how the voice works, we talk about how God has woven our voice into the fabric of our being. We also learn that you have to give up some control to sing at your best.”
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
ANDREW MARTIN ATOM PROBE TECHNOLOGY IS ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
can the globe and you won’t find many people who possess the expertise to conduct research using Atom Probe Tomography. Yet it’s all in a day’s work for Heritage alumnus, Andrew Martin (2004).
already strong work ethic when he joined teacher Dave Watt on summer trips to Illinois. Students did the difficult and unglamorous work of removing the tassels from corn stalks. Watt used the student work trips as spiritual mentoring opportunities.
As the lead researcher at IBM, he uses the technology to study semiconductor electronic devices on the scale of a nanometer. His research contributions further the company’s development of computer chip technology. In layman’s terms, he’s one incredibly smart guy.
After graduating from Heritage, Martin continued his academic pursuits, earning a BS in materials engineering from Purdue University in 2009. But he didn’t stop there. He next attended the University of Michigan, earning both an MS in electrical engineering and a PhD in materials engineering. As a graduate student research assistant at U of M, he learned to use the atom probe to research clean energy solutions. Along the way, he spent time as a materials research co-op at DePuy Orthopaedics, where he helped engineers develop joint replacement technology.
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Clearly, Martin loves a challenge. As an eighth-grade student at Heritage, Martin tested out of middle school math and studied alongside high school juniors and seniors. “I was allowed to be stretched and pushed,” he says. By his own junior year of high school, he had taken every math class the school offered. Martin’s entire family was involved at Heritage. His mother, Elise, taught in the elementary school for several years. His father, Jim, taught physical education and health classes, coached the boys’ varsity basketball team and served as the school’s athletic director for twenty years. He and his siblings, Allison (2000), David (2007) and Meredith (2009), all grew up at and graduated from Heritage. Martin says that looking back, he can see the great value of learning in a Christian school environment. “I grew up with a strong knowledge of spiritual things,” he says. “I saw faith lived out in faculty and coaches.” “At Heritage, Andy connected well with students, engaged the faculty, was a diligent student and competitive athlete,” remembers then-principal, Al Leinbach. He says that Martin further developed his 64 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
All of that academic experience helped to prepare Martin for his current work at IBM, and his additional role as an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University. “I enjoy working with students,” he says. “It’s fun to invest in them, to pass on knowledge and guide them.” Martin married his wife, Melissa, in 2012. They’re avid hiking and outdoor sport enthusiasts, and love their home outside of New York City for its proximity to the big city and the great outdoors. Leinbach concludes, “Andrew’s main goal while at Heritage was, and continues to be, a pursuit of growing and changing in Christ, by being committed to using his God-given skill set to honor God and impact the world around him.”
DIANE RENNICK HER CLASSROOM IS A WINDOW TO THE WORLD
ale green and yellow batik curtains from Tanzania adorn the window. A huge swath of colorful fabric from Ghana decorates a bulletin board. Artwork from Germany hangs on one of the walls. Chinese lanterns cascade from the ceiling.
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By design, high school teacher Diane Rennick’s classroom is a window to the world. It’s a perfect learning environment for a growing number of international students who have chosen to study in the United States at Heritage Christian School. The international study program is offered through the school’s Educational Support Services (ESS). Last year, eight students from China, South Korea, Guatemala and Australia learned alongside their fellow classmates. Each international student temporarily leaves his or her homeland and family for this yearlong overseas educational experience. Understandably, these students face unique challenges as they adjust to a new culture, learn a different language, and live with their host family. Rennick is a perfect fit in her role of educator and director of Heritage’s international program. For seven years, she and her family served as missionaries in Kenya at the Kima International School of Theology. She experienced life as an expatriate and taught English to students from Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and the Ivory Coast. She understands what it’s like to function in a foreign culture, where even basic communication can be a challenge. So as she works with Heritage international students, there’s an almost instant bond of shared experience. The kids know and sense that Rennick “gets it.” She spends daily, one-on-one time with each of them, proofreading
their papers, and working on vocabulary and other projects. It’s a very important part of these students’ day, since they’re completely immersed in the high school’s rigorous curriculum. What’s more, Rennick’s students know that her classroom is a haven. She has intentionally set it up for them to unwind and spend time together during lunch and free periods. Students hang out with friends on the couch and chairs, eat lunch together at a glass-top kitchen table, and even play at a foosball table that Rennick brought in from home. With all of her students, Rennick shares two important truths. “I hope that they’ll take away what it means to reflect the love of Christ,” she says. “I also want them to understand that they’ll only be able to do so through Christ.” A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 65
JOE REED A WITNESS TO GOD’S POWER eritage alumnus Joe Reed (2000) felt God drawing his heart toward a life of full-time ministry when he was just a junior in high school. He says that he’ll never forget the day that he responded to the call and set his course for a life dedicated to growing God’s kingdom.
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With a degree in local church ministry from Huntington University, Reed and his wife, Natalie, embarked on a five-year mission assignment in South Africa with their sending organization, CRM. They worked at a ministry center in Pretoria, training African leaders to share the Gospel in their communities. The Reeds worked and watched, amazed at what God was doing in their midst. “At the end of the day,” shares Reed, “it’s all about the power of God at work. I’ve seen Him work most when I’ve taken my hands off.” One day, Reed sat in a Pretoria coffee shop, quietly sipping java and reading his Bible. He struck up a friendly conversation with the coffee shop owner and eventually invited him to study the scriptures with him. The man accepted the offer, but he didn’t stop there. Reed later learned that the man had started holding a daily morning Bible study for his staff of thirty. Out of this group, five of the women began Bible studies in their own communities.
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The Reeds marveled at the ways God was reaching and changing lives in Africa, right before their very eyes. But, says Reed, “We had an ache in our hearts for America. We began to ask ourselves, ‘How do we tip the scales where we’re from?’” A ministry partner told them about her native New England, where only an estimated two percent of the population professes knowledge of Christ. Soon thereafter, the Reeds moved to their current home in the Boston area, with CRM. “One focus of our ministry is to walk alongside pre-believers,” explains Reed. With an urban center as their ministry hub, they build relationships with those they come into contact with, doing life with and loving them well. They also work with believers, exhorting them to share their faith within their personal networks. “We want to win people over to a larger vision; to launch people back into their field of influence,” says Reed. The work, at times, has its challenges. But through it, says Reed, he has learned that “when God is in it; when we jump in and join Him, He does the miraculous. God wants to blow our minds with what He can do.” Amen.
JIM BENEDICT
POINTS STUDENTS TO CHRIST, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM
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t’s first period at Heritage Christian School and the seventh-grade history class is in for a surprise.
At precisely 8:12 a.m., King Darius steps from the pages of the Old Testament and strides into classroom M5, garbed in royal robes and carrying papyrus scrolls. The Persian ruler delivers an impassioned, first-person recount of his historical role from the book of Daniel. Look closely at the dignitary and you might recognize teacher Jim Benedict behind the gray beard and purple turban. As the school bell signals the end of class, students applaud the teacher whose creative approach brings history to life. Benedict teaches with the conviction that history and the Bible are inextricably linked. “I believe that the Bible supports itself in so many ways,” he explains. In cut-out letters, Acts 17:26-27 encircles his classroom and reinforces his biblically infused approach to his subject: “From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.”
As he teaches accelerated math to sixth graders, Benedict leads his students to discover the divine order of mathematical patterns. “I point kids toward the big, general principles of math,” he says. “It’s easier, then, for them to see patterns and how they apply to specific equations.” He also brings his love for running to the middle school’s cross-country team, as he coaches the program that he pioneered twenty-eight years ago. It’s another venue for spiritual conversations with students. “Cross country is a perfect analogy for the Christian walk,” he explains. Teaching the kids pacing technique, running form, and endurance provides natural parallels to the disciplines of living for Christ,” he says. The team’s weekly devotionals often become valuable, two-way conversations. “We leave it open to the kids to share what they’re learning from God,” he says. “My role is one of a facilitator. When the Spirit controls it, it’s amazing.” In the classroom or on the course, Benedict’s goals for his students are clear. He concludes, “I want them to love Jesus, to see how God’s truth fits into their learning, and to be drawn into God’s Word as an integral part of their relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 67
BILL BURDINE FIFTH GRADE CHOSE HIM ifth grade chose me,” says Heritage teacher Bill Burdine. Since his first teaching assignment at Heritage Christian School nearly twenty years ago, Burdine has taught fifth grade exclusively. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
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“I love this age group,” he says. “They’re eager to learn and they really care about each other.” He has covered every subject; from language arts and history to his current (and favorite) subjects of Bible and science. For the past eight summers, Burdine also has shared his love for American history with groups of Heritage fifth graders and their families, on historical tours of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Monticello. Every year, Burdine says, God gives him a fresh take on the curriculum that he knows so well. Last year, for example, he integrated the school’s spiritual theme, “Thrive,” into his science classes. “Just like God’s other creation,” he explains, “we thrive if we’re in the right
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habitat. As Christians, if we’re where God wants us to be, we’ll thrive. Where we’re thriving is where we’ll know God’s will.” Burdine’s first love is bringing the book of Acts to life for his students. “God was preparing me years ago with a love for His Word, and especially for the book of Acts,” he says. His own childhood project on the life of Paul is one of his favorite teaching tools. He treasures his role as both a teacher and a preacher in his classroom and he shares Christ through any and every subject. “In front of the kids is where I’m real,” Burdine shares. “I love to watch them learn. To see their attitudes, even their facial expressions change, when things finally ‘click’ for them.”
“As Christians, if we’re where God wants us to be, we’ll thrive. Where we’re thriving is where we’ll know God’s will.”
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
KELLY TAYLOR CREATES BEAUTY IN SONG inger-songwriter Kelly Taylor’s wisdom surpasses her twenty years. “Music is so much bigger than me,” she says. “It can reach and relate to so many people and I have the privilege of creating something beautiful so that people can get a taste of His beauty.”
