Cross Shield PROVIDENCE ACADEMY MAGAZINE | FALL 2023
CONTENTS / FALL 2023 04 MR. HOLLAND Standing Contra Mundo
06 ACADEMICS Getting to Know Dr. Moschetti
08 ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP DINNER Voddie Baucham, Alumni Activities
10 ATHLETICS Coach Kilgore Era
12 THE HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE From humble beginnings to this year's successful capital campaign...
14 DEVELOPMENT Mr. Koscak, Sponsors, Memorial Gifts & Honorariums
CREDITS Mark Koscak, Director of Development Andrea Loy, Design, Layout, Editor, Interviews Jordy Whetsell, Images Sam Adams, Writer
MISSION Providence Academy partners with parents to equip students to develop spiritual maturity and achieve academic excellence through a biblically-based, Christ-centered, classical education, so they will think and live in a manner which brings glory to God.
PA BUSINESS DIRECTORY
02 CROSS & SHIELD | CONTENTS
CROSS & SHIELD | CONTENTS 03
“The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of our God will stand forever.” ~Isaiah 40:8 One of the most important things I do all summer is choose the theme verse for the following school year. I count upon the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit each year to direct our steps. Last summer, I had grown frustrated and weary with the constant controversy over basic doctrine. I felt the very fabric of society being stretched across fault lines growing larger and further apart. I honestly wanted to move on from the argument around these fault lines and ignore the outside world. In this weariness, Mrs. Anderson gave me a book called On the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius that revived my spirits. It was written around 337 AD but quickly became an incredibly relevant part of my life. In the 3rd century, Christianity rose in popularity throughout the Roman Empire, and soon, a schism in the early Church began. Before Christianity, Rome was polytheistic. The idea of a one True God was controversial. Around this time, Arias rose to prominence, claiming that Christianity was a form of polytheism, and this idea took hold in the Roman Empire. Contradicting him, Athanasius asserted that God’s Word is abundantly clear on this issue and that Arias’ teaching was heretical. As a result, Athanasius was thrown into exile for 17 years. In a famous correspondence, Arias wrote Athanasius, “The whole world is against you!” Athanasius famously replied, “If the world is against me, then I am against the world!” His moniker became contra mundo, Latin for against the world. So the question that we face today is how are we contra mundo in a classical Christian school? This question takes us to the first chapter of The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis. In it, Lewis points out the negative implications of neutering man’s ability to ascribe value to something and believing that feelings are irrelevant. As a classical school, one of our key jobs is teaching virtue to students. Augustine defines virtue as ordo amoris or the proper ordering of affections. We believe that one of the most important things we do is to ascribe value to things, and how we feel about those values is of utmost importance. Aristotle says that the aim of education is to make the pupil like and dislike what he ought. Through deeply embedded worldviews in modern curriculum, society has produced a virtue-less student. Lewis coins them “men without chests,” claiming, “We have removed the organ and demand the function. We 04 CROSS & SHIELD | MR. HOLLAND
make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” Lewis’ theory is that how we teach grammar, and for that matter, spelling, math, science, and how we coach football or build our cheerleading program have lasting impacts on the character and virtue of our students. So this is how I propose that Providence Academy stands contra mundo. Firstly, we must examine every word that is read, every song that is sung, and every conversation spoken. We must hold them up to the everlasting Truth of God’s Word. And we are aided by the excellent writing of the Western tradition. Through these great thinkers of heritage, we can be shown where the pressures of the passing fads and trends may be pushing us. Lewis claims, “The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can only be done through reading old books.” It’s not that the people of the ages before us were that much more intelligent, but their errors will be very plain to us now. Just as we are unlikely to be fooled by Arias’ logic against the Trinity, they would not flatter us in the errors that we are committing now. Just as Athanasius once stood contra mundo, so will Providence Academy stand with the Word of the Lord. When the world tells these children they are a chance of the cosmos, we will tell them that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. Where the world tells them that their value comes from producing for society, we will tell them that their value comes from being made in the image of God, and nothing can add or take away from that. When the world tells them that their class, race, or gender defines them, we will say to them that they are sons and daughters of the one True King, and that defines them. When the world tells them to be lovers of self, we will tell them that they are sinners in need of a Savior. When the world tells them to find their own truth, we will tell them where absolute Truth is found. When the world tells them that they are alone, we will tell them that the God of the universe sent His Son to die so that they will never be alone.
