Peniel
Baptist Academy's
School Information
2007-2008 Student Handbook (PDF)
2006-2007 VPK Attendance Policies Letter (PDF)
School History School Incorporation and Governance Mission Statement Statement of Faith Statement of Philosophy Statement of Nondiscrimination Accreditation and Affiliation Specification of Faculty
Peniel Baptist Academy began operating in August of 1971 being sponsored and funded by Peniel Baptist Church. The Academy initially began as a Daycare and Kindergarten facility with an enrollment of 22 students. In July of 1973, Peniel Baptist Church established the Academy’s School Board which was intended to be and currently is the governing body of the school comprised of six Peniel Baptist Church members, including a chairman, elected by the church body. In August of 1982, with an enrollment of 151 from kindergarten through sixth grade, the Academy built and moved into the new educational building on Peniel Church Road. With increasing enrollment and public interest, Peniel Baptist Church expanded the school to include PK3 through 12th grade in August of 1993. The first graduation occurred on May 23, 1997.
As of the 2006-2007 school year, Grades PK2 through 12th are offered with new classes and courses being added yearly. Peniel Baptist Academy is entering its 35th year, “Educating Students to the Glory of God!”
School Incorporation and Governance
Peniel Baptist Academy (PBA) is a ministry of Peniel Baptist Church (PBC). We are incorporated as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization under Peniel Baptist Church. The said church is the sole owner of this school facility and property.
The Senior Pastor of Peniel Baptist Church is the spiritual and administrative overseer of PBC and PBA. The PBA School Board has been delegated the governing authority by the Peniel Baptist Church for the spiritual and administrative supervision of PBA. The School Administrator has been delegated the responsibility and authority by the School Board for the spiritual and administrative management of PBA.
As a Christian academy, PBA is open to people of all faiths. We are interested in the establishment of a living faith in God through His Son Jesus in our students. All academic pursuits will be studied from a God-centered view of life. PBA uses the King James Version of the Bible as our main study version. We hold the Bible as our sole rule of faith and practice. We believe:
- The Bible is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant authoritative Word of God.
- The deity of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth; His sinless life; His life; His miracles; His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood; His bodily return to earth.
- There is one God, existing eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- Every person is a sinner by nature and is in need of a Savior.
- Salvation is the gift of God offered to man by His grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- In the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
- The bodily resurrection of the saved unto life and the unsaved unto judgment.
At Peniel Baptist Academy we believe that the parents, church, school and its staff all play critical roles in meeting the total need of the child. The child, being a wonderful and distinctive creation of an omnipotent God (Eph. 2:10), has the responsibility to strive to achieve excellence in academics and Christian character (Prov. 1:5). We believe that children are not only directly responsible to their parents and other authorities in their lives, but that they are also directly responsible to God for the direction of their lives.
We believe that each child should come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Rom 3:23, Rom 6:23). However, we know that the Bible clearly states that proper training begins in a Christian home (Eph 6:1-4). God’s Word also delineates that it is the parent’s responsibility to equip their child for life and for eternity. It is also the parent’s responsibility to train their children to respect and obey the authorities in their lives. Concisely, we believe that parents have the God-given responsibility of educating, equipping, and training their children and that Peniel Baptist Academy acts as an extension of the Christian home.
Each of us is a Lighthouse! The vision of Peniel Baptist Church is to help parents and their children to increasingly know and love Jesus Christ and to intentionally make Him known to all people. The mission of the church is to exalt the Lord, to equip to laity and to evangelize the lost. In doing that, the purpose of the church is to reach, teach, minister, and offer discipleship to our parents and students and to additionally fellowship and worship with them as well.
Peniel Baptist Academy is a support ministry for parents. We believe that the responsibility of our school is to reinforce the Christian principles taught by parents and the church. It is our desire for children to reach their full potential in four specific areas: spiritually, academically, physically and socially.
a) Spiritually, we believe that our school is responsible for preparing student so that they will be sensitive to God’s calling on their lives.
b) Academically, we believe that we should graduate students that are richly grounded, firmly planted and well prepared in academics that are based on the Word of God.
c) Physically, we believe that we should help all students develop a positive self-image regarding the way that God created them.
d) Socially, we believe that our purpose is to develop the ability, improve the manners and form the character of our students so that they can conform to Biblical standards of conduct, prosper in their chosen vocation and learn things that will enrich their lives.
All PBA staff must be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our staff must also achieve excellence in their academic field of study by holding and maintaining educational degrees. Additionally, our staff must successfully educate the students in their class according to PBA standards, which exceed the academic norms, treat students with worth, and provide consistent discipline. We believe that through committed Christian teachers with an intimate walk with Jesus we seek to lay the foundation for students to read and think for themselves, to hear the truth and accept the truth as their own.
We believe that we must only incorporate programs at PBA, academic and otherwise, that are in harmony with the Bible and will benefit our students, families and church. We strongly believe that all humanistic values that have infiltrated our society produce godless thinking and life styles and have no place at PBA. Our school motto, Educating Students to the Glory of God, mandates that all our educational programs be evaluated in view of its purpose, not current educational fads or structures.
In conclusion, PBA believes that it is the working relationships and cooperative efforts between the parents, church, school and it’s staff that is necessary to meet the total need of the child. To God be the glory!
Statement of Nondiscrimination
Peniel Baptist Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.
Peniel Baptist Academy is fully accredited by the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS). FACCS is a member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation (NCPSA) and the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA). Through FACCS, PBA is affiliated at the state level with the Florida Association of Nonpublic Schools (FAANS) and at the national level with the American Association of Christian Schools (AACS), We are also a participating institutional member of the Florida Association of Southern Baptist Schools (FASBS).
PBA is also an affiliate member of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) and a founding member of the Florida Christian Athletic League. Our teams play and participate in events with both public and non-public schools.
Teachers at Peniel Baptist Academy have the proper spiritual as well as academic qualifications. All administration, faculty and staff are required to be born-again Christians and regularly attend a Bible-believing church. At the preschool level, PBA strives to employ teachers that have a minimum of a state CDA and/or a two year college degree. In Kindergarten through the 12th grade, PBA strives to employ teachers that are college graduates and are certified by the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Each teacher embraces a Christian philosophy of education. These teachers carry out, under direction of the school administration, the purpose of the institution in the classroom and on the campus which is to "Educate Students to the Glory of God!"