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The Heritage alumna (2013) and Belmont University student officially teamed up in 2015 with fellow singer/ songwriter, Emma Harvey, to form an indie-pop duo, Sawyer. Their most recent work includes two singles; one is their own rendition of a current pop tune and the other an original song, “Letting Go.” In 2014, they collaborated on the production of a five-song EP and video series, Nightfall. It was Taylor’s second album since Skin and Bones, which she released while she was eighteen and a senior at Heritage. Taylor remembers Heritage teachers who invested not only in her musical talent, but who also challenged her to think deeply about life and faith. “My learning was not limited to just the subjects I took. I learned so much from my teachers about life outside of math and history and science,” she says. “My experience there shaped me and my world view. Heritage was the perfect place for me to be. I’m one hundred percent where I am because of the people there.” That depth surfaces in her songwriting and in her purpose for making music. “I want to write songs that are eternal, so that someone can hear truth and honesty,
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and find hope in it,” she explains. “ I want to make music that’s real and genuine, and through that, points to the Lord.” Heritage faculty and students supported Taylor’s musical talent early on. She played guitar in the middle school and high school praise bands, but it’s an informal seventh-grade lunchtime performance on the Cafetorium stage that sparked her desire to perform. At her teacher’s invitation, Taylor sang and played the first song she’d ever written for her classmates. She was hooked. As her repertoire and talent grew, so did the school’s support. After a morning radio interview on the day her single, “Classics,” first played in the radio, Taylor returned to school to hear her music playing over the intercom, filling the hallways. Heritage students, faculty, and staff helped to pack the house at her Skin and Bones debut release party. She returned to Heritage later in 2013, opening for the band Tenth Avenue North, at their Christ to Others (C2O) performance. So, what’s next? Completing her songwriting major/ religion minor at Belmont. She plans to stay in Nashville to pursue her dream of making music as a living. Until then, she writes and collaborates with her band every day. “Music is all I want to do and sharing it makes my heart the fullest,” she concludes. “Music is what makes the Lord most evident to me, and I know it’s what He is calling me to right now.”
“I want to write songs that are eternal, so that someone can hear truth and honesty, and find hope in it.�
Kelly Taylor (left) and Emma Harvey (right) comprise the indie-pop band, Sawyer.
LISA FOSTER ENCOURAGES STUDENTS TO THINK DEEPLY AND CRITICALLY ABOUT SCIENCE
ever mind that she’s an experienced chemical engineer and holds pharmaceutical patents that helped Eli Lilly launch new diabetes care products. For Heritage science and engineering teacher, Lisa Foster, there’s no place she’d rather be today than her high school classroom.
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One of her primary responsibilities, she says, is to get kids thinking deeply and critically about her subjects. “I don’t know how you can separate God from science,” she explains. So she presents scientific evidence and then asks her students probing questions to encourage them to think about the material from a biblical worldview. “I want them to have the facts and to see that perfect order doesn’t just happen.” Foster’s conviction and approach partially stem from her own journey to her faith in Christ. As an engineering honors student at a public university, she began to doubt some of the information presented in her science textbooks. It just didn’t add up. At her roommate’s invitation, Foster began to attend church. As she learned about God the Creator, she found the answers to her questions and accepted Christ into her life. After a successful ten-year chemical engineering career and time at home with her young children, Foster returned to college and earned her teaching certificate. She taught in several public schools before
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God opened the door to teach at Heritage. Foster pioneered the school’s wildly popular engineering program and began teaching chemistry and physics full-time. With a grant from the Indianapolis mayor’s office, she also helped to launch the school’s robotics club. “Here,” she says, “I have a chance to make a difference.” Before the school year begins, Foster prays for each one of her students by name. She frequently attends students’ fine arts and athletic events, to support and build relationships with them. One of Foster’s classroom bulletin boards is a collage of student “selfies.” She affectionately calls them “family pictures.” Foster works hard to make scientific learning interesting and fun. But more than anything, she hopes that her students understand that God can do amazing things in their lives. “I want them to know,” she concludes, “that God can do things that you never thought possible.”
“I want them to have the facts and to see that perfect order doesn’t just happen.”
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
DAVID AND RYAN LEDBETTER STAY GROUNDED IN THEIR FAITH IN THE WORLD OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL
he story of alumni David and Ryan Ledbetter (2010) is the stuff Heritage Christian School athletic legends are made of. “They were absolutely our core,” says Dan Ambrose, their Heritage baseball coach.
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The Ledbetter twins transferred to Heritage as high school juniors. A summer mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 2008, along with Ambrose, precipitated their transfer from Hamilton Southeastern schools. “That (trip) drove the move from Hamilton Southeastern to Heritage,” said the twins’ father, Ron Ledbetter. “It was a faith-based decision.” The twins quickly developed close friendships with fellow students and baseball outfielders, Chris Ward and Cam McWilliams. They made quite a foursome. Under Ambrose’s coaching, the Heritage team won the state IHSAA baseball championship in both 2009 and 2010. After graduating from Heritage, the Ledbetters went to Cedarville University (also Ambrose’s alma mater), where they pitched for the Yellow Jackets. Both brothers married fellow Heritage grads. David wed his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth Douglass (HCS 2010), on Dec. 28, 2012. “I met her in the first couple of days (at Heritage) and we started dating a month later,” David said. Douglass’ best friend, Maddie Anderson (HCS 2011), married Ryan on Dec. 28, 2013. Each was best man in his brother’s wedding. Both Ledbetters were drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2013. “We really felt like it was God’s blessing to have that happen,” said their dad, Ron Ledbetter. “They draw 74 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
strength from each other, and we knew going in that they probably wouldn’t have the same assignments, but just to have them both drafted was overwhelming for us.” They’re both part of the Rangers’ minor league system. David joined the Spokane Indians, the Rangers’ Class A short season affiliate. Ryan joined the AZL Rangers, their rookie team in the Arizona League. Even in the spotlight, the brothers have remained grounded in their faith. “There’s so much more to look forward to than just success in your life,” David said. “If you could pick eternity on a little piece of string, right now is a small weave of that string. And we’re so worried and so conscious about that one little part, when we’re missing the whole picture.”
SHELLIE THOMAS HER SECRET INGREDIENT: JOY or Shellie Thomas, teaching is nearly equal parts pedagogy and personal connection. “Working with kids isn’t a program,” she explains. “It’s a joyful relationship. It’s relational first; then it’s about the content.”
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For the seven hours her sixth grade students spend in her room each day, Thomas works hard to make learning fun. “God has given me so much joy,” she says. “I try to bring that into class every minute, because if I have joy, the kids will join in and forget how hard they’re working. I believe in having a tremendous amount of fun in my classroom.” Thomas spends one-on-one time with students, to see how each one learns best, then looks for creative ways to help meet their educational needs. “Every day, I ask God to show me specifically what to do with a certain child,” she says. “Then I sit back and let Him show me.” The answer sometimes lies in creatively using technology to facilitate learning. This year, she’s experimenting with recording key lessons and then posting them on the Moodle intranet so that students can re-listen to the content for additional study. Other times, connection happens during the class’ daily devotional time. Often, she says, it’s an outgrowth of recognizing and affirming her students’ God-given gifts. “We all want to feel needed,” she explains. “Kids have gifts and talents that need to be used.”
her students: “We can learn about Jesus at school,” says one. “To know that Jesus is coming back,” reads another. Another says “Christ brings healing.” If Thomas had a “Blessing Board” of her very own, what would it contain? “The Lord’s unfailing love,” she says. “His promises kept and the privilege to love and guide His children.”
“... if I have joy, the kids will join in and forget how hard they’re working.”
At the back of Thomas’ classroom, she has created what she calls the “Blessing Board.” It’s a white board, covered with hand-scribbled messages of gratitude, written by
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JULIE COOPER CREATES A SPACE WHERE ART AND FAITH INTERSECT
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rt, like life, is as much about the process as it is about the final product, says Heritage high school teacher, Julie Cooper.
Students learn from Cooper the fundamentals of artistic expression in its many forms; painting, sculpture, drawing, graphic design, and more. They
study art history and appreciation. They create amazing, beautiful work. And yet, says Cooper, it’s in the hands-on practice and artistic experimentation that students learn invaluable lessons about the creative process. During the year, one of her classes, made up of freshmen through seniors, covers a unit on clay sculpting. As the students file into the art studio, they retrieve their individual works; clay figures already in progress. The assignment is to create a bust of a character of their choosing. The likenesses of Cleopatra and a Tolkien-like creature are easily recognizable. After a few opening words, Cooper sets the tone with some soft background music. The room is mostly quiet, as each student focuses on the pliable clay that will become an expression of their imagination. Over a period of several weeks, students patiently mold and shape the organic material with their hands and create intricate details with delicate tools. Cooper has prepared her students well for both the joy of working with the moldable medium and for the challenges it presents. Clay, she explains, is susceptible to collapsing when it becomes too wet, or becoming brittle and breakable if it’s too dry. When the finished sculptures are fired in the kiln that resides right within the studio, some of them will emerge solid and intact. But something as simple as an unseen air bubble may cause others to crack or break from
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the intense heat. Clay, the class knows, can break your heart. This unpredictability provides lessons applicable to art, life, and faith. How does a Christian respond to disappointment? How does God use and value the process of growth? In Cooper’s classroom, art and faith intersect. Sometimes it’s an obvious correlation, like a study about creation and our creative God, who designed the universe; or an exploration of the symbolism and magnificence of the Old Testament tabernacle. Other times, it’s in a conversation about a Christian’s role in the arts, or the worldview of a contemporary artist. Stenciled on the wall of Cooper’s classroom are words of theologian R.C. Sproul. They reflect her own approach to the art that has been her lifelong passion and an integral part of who God created her to be: “If art is good art, if it is true art, if it is beautiful art, then it is bearing witness to the Author of the good, the true, and the beautiful.”
“It’s in the hands-on practice and artistic experimentation that students learn invaluable lessons about the creative process.”
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ROB COSTLOW WRITES FROM THE HEART AND INSPIRES FROM THE KEYBOARD
y the time he was twelve years old, Heritage alumnus Rob Costlow (1991) was trying his piano instructor’s patience, by adding his own endings to songs during lessons and recitals. “I literally despised taking lessons, and especially practicing other people’s music. It just wasn’t for me. I had so many notes running through my head, I wanted to create my own music,” he admits.