If the world is against us, then Providence Academy will be against the world. Join me as we stand Contra Mundo.
Ben Holland Head of School
CROSS & SHIELD | MR. HOLLAND 05
ACADEMICS GET TO KNOW OUR NEW TEACHERS
Dr. Anthony Moschetti gives us insight into what makes him passionate about teaching, what led him to Providence Academy, and some great moments he has experienced in the classroom. Interview by Andrea Loy, Development. Written by Sam Adams, Rhetoric Faculty. Tell us about your early life and how you became interested in the sciences. When I was four years old, I remember spending time with my uncle, Thomas Patapoff, who would invite me to his lab in San Mateo, California. There, he would let me see and learn so many things, including playing with dry ice. This sent me down a path toward a love of the sciences. I grew up in a household where my mom was a dedicated Christian, and my dad was more of a cultural Christian. I was also blessed to attend a K-8 private, Christian school growing up. When I began attending college, in part due to my early love of science, I wanted to pursue a job in the sciences and began a bio chem degree in undergrad at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). School was very tough, and I decided to drop out for a semester and toured with a Christian heavy metal band. However, living in a van with a bunch of guys and touring was not what I wanted for my life, so I went back to school and continued, eventually achieving a master's in biotechnology. I began to pursue a doctorate degree in 2011, which was also tough in many ways, especially on my family. My oldest daughter was born around this time, and my wife voiced that she needed help in working and raising kids. So, at that time, I mastered out instead of finishing my doctorate and began to take care of my daughter part of the time while also working at Western Nevada College (WNC) part-time. This caused me to fall in love with teaching, and I no longer wanted to work in an industry setting like my uncle did. I worked as an adjunct at WNC for a time, helping to institute research for undergrad students, later served full-time for one year, and then later went back to work at UNR. One of my old professors highly encouraged me to finish my doctorate, and with my family agreeing, I went back to receive my doctorate. What brought you to this area from Nevada? Around the time that I was finishing my doctorate, Nevada was really starting to change culturally. As a family, we began to research areas that we would like to move to, with the primary goal of finding a place where we felt comfortable raising our daughters. Through research, we narrowed our search down to four different states, and then we began to look more closely 06 CROSS & SHIELD | ACADEMICS
"I truly feel on mission, and as a family we love that our daughters are learning in an environment like this."
at Tennessee. My wife works in the medical field, and she had an opportunity to transfer her work to East Tennessee. At that time, God really began to open several doors for us to move here, including finding a home in the middle of Covid. When I moved here, I took a job as an adjunct professor at ETSU. I had thought that it would be a more conservative leaning school since it is located in northeast Tennessee, but the biology department there is definitely not conservative. That department really did not allow me to stand up for conservative values, and after a time, I left there and began looking for other opportunities for work in other universities and colleges in the area. What brought you to Providence Academy? At a church event, JT Thomas, who previously served on the board here, encouraged me to apply. God seemed to have closed all other doors in my life and opened this one for me. Through prayer, I felt a definite pull to Providence. After just one semester, I began to feel that it is a place that I should stay. Now, after one full year, I truly feel on mission, and as a family we love that our daughters are learning in an environment like this one. I am thankful that in this season of life, I am able to have a great work/life balance and spend more time with my family. I love the quality of life, which includes working with fellow Christians. I love working in a place where I get to not only affect the lives of students now, but also their eternities. I have the opportunity to help them see what is truly important – and the most important thing you can ever do is live a life focused on Jesus Christ. I enjoy teaching students about the sciences, the beautiful complexity of God’s creation, and I love getting to know students in other ways such as talking about music or hunting. Most of all, I love that my mission here is to help train future leaders and to help students feel prepared for their lives ahead. CROSS & SHIELD | ACADEMICS 07
SAVE THE DATE
Annual Scholarship Dinner & Silent Auction March 12, 2024 | MeadowView Marriott | Kingsport, TN | 5:00 p.m. Voddie Baucham will be speaking at our annual scholarship dinner this year. Voddie is a husband, father, grandfather, former pastor, church planter, best-selling author, and professor. He was the founding Dean and currently serves as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Divinity at the African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia. Each year Providence Academy raises money for our Need-Based Annual Scholarship Fund. This is the only type of scholarship offered at Providence. Around 25% of PA students attend with the help of the Need-Based Scholarship Fund. It is essential to our mission to partner with parents in raising funds to help provide their child with a Christian Worldview. We hope you will join us at this event.
