Our history
The History of Granger Christian School
Grace Baptist Church of South Bend was founded by members of Calvary Baptist Church of South Bend in 1955 with the official sanction and approval of that church. The founding group of 25 people called Rev. Dale Meade, an assistant pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, to be its pastor in 1956 and purchased property in the northern portion of the Roseland section of South Bend. A small church building was erected on the property, and services were begun. In 1960 a second building was built on the Roseland property, and was subsequently added to on two occasions. During this time, the church experienced significant growth and filled the facility.
After Pastor Meade was called to another church in 1969, Dr. Charles Davis became pastor. During his ministry, a large gymnasium/classroom addition was added to the second structure. Grace Baptist School was then founded in 1972 as an elementary and junior high school ministry of the church. Over the next two years, the high school grades were added. As the church continued to grow, the congregation began using the gym for church services, and the former auditorium was turned into a chapel.
In 1976, church leadership again changed as Dr. Davis moved to a position at Maranatha Baptist Bible College, and Dr. Charles R. Wood assumed the pastorate. After achieving debt-free status in 1987, the church decided to purchase a 30-acre tract of land at the corner of Brick and Gumwood Roads in Granger. The church overwhelmingly decided to build new facilities and to relocate to the Granger location. From 1992 until 1996, the church operated at two locations, with the school and offices located in Roseland and worship and other services conducted in Granger. When the Roseland property was sold in 1996, part of the school ministry was relocated to the Granger location, and the remainder used facilities rented from Twin City Baptist Church of Mishawaka.
Rev. Rick Wood assumed the pastorate in 1998, after Dr. Charles Wood retired. Among the many changes in operation of the ministry at that time was a name change for the school, going from Grace Baptist Schools to Granger Christian Schools. This new name reflected a change in philosophy from a school provided for the parents of the membership of the Church to a school designed with the needs of the entire community in mind. It was during Pastor Rick’s tenure that the congregation voted to build the current school building in 2002.
our vision
Striving to be the premier 21st century school in the Midwest, Granger Christian School prepares students to impact the world through a Christ-centered education. As a pre-k through 12th grade college preparatory school, we are equipping students for higher education and a higher calling.
We're Christ-centered, academically minded, relationally focused and excellence-driven.
Christ- Centered
Knowledge is a powerful tool when it is put into service for the work of God. Our school is designed to teach students about the world we live in, so we can better serve the One who created it.
Academically
-Minded
GCS students participate in rigorous academic programs designed to meet and exceed state standards.
Relationally
-focused
Granger Christian School partners with families to reinforce the values we share, bolstering the relationships between parents, students and educators.
Excellence
-driven
We believe God has called us to excellence in our pursuit of Him as well as our pursuit of knowledge.
Our Beliefs
As a ministry of Grace Church, Granger Christian School is integral to and inseparable from Grace Church and is, therefore, in agreement with and bound by the doctrinal position of the Church. This position includes at least the following:
1. We believe the Bible, containing the Old and New Testament, is the verbally inspired Word of God. It is inerrant in its original languages, and the sole authority for personal faith and conduct.
2. We believe that there is one true and living God, Creator of heaven and earth; and that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are equal in their divine perfection and exercising distinct but harmonious roles in the work of salvation.
3. We believe that God wonderfully and immutably created man as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s genetic sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
4. We believe that the first man and woman by willful disobedience fell from their high and holy state. As a result, all humans are sinners, and by nature completely void of the righteousness required by God, inclined to do evil, and therefore under just condemnation to eternal punishment without defense or excuse.
5. We believe that humans are helpless to save themselves. That salvation is a gift of God received solely by grace through faith in the work of Jesus when He took on Himself our sins in dying on the cross, thus exchanging places with the believer.
6. We believe that as we are saved by grace, we are to live by grace and not under the bondage of the law.
7. We believe that the divine relationship established in Christ is as eternal and sure as the Person and promise of the Son of God and Word of God.
8. We believe that upon receiving Christ as Savior by faith, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within the believer and that He never departs.
9. We believe that sanctification means “a setting apart” to God in reference to believers. It involves three aspects:
● The moment a person believes he is set apart in Christ.
● While the believer’s standing is perfect in Christ, his state (life on earth) is not. He is to grow to become more like Christ.
● The believer will, at the coming of Christ, be completely set apart; his standing and state will be one and identical.
10. We believe that the local church is a group of called-out, baptized believers banded together for the purpose of worshiping God, for receiving instruction in the Word of God, for furthering the Gospel around the world, for observing the ordinances, for prayer and for Christian fellowship.
11. We believe in the believer’s baptism, which is the immersion in water of the person who has trusted Christ, thus giving testimony that he is identified with Christ.
12. We believe that Christians are to participate in the Lord’s Supper by partaking of the bread and juice, which symbolize the broken body and shed blood of Christ, respectively. We believe that there is no saving grace in the elements, and the purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember the Lord’s death.
13. We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ and that it will be in two phases. First, He will return in the clouds for the Rapture of the Church before the Tribulation Period. Then we will return visibly with Him to the earth at the conclusion of the Tribulation Period to set up His Kingdom.
Revised by Grace Church elders May 26, 2022