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One of Costlow’s five brothers introduced him to contemporary piano music. “It was so different than the music I studied in lessons,” he says. “It helped give me the courage to try my own hand at composition. I said to myself ‘I can do this!’ It was an immediate outlet to express myself and also to provide a sense of calm when times were stressful.” Costlow transitioned from public school to Heritage as a fifth grader. The summer before fifth grade, he worked with then-Heritage high school math teacher, Anne Tonkinson, as his tutor. “She was amazing, and I felt comfortable and at home when starting fifth grade,” he says. “Everyone was so incredibly nice, welcoming and supportive of me being a new classmate. This feeling lasted throughout my time at Heritage.” Heritage faculty played a big role in Costlow’s life, especially during the painful experience of losing his mother to cancer when he was in sixth grade. Lois Deyo was his teacher that year. “I’ll never forget this wonderful human being. After losing my mother in the fall of 1984, she helped me get through the most difficult year of my life,” he shares. “She had incredible patience, teaching ability, and a true passion and care 78 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
for children.” He also cites Dan Stroup, Dorothy Easterly, Dave Watt, and John Lofton for having had an impact on him. “Overall, Heritage provided a solid, ‘cut above’ education and foundation of faith to live and grow by,” he says. Costlow initially began his college career as a piano performance and composition major at Ball State University. He transferred to Indiana University (IU) during his junior year and earned both a Bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a Master’s degree in sports marketing and management. During that time, he further developed his interest in music and discovered a passion for the emerging commercial presence of the internet. He jumped on the dot-com boom in southern California and worked there in customer relations, digital marketing, and business development for sportsbased ventures. “Southern California is also where I made my ‘dreams’ in music a reality. I pounded the pavement, networked, and finally understood the business,” he says. In 2002, Costlow released his first professional solo project, Sophomore Jinx, containing all original music. Woods of Chaos came out in 2005, and he released Reconstruction in 2008. He collaborated with British artist, allMeadow, on four albums: Switch On, Reunion, Rolling Thunder and Traveling Man. Costlow started his own independent record label, Tourist Records, in 2004, and continues to manage the company today. He creates and licenses music and hopes to inspire other artists to make their own impact in the world. “I wanted to keep it sincere and real,” he says. “The true ‘mission’ behind the music is about inspiring
others to follow their passion. It’s not about touring, putting out as much music as I can, social media posts, or the number of sales. It’s simply about utilizing what God has given us. If I’ve impacted one person’s life in a positive and uplifting manner, it’s all worth it.” It has sometimes been a difficult journey, garnering steady support as an independent artist in the music industry. “I thank God for the path He put me on and bringing my music to fans in over fifty countries,” he says. Today, Costlow also manages digital marketing and communications for a business run by a fellow Christian and his former publicist in the early 1990s. He sees this detail, like many others in his life, as providential. “Life is certainly interesting,” he says. “Everything happens by the hand of God.” He and his wife, Melissa, enjoy life with their two daughters, at their home in Geneva, Illinois. “We love God, music, reading, movie-going, traveling, being creative, and [enjoying] good laughs,” he says. As for his music, “I’ll keep at it as long as I’m here on earth,” he says. He plans to record another solo piano album in 2016. Costlow has come a long way since his childhood lessons, but his love for creating original compositions is still at the heart of his contemporary piano music. “Music is what inspires me,” he says. “It is in my soul. I never force myself to write. I do it when it comes to me. I take things a day at a time.”
“The true ‘mission’ behind the music is about inspiring others to follow their passion.” A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 79
JENNI KOLENDA PUTS JESUS INTO ALL OF IT eritage fifth-grade teacher Jenni Kolenda is the real deal. Engage her in just about any subject of conversation, and her faith surfaces authentically and enthusiastically. “I like to see God in everything,” she says.
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It’s no surprise, then, that her perspective spills over into her classroom. “I love putting Jesus into all of it,” she shares. This year, she’s teaching her two favorite subjects; history and Bible. Her goal is to make the content relevant and applicable. She believes that fifth and sixth graders can grasp how faith intersects with real life. In history class, for example, “I want them to see that we all need to learn from the past,” she says. “We can learn from our mistakes.” She infuses history with current events by asking each fifth-grader to find a news article that peaks their interest. Students independently analyze the content and articulate how they see God in it. When they present their projects to the class, Kolenda seizes the opportunity for a two-way conversation. “It’s important that the kids know about the world around them and understand how to deal with it biblically,” she explains. “I want them to see that we don’t have to be afraid of change, because sometimes that’s how God works.” Kolenda also leads SPARKS (Students Performing Acts of Random Kindness), an intermediate school club that meets after school. She challenges the kids to find creative ways to 80 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
encourage faculty, staff, and fellow students. They’ve brought sweet treats to the school’s kitchen staff and teachers’ aides, taken out the trash for teachers, and left encouraging notes on students’ lockers. Five years into her ministry at Heritage, Kolenda says she thrives on it. “I love teaching here,” she concludes. “This is where I get my soul fed.”
“I want them to see that we don’t have to be afraid of change, because sometimes that’s how God works.”
YOOJIN CHO-KIM COMBINES MUSIC AND MINISTRY By Katherine Yeager (HCS 2015) orn and raised in South Korea, Heritage alumna Yoojin (Joy) Cho-Kim was blessed with a family where both parents, though not professional musicians, developed in her a love for music. By age four, she was enrolled in piano lessons. By age six, she began to play the violin. By the time she turned twelve, Joy had concentrated exclusively on the violin, composing songs and singing on the side.
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Music began as a form of ministry in Joy’s life. Her father was the pastor of a small church in Seoul. When they prepared to leave for South America for full-time mission work, Joy’s parents wanted her to learn an instrument, to serve the people there. The Lord began to take Joy on an incredible journey. When she was seven, Joy’s father was diagnosed with stomach cancer and passed away. Joy states, “God truly became my most wonderful, loving father.” Her mother continued to raise her, practicing sacrificial love, bathing her in prayer, and supporting Joy’s musical studies. As a junior in high school, Joy traveled to the U.S. on her own, spending a year in public school. For her senior year, Joy found that as an international student, she could no longer attend public school. She and her host mother began to pray. Soon, God led them to Heritage. Joy recalls, “I remember my first interview with Mr. Leinbach, who was the principal then, and shared my testimony and sang a song for him called ‘I Offer My Life.’” Leinbach fondly remembers this meeting, as it was the first and last time anyone sang for him during an interview. He states, “She’s a winsome, engaging person.” Like her name, those at Heritage remember Joy for her joy, as well as for her musical talent.
Joy’s senior year at Heritage molded her not only as a musician, but also as a person. She says that her teachers and friends blessed her through their “loving, caring, and Christ-like…community.” She was even given the opportunity to play the violin at graduation. She received first place in the Prelude Awards, instrumental category, and was selected to play first violin in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s “Sideby-Side” concert. She also played alongside the Suzuki and Friends Chamber Concert at the University of Indianapolis. Heritage orchestra teacher, Laura Payne, was an immense source of love and support, attending Joy’s concerts, even as she went on to study at Indiana University. They are still friends today. Payne recalls, “Yoojin (Joy) is the most talented student I have had in thirty years of teaching, but it’s her amazing attitude of humility that stands out to anyone who meets her…Yoojin has always been intentional about making Jesus Christ the focus of her life and her music. She was incredibly supportive of all of the students in the Heritage orchestra and she always had a kind and encouraging word for everyone. She enriched my life on a number of occasions.” After graduating from Heritage in 2004, Joy received a full-ride scholarship and went on to study violin at Indiana University. As a junior, she met her husband, Jae, at a campus ministry. The two were married upon graduation. Jae and Joy moved to New York, as Joy studied at Juilliard School for her master’s degree in violin performance. Then the Lord took them to Maryland, where Joy studied at the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University, for a Graduate Performer’s Diploma. Joy has released two albums, Can I Sing for You? and The Father’s Heart.
Today, the Lord has called them to full-time overseas work. Currently, Jae and Joy live in Jordan, where little to no music education exists for children. Knowing the great impact music education can have on a child’s life, the couple has formed a partnership with an international school in Zarqa, where they are starting a music education program. Joy states, “We hope to develop a youth orchestra in the future that can bring the people together and impact the community, by providing high-quality music education, rooted in God’s love.” The Lord is creating a beautiful symphony through the lives of Jae and Joy, working on an international scale. Joy has been an immense blessing to Heritage and to the children she currently serves. Joy states, “I consider the year I spent at Heritage Christian School one of the best years of my life. I made wonderful friends and teachers, and I appreciate so much the warm, loving environment God provided there.” As Jae and Joy continue their ministry, they ask for prayer, that they would always live in harmony with God’s will and that He may work in powerful ways, through their willingness and desire to serve Him. A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 81
LONDON SWAN FOLLOWS HER DREAMS IN TV NEWS BROADCASTING n a cold South Dakota evening, with the city lights twinkling below, a turbine-powered helicopter made its routine Twilight Flight over Sioux Falls. On board was an adventurous reporter, capturing the panoramic scene on video, through the open door of the aircraft. It was all in a day’s work for Heritage alumna and KDLT reporter, London Swan (2010).
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She earned her coveted role right out of college, in a prime media market and an industry that’s known for its fierce competition. “Landing that first TV job is a huge deal, because this business is so competitive. There’s a long line of talented reporters trying to get hired,” explains her father and biggest fan, WTHR anchor, Scott Swan. “Young journalists like London are required to do so much. Find a story, shoot your own video and interviews, write the script, edit your story, present it on TV, then create a web version, tweet about it, and post it on Facebook,” he says. Her professional role is one she has prepared for most of her life. With her father in the news industry, she grew up feeling comfortable in a broadcast studio. Swan’s heart and her natural story-telling ability led her to study journalism at Indiana University. As a student, she volunteered her time to report and anchor the news for IUSTV and to blog for weareIU. com and the IU High School Journalism Institute. She interned at WTHR in Indianapolis, WTIU in Bloomington, and the Disney College Program in Orlando. She even squeezed in time to study abroad, in Florence, Italy. All the while, she built a portfolio and demo reel worthy of attention. By the time Swan graduated with a BA in journalism 82 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
“For me, journalism is about helping people in whatever I’m doing. I love to put a smile on someone’s face or to make their day.”
from IU in 2014, she had garnered numerous awards for her reporting skills. Her work was recognized three times over by the distinguished Society of Professional Journalists. Even as a high school student at Heritage, her teachers recognized her abilities and gave her opportunities to use them. Fellow students knew her as the familiar voice that delivered school announcements over the p.a. system. “Her talent and skill were obvious, even at that age,” remembers teacher, Dan Stroup. “It was remarkable, even as a fourteen-year-old, to hear her smooth and professional delivery.” Says teacher, Dan Ambrose: “London’s soft heart, kind spirit, and room-brightening smile made my job easy! As a student, she was engaging and a great leader; never afraid to share her opinion in a respectful, strong way. She was the type of student that was ‘all in’ with whatever we were doing in class that day.”