"We c annot c onti nu e to s end our chi l dren to C ae s ar for t heir e du c ati on and b e sur pri s e d w hen the y c ome home a s Romans." Dr. Voddie T. Baucham Jr., Family Driven Faith
Scan the QR code to purchase seats or to view the sponsorship opportunity menu. 08 CROSS & SHIELD | ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP DINNER
EXCLUSIVE ALUMNI OPPORTUNITIES We love our Alumni! We hope to see you all this year at the Annual Scholarship Dinner.
ALUMNI ROOM A special room has been reserved just for Alumni at the MeadowView Marriott prior to our Scholarship Dinner and Silent Auction. March 12, 2024 Encouragement with Dr. Voddie Baucham at 6:00 PM 4:30-6:30 PM | Alumni Reception Special Guests: We will have some of our longer-tenured teachers and some former teachers as guests in the room.
CLASS REUNIONS 10 Year - Averie Vines, avines@providenceacademy.com 20 Year - James Herington, jherington@providenceacademy.com 21 Year - Brandon Hecht, hecht.do@gmail.com Special PA Alumni Hotel Rates All the hotels have rooms booked from 3/10-3/13. Johnson City Holiday Inn $129 a night Johnson City Double Tree $119 a night MeadowView Marriott Kingsport $149 a night
Special alumni rates available at www.providenceacademy.com/alumni Please direct questions to padev@providenceacademy.com. CROSS & SHIELD | ALUMNI 09
Coach Daniel Kilgore is a former professional football player who returned home to his native Tennessee upon retirement from the NFL. He has begun Providence Academy's first football program and joined our community full-time this year. Get to know Coach Kilgore a little better from our recent interview! Interviewed by Andrea Loy, Development. Written by Sam Adams, Rhetoric Faculty. What was your early life like, and where did you attend school? I was born and raised in Kingsport with two older sisters. My family was very blue-collar – my dad worked at the papermill in Kingsport for 44 years, and my mother worked in the cafeteria and drove school buses for Kingsport City Schools, where I attended school growing up. I was blessed to be a multi-sport athlete, playing football, baseball, track and field, and wrestling at Dobyns-Bennett High School, where I graduated. I later attended Appalachian State University and played on their football team from 2006-2011. During my time there, I was a part of two National Championship teams, including in 2007, when we beat Michigan University. Because I was also an All-American athlete, I was invited to the NFL combine and drafted in 2011 by the San Francisco 49ers. I played there for seven years and then two years in Miami and one in Kansas City, where I retired from in 2020.