Swan says that her experience at Heritage helped to set her on solid spiritual ground and prepare her for life beyond high school. Her teachers played a big role. “I’ve never forgotten Mr. Watt’s words about how important church would be for us in college. He encouraged us to get up on that very first Sunday of our freshman year and make it a priority to go,” says Swan. She took his advice and made a weekly habit of trekking the half mile to a campus congregation. In a line of work where the news never sleeps, Swan says her faith connects her to the very stories about which she reports. Sometimes, it’s through off-camera conversations with people in tough circumstances. Her favorite assignments are human interest stories of families who are making a difference in their communities. “For me, journalism is about helping people in whatever I’m doing,” she concludes. “I love to put a smile on someone’s face or to make their day.”
DIANN BOONE REACHES SIXTH GRADERS’ HEARTS AND MINDS rom Christian schools to public, from Illinois to California to Indiana; Diann Boone’s professional and life experiences have made her into the gifted teacher that she is today. As the sixth-grade language arts teacher at Heritage, she’s in her element.
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“My desire is to reach the whole child, including their heart,” she says. “That brings me great joy.” This wholistic approach to instruction broadens the scope of her teaching beyond just the curriculum itself. As her students delve into reading Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place this year, Boone invites them to think deeply and critically about the tough issues it confronts. As they do, she listens closely to both their questions and their emotions. That’s important, she says, because sixth graders are developmentally ready to ask some pretty big life questions. She sees her role as being both a teacher and a shepherd for her students, as they transition from intermediate into middle school. Boone’s Heritage connection dates back about twenty years, when she helped to pioneer the school’s Explorers program for high achievers. Over the course of several years, she taught third and fourth grade, middle school math, language arts, reading remediation and Gifted and Talented (GT) classes. She also spent treasured years at home with her three daughters (Natalie is a 2014 alum; Lindsay is a Heritage senior; and Sally is a freshman here). Four years ago, Boone returned to teaching at Heritage. “I love investing my time doing something of eternal value here,” she concludes. “Investing in people and God’s Word…that’s what it’s all about.”
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
“My desire is to reach the whole child, including their heart. That brings me great joy.” A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 83
DOC RICHARDS COACHED ATHLETES TO GLORIFY GOD, PLAY HARD, AND HAVE FUN
tched in black script letters on the gleaming hardwood floor of Heritage Christian School’s gymnasium are the words “Glorify God, play hard, have fun.” It’s a saying familiar to the many students and families who knew Dr. Mark “Doc” Richards. He will be long remembered for the indelible impression he left on student athletes and the athletics program at Heritage Christian School.
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For eleven years, he coached the school’s girls’ varsity basketball and boys’ tennis teams. He led the tennis teams to two City Championships and in 2004, a Semi-State title. In 2001, he earned the Indianapolis City Coach of the Year award for his work with the girls’ basketball team. But he’s most remembered for the life lessons he instilled on and off the courts. He taught that a team makes a success, not an individual. Current girls’ basketball Coach Rick Risinger has said, “His drive to be successful in sports was exceptional, but more importantly, his approach to life had the bigger impact.”
Dr. Mark Richards (center) is well remembered for coaching his student athletes in their faith, as well as their sport. He’s pictured here with fellow coaches, Ron Young (left) and Rick Risinger (right).
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Ron Young assisted Richards with coaching both the boys’ tennis and girls’ basketball teams. “Doc encouraged his players to work hard and stay focused in what you do. He wanted to teach them a life lesson,” says
Young. “He was constantly challenging the kids to stay focused and to concentrate on the final goal, which was to glorify God.” After a battle with cancer, Richards went to be with the Lord in 2005. It’s in his memory that his inspirational words were painted on the gym floor, as a reminder to future athletes that sport is about more than just the game itself. Also, in his honor, two Heritage student athletes are named each year as recipients of the Doc Richards Athlete Award. Richards was passionate about athletic excellence and resolute about academic achievement. The annual award is presented to the male and female athlete with the highest grade point average.
“He was constantly challenging the kids to stay focused and to concentrate on the final goal, which was to glorify God.”
KIM CANDLER TEACHES THE WHOLE CHILD im Candler is the kind of elementary school teacher that everyone hopes to have, somewhere along the way. Not just because she possesses a loving, nurturing spirit (and she does). Nor just because she’s a talented, experienced educator (and she is). No, above and beyond these attributes, Candler embodies the best of what Christian education is all about. “I’m here to teach the whole child, spiritually and academically,” she says.
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Candler opens her Heritage second-grade class each day, seated in a blue wing-backed chair, with children gathered at her feet. On this Monday morning, she checks in with them, asking how their weekend went. Her students pipe up, responding with accounts of trips and fun activities. Candler pauses their conversation now and then to pray specifically for things that concern them. There’s a natural ebb-and-flow to the dialogue that surely comes from months of building relationships and creating a safe place for them to share. The conversation naturally leads into time devoted to the kids’ prayer requests, that range from healing from the sniffles to troubling news pulled right out of world headlines. On this day, she listens, unruffled, to a student’s request to pray for a celebrity who attempted suicide. She turns it into a teachable moment and reminds them that even when we think there’s no hope, Jesus is right there with us. She holds up her hand a close distance from her face. “He’s that close,” she reminds them. Candler gingerly opens the Child’s Story Bible, being careful not to harm its crackled spine or well-worn pages. The kids listen as she recounts the story of Esther, an Old Testament narrative abundant with redemptive themes and important
object lessons. She gently closes the book, ending with the Bible’s description of Haman, the wicked royal official who plotted to obliterate the Jewish race. Candler delivers an ageappropriate lesson about the universality of sin and mankind’s need for a Savior. In the course of just a few minutes, she has seamlessly made the plan of salvation clear and pointed to Jesus as the only solution to all of life’s problems. These are tender moments and precious opportunities. “The Word of God is alive,” she shares. “I know that God is at work and that the Holy Spirit is driving the truth home in their hearts.” Candler’s prayer for each and every one of her students is the same. She concludes, “I want them to love Jesus first and Jesus best, for all of their lives.”
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MARGARITA THIENES TRANSLATES LOVE INTO LANGUAGE f you’re going to do something, do it one hundred percent. If you’re going to do something for the Lord, do it one hundred and ten percent.” Heritage Spanish teacher Margarita Thienes received this sage advice from her father, years before she ever considered a ministry career in Christian education. Surely, she has lived up to his counsel, and more. For nearly forty years, she has poured her heart and life into a profession to which she felt divinely called.
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It was not a path she initially intended. With a creative flair and artistic gifting, Thienes originally aspired to an architectural career. Little did she know that when God called her to teach children, He had drawn with broad, beautiful strokes, a design for her life that would surpass her imagination and leave an indelible impression on her students. Thienes first came to Heritage as a student teacher in 1974, and says she learned from the best, in thenelementary principal, Mary Jane English. “She strove for excellence in everything,” she recalls. Thienes taught first grade at a small Christian school for eleven years, then returned to Heritage when a teaching position opened up in the elementary school. Her father, a pastor in her native Puerto Rico, once told her, “Find out where God is blessing and go there to serve.” For Thienes, Heritage Christian School has been a place of personal blessing for more than twentyfive years. “This is God’s school,” she says. “I want my students to be thankful for this place. Most of all, I want them to know that Jesus died for them. I don’t want them to take it for granted.”
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“They need to know that God loves them; that He can use them; that what they do matters.”
Today, Thienes uses her experience and fluency to teach Spanish to Heritage students in kindergarten through fifth grade. She shares the gift of foreign language in an atmosphere that would make her mentor, English, proud. “I like the ‘wow factor’,” she says of her classroom. Today, Thienes greets her youngest students as they file into the door. “Buenos dias!” she
exclaims, then as the first graders take their seats on the floor, she engages them in Spanish dialogue that would impress anyone. She leads them in “Yo Tengo Un Amigo Que Me Ama” (I Have A Friend Who Loves Me), a song she learned from her Puerto Rican mother. Spanish words roll off of her tongue as she moves into the day’s lesson. Whether or not the kids
understand every word isn’t entirely the point. Thienes hopes that they’ll grasp something deeper in the time they spend together. “They need to know that God loves them; that He can use them; that what they do matters,” she explains. “I hope they’ll understand that when God gives them an ability, they can use it to further His kingdom.”
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NATHAN LITZ ONE OF OUR NATION’S ELITE o be an elite pilot and flight instructor for the United States Air Force (USAF) requires a level of discipline, skill, mental acuity, and focus that most of us can only imagine. It’s a selective profession with a high attrition rate, because of its intensity and rigorous demands.
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For seventeen years and counting, Heritage alumnus and full-time USAF reservist, Nathan Litz (1994), has served our country in these important roles. He has flown F-16s in numerous active duty deployments in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. But his first love is teaching other pilots the skills and precision he has mastered. He has trained both American and Allied pilots as they progress from basic training to close formation and flight leads. The discipline Litz’s work requires was cultivated during his high school experience at Heritage. He credits the school’s math and science programs as training ground for his further education and career. “The number one thing that I took away from Heritage was the level of academic discipline,” he explains. “It was the foundation for all of my math and science.” He credits then-principal Al Leinbach, former Heritage math teachers Ann Tonkinson and Erik Smith (who’s now the school’s guidance director) and current science teacher, Stephen Terry, for the impact they made on his life and interests. The personal attention he received from his instructors, says Litz, made Heritage a great environment to learn more than just academics. “I learned the moral and ethical attributes that are necessary in my work,” he explains. “I developed a strong work ethic and focus during my years at Heritage.” 88 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
CARTER BOOKER PREPARES STUDENTS FOR LIFE BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL
s believers, it is important that our minds be engaged in our walk with the Lord, just as much as our hearts,” says Carter Booker, Heritage Bible teacher and Bible department head.
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To that end, Booker challenges his students to think critically and deeply about what it means to follow Christ. His Bible classes examine prevalent worldviews that stand in stark opposition to the Gospel: naturalism, New Age, pragmatism, positivism, pluralism, and consumerism. The study is much more than an intellectual exercise. Rather, it’s one of preparedness. Some of his students will graduate in the spring and go on to further education and vocations. Their faith and theology likely will be put to the test. “They need to know that the message of the Gospel is just as important as any other belief out there,” explains Booker, “and that they can offer something better and more truthful. Even as young adults, God will use them in those circumstances.” It’s the last class period on a Monday afternoon and Booker’s high school students cluster their desks in random order. He joins them, seated. Today’s lesson is an intro to Existentialist philosophy. Booker has chosen a creative entre to the subject; a Woody Allen
film that exemplifies this secular world view. Together, they dissect the story’s themes and characters, pulling out philosophical tenets. They wrestle with theological incongruities. Booker leads the conversation, asks big questions, and ties it all back to the truth of the Gospel.
and gratitude for the training that became valuable and relevant once they entered life beyond high school. Mission accomplished, says Booker.
Throughout the course, he also introduces students to the writings of C.S. Lewis, R.C. Sproul, and William Lane Craig, whose works expound a solid Christian worldview. The authors are role models, of sorts, because they communicate what it means to follow Christ in an antagonistic culture. Booker hopes that his students will finish the year equipped to do the same. “The goal is to help them develop skills so that they can articulate the Gospel in ways that are meaningful and compelling,” Booker says. Booker teaches with a personal passion for learning and the conviction that his students, too, can learn the most challenging content, for one interesting reason. “God is the source of knowledge,” he concludes. “The fact that He exists makes learning possible.” His classes are known for their rigor and level of difficulty. A passing grade on the well-known “Booker Bible tests” is a coveted accomplishment. Even so, alumni often express fondness for their instructor
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GREY TOMLIN FROM A PLACE OF STRENGTH
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eet Heritage sophomore, Grey Tomlin. He’s an honor roll student, a Tae Kwon Do black belt, and a stage actor at both school and the Christian Youth Theater. An all-around pretty amazing young man by any
What makes Tomlin even more exceptional is the hard work and self-discipline that have brought him to a place of strength and success. He hasn’t done it alone. The Heritage Educational Support Services (ESS) team and his family have been his teachers, mentors, and biggest cheerleaders each step of the way. Tomlin entered Heritage in kindergarten with identified learning differences. His mom, Lesle Lane, says that the school welcomed him as the bright student that he was. He just happened to learn differently. “From the very beginning,” says Lane, “they stood by me and believed in Grey.” As he moved into the fourth grade, Tomlin’s teacher suggested that the family look into ESS’ Hidden Treasures program. It was a great fit. The school developed an individualized plan for him that included twice weekly, one-on-one educational therapy sessions with then-ESS teacher, Cheryl Cosgrove.
Cosgrove. “I knew that he had potential. I knew that he was a strong, good thinker.” Every evening, after her son had finished his traditional homework, Lane worked with him on the daily, challenging exercises that Cosgrove assigned, knowing that they could make all the difference. It wasn’t easy. “Lesle determined for Grey to receive the help he needed,” shares ESS Director, Julie Hight. “Grey responded with a willingness to work hard and take responsibility for his learning challenges.” Heritage elementary school principal, Brenda Klingerman, adds, “When I think of those two, I think of the ultimate mother/son team! Lesle has always been a perfect advocate for her son and Grey the ultimate hard worker and overcomer. God has blessed this mother/son duo as they have worked together for Grey’s education.” Cosgrove adds, “To be successful in this program, you have to have a support system. Students are successful when they have someone who will walk through this with them. You need an advocate like Lesle, who was realistic. It requires someone who’s highly involved, and she was. It speaks to her own fortitude.”
Like other ESS teachers, Cosgrove is accredited through the respected National Institute for Learning Development (NILD). She worked with Tomlin on everything from handwriting and math to reading comprehension. She tapped into his learning style and found creative, proven ways to channel his strengths. She saw his potential and went above and beyond, says Lane, even hosting Tomlin for tutoring sessions at her home during the summer to help him retain his skills.
The team’s hard work paid off. By the middle of seventh grade, Tomlin’s ESS teachers knew that he was ready to graduate from the program with flying colors. This milestone was cause for celebration. They brought balloons and cake to the high school library, for a party in his honor. Tomlin’s former and current classroom teachers, the entire ESS team, and his family gathered to commemorate the occasion. “The tears were flowing all around that day,” Lane remembers.
“Grey had inner strength; a fortitude that you have to have to be successful and get through this program, because it’s not easy,” says
By the time he transitioned to high school last year, Tomlin had an arsenal of study and organizational skills to prepare him for its
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rigor. “Grey has embraced high school and his responsibilities with his studies,” says Lane. “He has taken full responsibility for his education.” Hight agrees enthusiastically. “Grey Tomlin is an independent, successful learner!” she says. Tomlin’s former third-grade teacher, Marci Herbert, says, “I am thrilled to see how far Grey has come and I know it all stems from a determined, hard-working mind; a desire to please and succeed; and a strong will, infused with the peace and confidence that only comes from a true relationship with Jesus Christ. It is overwhelming to see how God uses Grey to touch all who have been blessed to come alongside him. Grey is a remarkable young man who will humbly give God all the glory without so much as saying a word … simply look in his eyes and you’ll see Jesus shine through his smile!” Looking back, Tomlin says that the years of hard work have paid off. To other students, he says of his experience with ESS, “It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to push you. But in the end, you’re going to turn out better for it.” Lane says the investments they have made in her son’s life and education have been worth it all. “Without Heritage and this program,” she says, “we certainly wouldn’t be sitting here with the success story we have.”
Heritage student, Grey Tomlin (pictured left), found support and encouragement through the school’s Educational Support Services (ESS). Julie Hight (right) is the department’s director. Photos courtesy of Studio Thirteen Photography A FAITHFUL JOURNEY 91
SHERMAN WILLIAMS INDIANA BASKETBALL HERO MAKES HERITAGE ATHLETICS HIS MINISTRY
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nly one athlete scored more points at Indiana State University (ISU) than the basketball legend, Larry Bird. You might know him.
Heritage Christian School’s own Sherman Williams, athletic facilities and equipment manager, played for the university from 1983-1986 and still holds the school’s record for consecutive starts and minutes played. Williams led Indiana State in scoring in each of his four seasons and averaged more than twenty points in his final three years in Terre Haute, topping out at 22.8 points per game during his junior season. He was selected as an All-American in 1983, 1985, and 1986, and was inducted into the ISU Hall of Fame in 2010. A two-time member of the All Missouri Valley Conference firstteam, Williams is one of three ISU Sycamores on the MVC AllCentennial team, joining Larry Bird and Carl Nicks. Williams also was honored by Washington High School in Indianapolis in 2013, when he was inducted into the high school’s basketball Hall of Fame. For the past thirteen years, Heritage has been blessed by Williams’ presence, as he tends to our athletic facilities and even helps to direct traffic to and from campus on busy 75th Street. He still loves the sport in which he holds so many achievements and he shares his experience through individual training with Heritage students who want some extra help on the court.
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“There are no adequate words that can truly describe Sherm,” says athletic director, Michelle York. “He has the biggest heart, embodies the fruits of the spirit, and truly glorifies God in anything he does. He has a heart and gift with kids. He can make any kid, no matter their ability level, feel like they are the best. He values the person over ability and teaches character and life lessons. If I know anything about Sherm, I know that he loves the Lord and desires to reflect Christ to all he comes in contact with. I am so blessed to get to work with him every day and to have him represent Heritage athletics.”
“He has the biggest heart, embodies the fruits of the spirit, and truly glorifies God in anything he does.”
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A TRADITION OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
HERITAGE ACADEMICS
FOUNDED ON EXCELLENCE eritage Christian School’s founders held two firm convictions about Christian education: that the academic quality of it should exceed traditional standards; and that it should be permeated with the principles and doctrines of the Bible. They believed that it should be excellent.
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So from the very outset, academic excellence drove everything from hiring decisions to curriculum. While the contemporary public educational system wrangled with the virtues of a phonetical approach to reading, Heritage taught young students to read using the time-proven method. Teachers used the Victory Drill Book to teach reading fundamentals, and Heritage kindergarteners drew the attention of the community and prospective parents when they read aloud portions of the Old Testament without a hitch. To this day, Heritage uses the Victory Drill Book as one part of its phonics-based program. As accreditation became an important seal of academic excellence, Heritage received the distinction from the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), when that organization was founded in 1978. The school also holds accreditation with the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (AdvancED). Educational research in the 1970s and 1980s pointed to differences in student learning styles. Heritage was on the cutting edge of addressing the needs of students with learning differences when it created the Educational Support Services (ESS) team in the late 1980s. Teachers received training through the nationally-recognized National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) and developed supplemental programs and one-on-one coaching for students with learning differences. 96 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
Today, the ESS department provides a broad range of services for hundreds of students each year. Curriculum has always been a central part of a Heritage education. The school’s academic director and teaching teams continually assess scope and sequence to ensure that it meets and exceeds Indiana state standards and adheres to biblical philosophy and principles. The school consistently receives high marks from the Department of Education. In 2015, the Institute for Quality Education in Indiana honored Heritage with the Quality Education Award. (continued on page 98)
From the earliest days of the school’s existence, dedicated faculty and staff have cultivated learning at every stage of students’ development. Pictured above are Heritage faculty and staff in the late sixties.
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In part, it’s this record of academic achievement that also attracts international students to Heritage. The school has welcomed students from Asia, South America, and beyond, since the early 2000s. These students stay with host families from the Heritage community and integrate into the school’s rigorous, mainstream academics. But they’re not alone. A dedicated Heritage instructor with personal international experience herself, provides tutoring and academic and social support to address these students’ unique needs.
Critical thinking skills are an essential part of a college-prep education. Heritage develops these skills both inside and outside of the classroom. The school’s multiple mock trial teams are a formidable force in the courtrooms of high school mock trial competition.
During second-semester “J term,” Heritage high school juniors and seniors engage in real-life learning, through week-long internships of their choosing. Students have interned at businesses and ministries around Indianapolis, and even across the globe. The program helps them in choosing career paths or vocations.