ATHLETICS COACH KILGORE ERA
Tell us about your walk with Jesus. I grew up in church. My family attended an Assemblies of God Church in Weber City, VA. We attended regularly, I was constantly around the Word, and I was baptized in the Holston River in Kingsport. Despite this great upbringing, in high school and in college, even though I still attended church, my social life took over. I began to be more worried about my own image rather than my life in Jesus. It was a season when I definitely was not living as I should have been, and this continued to be the case throughout college even though I was around believers constantly and played under a head coach, Jerry Moore, who was big into discipling his team. Finally, during my junior year in college, a strength coach challenged me to turn my life around. He told me that I had the potential to make a career out of football, but I needed to straighten up my life and get right with the Lord. His leadership really helped me to reel my life back in during that time. Unfortunately, early on in my NFL career, I once again got caught up in the party scene, running around with the wrong crowd until I began to date my wife. It was then that I began to spend time with teammates who were a better influence on me, and I attended team chapels on Saturday nights. Those guys started investing in me, and I realized that, once again, I had been living my life the wrong way. Since then, being a husband and father and working at Providence Academy has helped me strengthen my walk with the Lord. Your spiritual life is a marathon, not a sprint. What brought you to Providence Academy? After retiring from the NFL in 2020, I was in a rough spot mentally; this was obviously a hard time for everyone due to Covid; my family was in Kansas, away from our extended families. I was busy playing for Kansas City, and we lost the Super Bowl that year. After retiring, my wife and I both wanted to return home to the Tri-Cities, and I began to focus on figuring out what was next for me. After we moved back, we spent time with the Whetsells, and they began to talk to us about PA – with our girls starting to be old enough to attend school, we knew we did not want to send them to public schools. I was introduced to Mr. Holland, and we grabbed lunch one day to talk about a flag football camp and a peewee football team. At first, I volunteered to help with the flag football program, which was four days in the summer, but after much prayer, I also agreed to help with the peewee football program. From the first moment I stepped onto the field at flag football camp, I knew there was something special about this place – working with the kids and partnering with the parents. From that moment on, I decided to begin my coaching career here. What are your plans and needs moving forward? My oldest daughter is in PreK, so I am not going anywhere. I plan to be here for a long time. This school has amazing students, faculty, and parents, including two of the most dedicated coaches, Coach Bledsoe and Coach Lewis. I am thankful to be in a community that loves the Lord and where I can openly talk about my faith with students and athletes. As far as needs, we need more athletes to come out and play, facilities to host Friday night games, and our athletes to grow in physical size. Proper nutrition and weight-lifting over time will help our program. I am very proud of the students and athletes for how far they have come in their day-to-day victories, and I look forward to many more years at Providence Academy.
CROSS & SHIELD | COACH KILGORE ERA 11
PROVIDENTIA THE HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE ACADEMY Founding Board Member, Earle Chute provides us with a brief history of the founding of our school. Edited by Samuel Adams, Rhetoric Faculty, Andrea Loy, Development The history of Providence Academy is the story of God’s providence. The word providence comes from the Latin, providentia. Pro means “ahead.” Videntia means “to see.” It’s God’s care, provision, and foresight for His people on their journey of faith. The story of Providence is the story of God’s providence. In 1993, a group of parents in the Tri-Cities area began to pray about the possibility of starting a Christian school. Five sets of parents formed a steering committee to look into that possibility. It seemed like a daunting task. We were a diverse group of parents. Some had children in public schools, some were already involved in another Christian school, and some were teaching their children at home. There was a “cost” in starting a school, but we were willing to make the sacrifice. We all had one thing in common; the Lord had placed in each of our hearts a desire to see our children receive a strong, Christian education with Christ as the foundation of their learning. After much prayer and study, we landed
together on the classical Christian method of education. We all agreed together that the parents of the children had the primary responsibility to educate their children. There is a Latin term for this as it relates to Providence Academy, in loco parentis. Providence would be an extension of the family. We became convinced that this was the type of school the Lord wanted us to start. We embraced another Latin term, coram deo, which means “in the presence or face of God.” We wanted our school to bring glory to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. We also made a decision that we didn’t want Providence to be an “elite” college prep school,one that is affordable only for the few. We put procedures into place to provide scholarships for students who needed them. We wanted to make it possible for any parent to be able to afford to have their children at Providence. Over the 30 years of PA, there have been millions of dollars donated by parents, grandparents, and friends to make this a reality. This year over $600,000 has been made available to students. We thank the Lord for our generous donors who have provided these funds over the years. In the spring of 1994, we began to make preparations to start the school. However, we had a major problem. We had nowhere to meet. We presented our prayers to the Lord and petitioned Him to make it clear to us when we should start the school. We set a date, and if we didn’t find a place to meet, we would delay the beginning of the school. At the last minute, God’s providence became evident to us. Mountain View Baptist Church made their facilities available to us without charge. Pastor James Cambron and his flock had no idea what they were getting into, but they were willing to step out in faith and trust the Lord with us. Without their help, the school may have never started. We are eternally grateful for that church and for their great generosity to the Lord in providing space for our school in the early days. They were a wonderful example of having a “kingdom mentality.” The Lord later provided us with a wonderful forty-five-acre campus on Carroll Creek Road. This year we were able to see how swiftly God provides for us as we witnessed Him stirring the hearts of parents and donors to raise $8.5 million for a new educational wing. We now serve a current enrollment of almost 800 students from pre-K to 12th grade. To God be the glory!