Heritage high school students have opportunities to extend their academic learning beyond the classroom. For a week in January, they gain valuable, real-world experience as they intern at businesses and ministries across the city and the globe. Starting in 1996, Heritage teams have participated in extracurricular Mock Trial competition. Faculty and Heritage parents, many of whom are in legal professions, volunteer their time and expertise to coach students in the process of litigation. The students develop valuable critical thinking and skill, as they prepare for and compete in the courtroom role-playing exercises. It’s a serious, intellectual realm of competition in an activity that has been dubbed an academic “sport.” Heritage has helped to build an academic foundation for alumni in all kinds of professions, from engineering to law to education and everything in between. Alumna Dottie (Smith) Self (1977) says that “Heritage was and is challenging, so that when I started to college, I knew how to study. I could write and think critically. I had the skills to succeed. I was well prepared to complete my Bachelor’s degree in nursing, and later return for my master’s degree as a nurse practitioner. My nursing career is now at nearly thirty-five years.” (continued on page 100)
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HERITAGE ROBOTICS MAKES 21ST CENTURY LEARNING FUN t the 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship opening ceremony, eight hundred and fifty teams from thirty-two countries marched in the parade of nations at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Among them were all five of Heritage Christian School’s teams.
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Qualifying for the world-class educational robotics competition was an amazing accomplishment for the Eagles teams, in only their rookie year. The eighth-grade team walked away from worlds with a second-place overall finish, a fourth-place standing in programming skills, and among the top ten finalists in driver skills. The Heritage fifth-grade team won the event’s Sportsmanship Award. It was a perfect ending to an award-studded inaugural season. By the time they reached world competition, the fifththrough twelfth-grade Heritage teams already had garnered many impressive regional and state awards. Indianapolis mayor, Greg Ballard, visited the Heritage campus to recognize the school’s entire robotics program and to present the eighth-grade team with a trophy for their Indianapolis City Championship win. For a generation of kids that has grown up designing and building intricate Lego® projects and navigating computer apps, the idea of creating robots seems like natural play. But it’s much more than that. It’s a kid-friendly context for learning advanced technology. It’s a means to an end; a cool hook on which to hang complex science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. Even young students are able to creatively explore the principles of robotics, programming, and mechanical
The Heritage robotics program is growing in numbers and popularity. In 2015, Indianapolis Mayor, Greg Ballard, visited campus to recognize the school’s robotics program and to present an award to the eighth-grade team.
engineering. Kids learn critical thinking and project management skills. They troubleshoot problems, contribute as individuals, and work as a team. Heritage believes so strongly in the science-based learning that it’s extending the extracurricular program to include elementary students, as well. Recent studies have shown that students who express an interest in STEM in eighth grade are much more likely to pursue a STEM career, than simply having high math and science test scores (Krishnamurthi, 2010). As Heritage works hard to prepare students for college and eventual careers, robotics is a cutting-edge approach to that end.
TECHNOLOGY
PART OF EVERYDAY LEARNING hen Heritage Christian School opened its doors in 1965, the IBM Selectric typewriter was the latest advance in office technology. The Digital Electric Corporation had just introduced the first “mini-computer” for commercial use. The concept of the personal computer (PC) wouldn’t even hit the consumer market until at least ten years later.
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In keeping with the times, Heritage initially instructed students in typing skills. When the PC came of age in the 80s, the school offered students training on Commodores and IBMs. In 2001, Heritage Christian School was one of several private schools to benefit from the Marion County Private School Initiative of Lilly Endowment Inc. A grant from the Endowment supported creation of a shared technology resource center at Heritage, to help students expand their knowledge of technology and broaden their academic opportunities. Today, technology is a normal part of everyday life. Even young kids know how to navigate video games, smart phones, and tablets. Savvy educators understand the valuable role that technology can play in the classroom. Heritage teachers and students at all grade levels use tech-based learning as an integral part of a well rounded education. Elementary and intermediate school teachers
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use iPads to make learning engaging and fun. Middle school teachers incorporate apps and websites into their instructional plans. Apple iPads are a required learning tool for Heritage high school students, for everything from homework to in-class projects. The school also offers digital photography instruction for grades seven through twelve and introductory, advanced, and independent study courses in audio/visual production. Students study these mediums in a classroom that’s equipped with state-of-the-art computers, cameras, and recording and editing capabilities.
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CLASS PORTRAITS
HERITAGE CLASS OF
1967
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The school’s very first commencement ceremony in 1967 was an event full of fanfare, in the newly constructed gymnasium. Stars and stripes decorated the room. Student choirs sang. Congressman Richard Roudebush offered a dedication message, and Heritage elementary principal, Mr. Devern Fromke, delivered a challenging message to the graduating class of three. High school principal, Jim Beck, presented each of the graduates with their diploma and a handshake.
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
1968
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The 1968 senior class doubled in numbers from the previous year, graduating six students. At that time in the school’s history, both commencement and baccalaureate services were held. At commencement, valedictorian, Eileen Lamb, and salutatorian, Thomas Siefert, discussed the values of Christian education, and Indiana Central College president, Dr. I. Lynd Esch, addressed the senior class. At the baccalaureate service, the choir sang “Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord,” and Dr. Leon Maurer, president of Indiana Bible College, challenged the students to “do the work of Him that sent us.” “I can genuinely say that Heritage Christian School deeply affected my life…I found teachers who not only cared that they got through a certain amount of material, but that I actually learned it…I began to feel that I could really learn and that empowered me to work more intensely on my own. I grew in confidence. I remember taking a class with Al Leinbach, called Latin and Greek Derivatives. It was a fun class, but most importantly, it expanded my vocabulary in a way that enriched my life and what eventually became my work as a pastor. All of that happened over forty years ago. I went on to college and earned a Master’s degree. I will always be grateful for my experience at Heritage and how it shaped my future. Heritage gave me more than an education; it gave me hope.” Tom Siefert, Heritage class of 1968 (pictured on page 106, bottom center)
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
1969
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The class of 1969 was the first class to spend all four years of high school at Heritage. They were also the first class to purchase class rings and senior keys. The class’ fundraising project was a soft drink machine. Senior week began June 1, 1969, with a baccalaureate ceremony, followed by a 1,000mile class road trip to Tennessee and North Carolina with class sponsor, Al Leinbach. They participated in commencement ceremonies when they returned, on June 5, 1969.
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
1970
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“In the summer of 1966, my family moved from Minnesota to Indianapolis, when my dad became pastor of Calvary Bible Church. I enrolled, and the next year, both my brothers, and eventually my sister, all came to Heritage. My mom became my P.E. teacher and the bus lady, and my dad later became the business manager. After my first semester, the student body helped move from Victory Baptist Church into our brand new facility. No more cartwheels in the church sanctuary. We now had our own gym! Memories? Many! The greased pig caper, eating Jell-O powder on the minibus, Rook tournaments, Temac math, senior trip to Jenny Wiley State Park in Kentucky… Miss Runquist taught us to diagram and parse a sentence like no other, and her typing class led to my own typing/word processing service for the next twenty years. Strong friendships were formed and, in my case, lifelong girlfriends; namely Kathy Mayes and Janne Thompson, are still my dearest, closest friends, over forty years later!” - Debbie (Cahill) Katip, Heritage class of 1970 (picutred on page 110, first row, third from left)
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1971
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
1972
HERITAGE CLASS OF
1973
HERITAGE CLASS OF
1974
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
1975
“Four of us from our church in Anderson made the trek to Indy each day. For those in our neck of the woods who had never heard of Heritage or where our state capitol was located, the easiest explanation was,'Where I-69 ends, Heritage begins!'…Our 'official' class cheer was 'We’re so cool and that’s no jive, we’re the class of ’75!' My sophomore year is the year that I got saved. It was a direct result of Mr. Leinbach’s Bible class. We studied the Old Testament that year, and I remember him discussing how God loved the Israelites, even though they turned their backs on Him. It was through those lessons from
the Old Testament that I began to realize that I was lost. I went home one afternoon and told my mom that I was not saved, and there, at our home in Anderson, I accepted Christ as my Savior. My senior year was especially exciting, because it brought Heritage’s first dramatic production, Cheaper by the Dozen, and the school’s first musical, Song for a New World…Our drama class was so close. It was like a little family, and we all loved our director, Mrs. Hayes, so much! Those times were especially dear to me because it was during that year with Mrs. Hayes that the Lord called me to teach in the areas of speech/drama/theater! Upon
HERITAGE CLASS OF
1976
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graduation from high school, I studied for five years at Bob Jones University, and I’ve been directing plays and teaching speech for thirty-five years.
My best years were my high school years. Heritage afforded me life-changing and life-altering experiences. I will be forever grateful for that.”
My entire life has been shaped by the school that began where I-69 ended…
- Duane Manning, Heritage class of 1975
HERITAGE CLASS OF
1977
“At Heritage, I made friends for life and eternity. Recently, I connected with my best friend from fifth grade, and it feels as though we were never apart. Heritage gave me great friendships, not only with students, but their entire families, which continue today. Heritage also provided an excellent education. Heritage was and is challenging, so that when I started to college, I knew how to study. I could write and think critically. I had the skills to succeed. I was well prepared to complete my bachelor’s degree in nursing, and later return for my master’s degree as a nurse practitioner. My nursing career is now at nearly thirty-five years. After a Heritage Christmas get-together, I met some other Heritage grads, among them Tony Self. To make a long story very short, we married in 1980 and were blessed with three lovely daughters, who are now Heritage grads (Tara, 2004; Tina, 2007; and Toni, 2011)… You could say we’re a Heritage family. I say it’s an investment that pays dividends for eternity.” - Dottie (Smith) Self, MSN, RN, NP; Heritage class of 1977
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1978
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
1998
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
1999
“The most important day and decision of my life would come in my kindergarten year at Heritage. It was in my classroom in November of 1986, when I asked Jesus into my heart. I am grateful for my years at Heritage, which helped lay a foundation for my future. It wasn’t until college that I really understood and appreciated the unique schooling I had received; a strong academic background where faith is at the center of everything and teachers are also friends. The academic rigor, loving teachers, small classes, and extracurricular opportunities helped shape me into the person I am today.” - Laura (Simpson) McCoy, Heritage class of 1999
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
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Photos by Chuck Owens
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
2009
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2011
Photos by Chuck Owens
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2012
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HERITAGE CLASS OF
2013
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2014
HERITAGE CLASS OF
2015
Photos by Chuck Owens
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EMBRACING THE FINE ARTS
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THE FINE ARTS FLOURISH AT HERITAGE
S
ince the very early days of the school’s history, the Fine Arts have been an integral part of a Heritage Christian School education.
The large Fine Arts Building at the center of campus testifies to the arts’ prominence and expression here. When it was constructed in 2000, the structure created significant, dedicated space for art instruction in many forms. Housed in the facility are two spacious art studios, including one with a professional firing kiln; expansive practice rooms for choir, band, and orchestra; classrooms for theater, photography, and video/music production; and a Cafetorium with a full-sized stage, curtains, lighting, and sound system. In addition, the Elementary School Building features two over-sized classrooms where students create music and visual arts. The annual Fine Arts Festival showcases the artistic work of talented Heritage students. For one evening, students transform the Fine Arts Building into a concert hall and an impressive art gallery, with wall-to-wall student art exhibits. The celebration of the arts is one of the highlights of the school year and is a showcase for the exceptional art instruction Heritage students receive in virtually all forms.
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
MUSICAL ART IN MANY EXPRESSIONS For many years, choir class was a requirement for Heritage students of all ages. William Vimont directed the music program when the school met at Devington Baptist Church. A few years later, Jean Ware assumed responsibility for the choirs. In the early 1970s, Dave Brickel introduced the band program. Current Fine Arts co-department head and music teacher, Cathy (Heatly) Bartemus, joined the Heritage faculty in 1980. She structured an elementary music program that harnessed the talents and energy and engaged the minds of young students. She’s one of the longest-serving Heritage faculty members and continues to teach and to direct the fourth-grade Hosanna choir. By the time students reach middle school, they’re well prepared for further musical development and involvement. Today’s robust music offerings include choir, band, orchestra, jazz band, and praise band. Students perform for the community, lead worship during chapel services, and compete at the local and state level. Heritage music programs have won numerous state awards as a member of the Indiana School State Music Association (ISSMA) and national recognition through the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation.
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
A HISTORY OF
HERITAGE THEATER 1975-1976
Song for a New World Cheaper by the Dozen
1992-1993
Arsenic and Old Lace The Robe
2004-2005
The Importance of Being Earnest Romeo and Juliet
1976-1977
This is My Country Pygmalion
1993-1994
A Murder Is Announced A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2005-2006
The Music Man I Never Saw Another Butterfly
1977-1978
Arsenic and Old Lace The Mikado
1994-1995
Ten Little Indians Twelve Angry Men
2006-2007
Cheaper By The Dozen Pink Panther Strikes Again
1978-1979
Belles On Their Toes Hannah The Miracle Worker
1995-1996
Our Town Hamlet
2007-2008
Bye, Bye Birdie The Mouse That Roared
1979-1980
The Egg and I
1996-1997
Narnia Cheaper By the Dozen
1980-1981
Our Miss Brooks
1985-1986
The Mouse That Roared
1997-1998
Little Women To Kill a Mockingbird
1986-1987
Annie Get Your Gun The Music Man
1987-1988
Our Town
1998-1999 1999-2000
Arsenic and Old Lace A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Secret Garden Our Miss Brooks
1988-1989
David, the King You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
2000-2001
The Matchmaker The Tempest
1989-1990
April Morning Our Hearts Were Young and Free
2001-2002
Anne of Green Gables You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013
1984 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Singin’ In The Rain Not Of This World All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood Beauty and the Beast Pride and Prejudice Hello, Dolly! Our Town
1990-1991
Twelve Angry Men Sorry You Missed the Show
2002-2003
The Hobbit You Can’t Take It With You
2013-2014
White Christmas Romeo and Juliet
1991-1992
Anne of Green Gables Romeo and Juliet
2003-2004
Cinderella Our Hearts Were Young and Free
2014-2015
Cinderella The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood
2015-2016
Mary Poppins
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Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
Photo by Studio Thirteen Photography
CULTIVATING CREATIVITY IN
VISUAL ARTS hether it’s an oversized crayon in a kindergarten class or an artist’s paintbrush and acrylics in the high school, Heritage students have long had many opportunities to cultivate their creativity in the visual arts. The pages of the school’s first yearbook (from 1967) include photos of young students drawing and painting. In the early 1980s, art teacher Sue Meggenhoffen laid a foundation for a systematic approach to art instruction for grades one through eight.
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When the Fine Arts Building was constructed in 2000, the school attracted the talent and vision of art instructor, Julie Cooper. With the necessary space and resources in place, she expanded the existing middle school and high school art programs to include advanced instruction and independent study. Today, students can enroll in Introduction to TwoDimensional or Three-Dimensional Art, Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Advanced Three-Dimensional Art, TwoDimensional Design, Photography, Advanced Photography, Art Portfolio, and Advanced Placement Studio Art. Our high school art students have been accepted and received scholarships for further study at prestigious colleges and universities. Many of them submit individual work for state and national competitions, such as the well-known Scholastic Art Competition, and are often recognized for their artistic accomplishments.
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Photo by Melissa Lawler
ACHIEVING THROUGH ATHLETICS
FIFTY YEARS OF ATHLETIC HISTORY
MORE THAN JUST SPORTS n 1967, then-teacher Al Leinbach became the first-ever athletic director for Heritage Christian School. He provided leadership in this important role for nearly ten years. When the school kicked off its official athletics program in 1968, those early basketball and gymnastics teams and the inaugural cheer squad initiated what would one day become a vibrant, full-fledged athletic program.
Heritage Joins the Indiana High School Athletic Association
Heritage teams participated in inter-school competition in the early and mid-1970s, primarily in the Midwest Christian Conference (MCC). When the Association of Christian Schools International (ASCI) formed in 1978, Heritage joined the organization’s Christian school athletic league and continued competing in it until the year 2000. Over three decades, Heritage teams won numerous awards, with the boys’ soccer and basketball and girls’ volleyball teams wining multiple tournament and state championship titles.
Today, Heritage student athletes compete in eighteen IHSAA-sanctioned sports, boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, and numerous other athletic clubs. Intermediate and middle school students have opportunities to develop their athletic skills in extracurricular teams that help prepare them for more advanced competition, when they reach high school.
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All along the way, the school has invested in facilities for training and competition. The campus includes soccer fields, two gymnasiums, a tennis complex, softball and baseball diamonds and batting cages, an all-weather track, and a lighted football/soccer/lacrosse stadium.
The Heritage boys’ basketball program enjoyed success and won multiple championships in the 1970s and 1980s, within the Midwest Christian Conference.
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Under then-athletic director, Jim Martin, it was a big day when the school became part of the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Class 2A competition in 2001. Martin provided leadership for Heritage beginning 1978 and through the transition to IHSAA, until he retired from his role in 2003.
The program has produced city, regional, and state championship teams and individual champions. The girls’ basketball program has been a consistent league standout. In 2015, the team proudly took home its twelfth City Championship and sixth IHSAA 2A State Championship title. Every year, college scouts recruit and attract Heritage athletes to collegiate programs across the nation. Several Heritage alumni have even pursued professional sports careers.
Discipleship Amidst Competition But Heritage athletics always have been about much more than competition. Student athletes must maintain high academic standards in order to compete. Over the years, Heritage graduating classes have included many Academic All-State and Academic All-American award recipients. Students not only receive coaching, but also countless opportunities to engage their faith in Christ on and off the field. At the beginning of each season, teams collect or raise funds to pay for “goodie bags” for their opposing teams, as a gesture of goodwill and a practical demonstration of Christ’s love. Christian coaches play a huge role in these students’ lives and they’re a big part
of what makes the school’s athletic program distinctive. They go beyond their coaching role to mentor students, pray with them and share Scripture and practical faith lessons. They’re in it for more than wins; they take seriously their unique opportunities for ministry, discipleship, and impact for the kingdom. Heritage Christian School has, over many years, developed a statewide reputation for athletic excellence that’s balanced with an intentional emphasis on student athlete discipleship. It has always been an important component of what makes a Heritage education a valuable experience for students and families.
“Christian coaches play a huge role in students’ lives and they’re a big part of what makes the school’s athletic program distinctive.”
Photo by Patrick Mann
For nearly five decades, Heritage cheer squads have generated school spirit at sports events.
Through Heritage cross-country teams, student athletes train, compete, and learn lessons in endurance through their sport.
Baseball was among the first sports that Heritage teams played. The original team formed in 1969. 154 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
The 1977 boys’ soccer season, under the leadership of Coach Al Leinbach, was one to remember. The Eagles brought home a memorable win at the Indiana High School Soccer Association (IHSSA) championship, at the old Victory Field. Up through the mid- to late-1970s, Heritage girls competed in the sport of field hockey.
The Heritage girls’ basketball team has won six IHSAA state championship titles since 2006.
Heritage girls’ volleyball teams were a standout in the Association of Christian Schools (ACSI) league in the eighties and nineties, with multiple state championship wins. In recent years, the program has taken home six IHSAA sectional championships. Pictured here is the 2010 team, under the leadership of coach and Heritage athletic director, Michelle York.