12 CROSS & SHIELD | THE HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE
New Building Dedication Prayer August 18, 2023 Was it worth the time, effort, and energy for the five families to start this school? My personal answer is “yes.” It was not easy, but usually nothing good in life comes easy. God was always good and sovereignly oversaw the process. Providence Academy began only by the providence of God. It was and is a school built on God’s grace, faithfulness, and lovingkindness. We hope, pray, and believe that the greatest years of
Providence Academy are still ahead! As a founding current “ex officio” board member, and grandparent of PA students, my wife and I are very excited about the future vision of Providence Academy. We pray that the Lord would use Providence as a shining light on the hill. We pray that the graduates of Providence would walk with the Lord and make a profound influence on the world. We pray that God would be glorified now and forever through Providence Academy! Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God alone!
CROSS & SHIELD | THE HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE 13
Looking forward to Christmas, the New Year, and a Christmas Safety Initiative at Providence Academy! At Providence Academy, one area of continual prayer is the protection of our campus. We take the security of our students very seriously. With the priority of a secure campus in mind, we are implementing a Christmas Safety Initiative to take the safety of our campus to the next level: Goal: Raise $210,000 for a guard station to be implemented at the entrance to the Providence campus. Detail: We are fortunate to have a campus with access limited to one driveway entrance. By adding a guard station, we will be adding an extra layer of security. We currently have two Harrell Group security team members patrolling our campus. Upon implementation of this extra layer of security, we will add a third Harrell Group team member to manage the entrance of the school. Along with the guard station, we also plan on implementing a barrier arm that can control traffic and software that provides license plate recognition. Christmas Safety Initiative - Stretch Opportunity! Goal: Begin funding a barrier fence that would enclose the campus. Detail: The barrier fence will consist of two types of fence. In the areas that are out of sight (in the woods,) we look forward to installing an eight-foot black vinyl-coated chain link fence with razor wire. The rest of the campus will be surrounded by an eightfoot-tall wrought iron fence with brick columns, similar to the fence around the new playground. Cost: •Black Vinyl-Coated Chain Link Fence: $215,000 •Wrought Iron Metal Fence with Brick Columns: $860,000 Implementation Plan: Install in the summer of 2024. Any funds received above the goal for the guard station will be used to implement whatever portion of the fence funds allow. As you contemplate year-end giving, please consider a gift of safety to help implement the Christmas Safety Initiative. To support this effort, you can make a check out to Providence Academy and note Christmas Safety Initiative in the memo line, or you can use the QR code below to give online. Thank you for prayerfully considering the Christmas Safety Initiative!
Mark Koscak Director of Development 14 CROSS & SHIELD | DEVELOPMENT
THANK YOU SPONSORS Kubota BX2380
4 2 3 - 92 8 - 8 8 82
|
J O H N S O N C I T Y K U B OTA .CO M
Let Our Family Show Your Family
THE WAY
HOME 423-913-2555
wolfedevelopment.com
THANK YOU TO OUR RENEWING SCHOLARSHIP PARTNER A+ Extractions & Dentures is owned by Dr. Jason Cunningham. Dr. Cunningham and his wife Dr. Angela Cameron are parents of Andrew, a Providence Academy Alumni '23 and Alexis, ninth grade. We are thankful for their continued support of the Annual Need-Based Scholarship Fund.
MEMORIAL GIFTS & HONORARIUMS In Loving Memory
In Honor Of
Barbara Kilgore Anthony and Nancy Cash Debra Lee Thomas Whitworh
Riley and Ryan Belt Evan and Blaine Dawson Tristan Dennis Sophia and Hunter Enguita Rex Garrison Averie Blackmore Vines Spencer Blackmore
CROSS & SHIELD | SPONSORS 15
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Providence Academy 2788 Carroll Creek Road Johnson City, TN 37615
MAIN OFFICE: Phone: 423-854-9819 Fax: 423-854-8958
DEVELOPMENT OFFICE: padev@providenceacademy.com