STRENGTH AND SUCCESS OVER FIVE DECADES
OUR IHSAA STATE CHAMPIONS
Steven Myers, Tennis singles, 2004
Audra Egenolf (Long), Diving, 2007
IHSAA ACHIEVEMENTS
Girls’ basketball, 2006 •T wo individual state champions Steven Myers, tennis singles: 2004
State Championships
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• Twelve team appearances
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Audra Egenolf (Long), diving: 2007
Girls’ basketball, 2007 Baseball: 2009, 2010
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• Individual semi-state champions Steven Myers, tennis singles: 2004
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• Fourteen individual athlete appearances
Semi-State Competition
• Nine team championship titles
• Fourteen team appearances
Regional Competition
• Twelve championship titles
• Twenty-eight team appearances
Girls’ basketball: 2006-2009, 2014, 2015
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Girls’ basketball: 2004, 2006-2009, 2014, 2015
Baseball: 2009, 2010
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F ootball: 2008
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Football: 2007, 2008
Sam Hall, golf: 2011
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• Twenty championship titles Girls’ basketball: 2004, 2006-2009, 2014, 2015
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Football, 2008
Girls’ basketball, 2008
Girls’ soccer: 2013, 2015
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Boys’ basketball: 2006
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Football: 2007, 2008
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Baseball: 2009, 2010, 2015
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Boys tennis, doubles: 2015
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Baseball: 2005, 2008-2010, 2014, 2015 Boys’ basketball: 2005, 2006, 2008 Volleyball: 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012-2014 Football: 2007, 2008 Girls’ soccer: 2013, 2014, 2015
Sectional Competition
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• Forty-two individual finalists
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• Thirty-four championship titles
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Girls’ basketball: 2003-2009, 2013-2015
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Boys’ soccer: 2015
S oftball: 2012 Boys’ golf: 2013 Swimming and diving: 2007
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STRENGTH AND SUCCESS OVER FIVE DECADES
OUR IHSAA STATE CHAMPIONS
Baseball, 2009
Girls’ basketball, 2009
Baseball, 2010 • More than seventy-five Northeast Super Regional Teams
OTHER ATHLETIC TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS City Alliance Championships
Boys’ Lacrosse
• One National Player of the Year
• Boys’ tennis: 2003, 2004
• Semi-state championship: 2007
• One National Coach of the Year
• Girls’ basketball: 2003-2015
• Regional championship: 2006-2008, 2011, 2013, 2014
Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
• Boys’ swimming: 2004-2006, 2012, 2013
Midwest Christian Conference (MCC) Boys’ Basketball Championship at Grace College: 1972, 1973, 1976, 1982, 1983
•G irls’ volleyball state championship: 1989-1992, 2000
National Christian School Athletic Association
•B oys’ soccer state championship: 1995-1999, 2000
• Boys’ golf: 2013 • Girls’ soccer: 2014 • Boys’ soccer: 2015
• More than thirty All-Americans 158 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
•G irls’ basketball state championship: 2000-2001 •G irls’ basketball regional championship: 1994-1997 •B oys’ basketball state championship: 2000, 2001
Girls’ basketball, 2014
Girls’ basketball, 2015
National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) Championship
ALUMNI
• Girls’ basketball: 1995
• Professional athletes
• Boys’ basketball: 1991, 1993 National Christian School Basketball Invitational Boys’ Championship at John Brown University: 1973 Indiana High School Soccer Association (IHSSA) Boys’ Soccer Championship at Victory Field: 1977
• Scores of collegiate athletes David Ledbetter (HCS class of 2010)
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Ryan Ledbetter (HCS class of 2010)
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Todd Abernethy (HCS class of 2003)
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Kelly Faris (HCS class of 2009)
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•M ore than one hundred Academic All-State and Academic All-Americans 1977 IHSSA Championship team
PARENT-TEACHER FELLOWSHP
PARENT-TEACHER FELLOWSHIP
SUPPORTING FACULTY, STAFF, AND HERITAGE FAMILIES SINCE 1968
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arents are, and always have been, the bedrock of Heritage Christian School. The school was founded out of the desire of Christian parents who wanted an excellent Christian education for their children.
During the early days of the school’s history, parents drove buses, prepared lunches, and cleaned classrooms. They looked for creative ways to raise funds, including the “Spaghetti Splash,” a smorgasbord, a rummage sale, and a paper drive. They not only invested in their children’s Heritage education; they also endowed the school’s future by playing an integral role in its development. When the school’s Parent-Teacher Fellowship (PTF) began in 1968, it was a natural outgrowth for Heritage families, whose numbers were growing rapidly. They understood that their children’s educators played a big role in shaping their academic and spiritual interests. The new organization looked for practical ways to demonstrate parents’ support for teachers and administrative staff, and for the school as a whole. With each successive year, PTF’s work and vision grew. The group became a major sponsor of the school’s fundraising efforts. For many years, PTF hosted an all-school “Round-Up,” a family event that included pony and hayrides, class races and games, face painting, and catering from Peachey’s. In 1976, they initiated an annual fundraising tradition: Donkey Ball.
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PTF’s fundraising contributions have made visible differences on the Heritage campus over the years. In 1968, PTF funds were helped to fund construction of new science labs. The 1980s brought the advent of the annual Jog-a-Thon, to support special projects not covered by the school’s annual budget. In the early 1990s, PTF launched a “Spring-aThon” fundraiser. More recent campus enhancements have included the front entrance and gate, security upgrades, playground equipment, Cafetorium sound system, and high school Commons upgrades.
“Parents are, and always have been, the bedrock of Heritage Christian School. The school was founded out of the desire of Christian parents who wanted an excellent Christian education for their children.”
The group also plays an important role in the school’s spiritual underpinnings. Today, it sponsors both a men’s and women’s prayer group, made up of parents who gather monthly to pray for students, faculty, and staff. PTF finds ways to strengthen parent-student connections, as well. The annual Dads’ Lunch gives parents an opportunity to join their student for lunch on campus. At Christmastime each year, PTF hosts the Worthy Servants Brunch. It’s a highlight of the school year, as faculty and staff gather off site for a time of fellowship, worship, and encouragement. In the spring, PTF treats faculty and staff to a festive lunchtime gathering on campus. During the holiday season, PTF transforms a large classroom into a kid-friendly Christmas shop. Parents enjoy coffee and fellowship while PTF parents and upper-grade students guide young shoppers, helping them pick out low-priced gifts for their friends and family. Kids learn to spend within their budgeted allowance, and the experience gives them an opportunity to surprise their families with Christmas gifts they’ve picked out on their own. In recent years, PTF developed the semi-annual “Christ to Others” (C2O) outreach event. Heritage opens its campus and welcomes current families and the entire Indianapolis community for a family-friendly carnival and outdoor Christian music concert. In recent years, C2O has attracted over two thousand guests. It has become a valuable tradition and a way to share Christ with the school’s surrounding community.
sponsored an In the 1970s, PTF event. Ball” fundraising 164 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
annual “Donkey
PTF organizes an annual “Dads’ Lunch,” that gives fathers an opportunity to connect with their student during the school day.
Gingerbread Bazaar
Spring Luncheon
PTF created Christ to Others (C2O) as a family-friendly community outreach. The event, which includes an outdoor concert, attracts thousands of visitors to the Heritage campus. Jog-a-Thon
Worthy Servants Brunch
Men’s and women’s prayer groups
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
THE HERITAGE EXPERIENCE
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ife as a Heritage student is, and has always been, about more than just school itself.
It’s a unique learning environment, with students from preschool to twelfth grade, all on the same campus. On some occasions, everyone gathers together for long-held traditions like Easter chapel and the all-school Christmas chapel, featuring a uniquely Heritage rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Homecoming is a highlight of the school year for current students and alumni. Weeklong festivities like alumni reunions, chapel, and the Lip Sync song and dance competition all culminate in an Eagles home football game. Elementary and intermediate kids experience long-held events like the annual hoedown, Mother’s Tea and Famous Americans Wax Museum. Eighth graders and their families attend a year-end celebration of their graduation into high school. High school students attend the Winter Formal, which for many years was known as the annual Christmas Banquet. Seniors participate in a yearlong set of rituals, including the senior retreat, senior trip, senior parade and the painting of “the Rock.”
JESUS AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL There are the obvious and important things that one would expect from a Christian education, like Bible classes and chapel services. But from the outset, Heritage Christian School has taken a fundamentally wholistic approach to cultivating both students’ education and spiritual lives. The school was founded on the conviction that Jesus Christ is preeminent in all things and that the Bible is the source of wisdom and knowledge for all of life, including academics. 168 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY
Even in the earliest days, a biblical worldview permeated curriculum. Faculty was hired based on equally important criteria: educational expertise and a solid testimony of Christian faith. The founders understood that Christianity is caught, as well as taught. They knew that Christian teachers would instruct and disciple students, both inside and outside of the classroom. There also was an acknowledgement that teachable moments of faith happen in the course of academic learning, in the heat of athletic competition, or in artistic expression. This conviction has been the catalyst for a commitment to the discipleship of students that permeates everything. For five decades, the school’s leadership and faculty has continued to infuse education with a decidedly Christian perspective and a commitment to teaching, mentoring, and training students to be lifelong followers of Jesus Christ. Heritage students learn from an early age what the Bible teaches and what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ.
When a chime sounds over the intercom in the Elementary School building, it’s a recognizable signal to faculty and students that a child has just decided to commit his life to Jesus. Elementary students understand that following Christ means reaching out to others. They collect Coins for the Kingdom, to benefit an overseas orphanage, and they go for One Day Without Shoes, a shoe collection drive for needy kids around the world. They gather for an after-school Missionary Club, where they learn firsthand what it means to share and practice the love of God near and abroad. A group of students and their families travels to Mexico and helps to build a home for a needy family with Homes of Hope. Students in grades seven through twelve have unique opportunities to grow spiritually, through participation in Bible classes, involvement in weekly chapel, ongoing community service, and opportunities to use their gifts in mentoring, fine arts, clubs, and athletics. Many students pray with one another, study the Bible together, and participate in the growing campus ministry of Young Life. At Christmastime, Heritage partners with Samaritan’s Purse, as an official drop-off location for Operation Christmas Child. Middle and high school students greet those who visit campus to donate their boxes. Students pack the donated boxes and help load the containers onto distribution trucks. Powerful discipleship takes place outside of the classroom, too. Athletic competition at Heritage has always been an important component of student athletes’ spiritual lives. Countless Heritage alumni recount stories of their spiritual development and growth on the courts, fields, and arenas of competition. Many of them reflect gratitude for the Heritage coaches who shared spiritual truth and taught life lessons through sport.
“The school was founded on the conviction that Jesus Christ is preeminent in all things and that the Bible is the source of wisdom and knowledge for all of life, including academics.”
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EYES ON THE FUTURE
EYES ON THE FUTURE LIVING THE DREAM lot can change over fifty years. Culture. Mindsets. Education. Heritage has witnessed the inevitable shifts in the world and community of which we’re a part. All the while, we’ve chosen to stay grounded in the timeless truth that Jesus Christ is real and relevant to every generation. We’ve remained true to God’s Word, because we know that it’s the changeless, authoritative roadmap for life. We’ve kept our eyes on our mission to teach, mentor and train our students to become Christian leaders and world-changers. We’ve seen God pour out His blessing on this school that was founded, a half century ago, for His glory.
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It’s with purpose and excitement that we look forward to the future. We believe that God has great things in store for our school in years to come. Our faculty and staff will continue to invest in our students, knowing that these young people can become salt and light in their homes, ministries and professions. The seeds of faith and foundations of learning that are planted in this educational environment can flourish and grow into lives that make a difference in the world. It’s our great privilege to help build the future that God already has prepared for Heritage Christian School and for those whose lives will be touched by it. We are, by all measures, living the dream. “Heritage Christian School will be a light that shines in the darkness, a premier institution increasingly recognized as a model and benchmark of relevant twenty-first century Christian education, transforming lives and reaching the world for Christ.”
“Heritage Christian School will be a light that shines in the darkness, a premier institution increasingly recognized as a model and benchmark of relevant twenty-first century Christian education, transforming lives and reaching the world for Christ.” 174 A FAITHFUL JOURNEY