The History of
Lakewood Park Christian School
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| 1957 |
Pastor Chester Doden, of Bible Baptist Church (BBC), expresses his dream of a Christian school in DeKalb County to his son, Daryle. |
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| 1961 |
The Franciscan Order purchases a 125-acre property on County Road 29, adds a lake, plants trees, and builds a 48,000 square foot facility called St. Anthony’s Novitiate to train young men for the priesthood. |
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| 1975 |
Pastor Wayne Smith invites a speaker to BBC; the message centers on the importance of Christian education at the elementary and secondary level. Pastor Smith and a group of men from BBC drive out to St. Anthony’s Novitiate on County Road 29 to pray and ask God to provide the property for a Christian school. |
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| 1976 |
Faith Christian Academy opens in Bible Baptist Church at the corner of 18th and Jackson in Auburn with 37 students. |
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| 1978 |
The Novitiate goes on the market, but the church is unable to purchase it. |
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| 1980 |
The first student graduates from Faith Christian Academy. |
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| 1981 |
To fulfill his father’s dream, Daryle Doden purchases the Novitiate property from the Franciscans with the understanding that it would be used for a church and Christian school. He works out a lease-loan agreement with Bible Baptist and they take possession in July. The school year starts in the new facility that fall. |
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| 1982 |
The church moves to the new facility in April, and a second class graduates from the school in May. |
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| 1983 |
A new gymnasium, band room, locker rooms, and mezzanine classrooms are added to the facility. |
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| 1987 |
The high school curriculum transitions from PACE to a traditional-style classroom. |
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| 1992 |
The name of the school and church are changed to Lakewood Park Baptist Church and Christian School. There are 104 students enrolled. |
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| 1993 |
The school earns a seven-year accreditation through the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). A Pre-K program is added |
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| 1994 |
All elementary classes are now single-grade classrooms rather than split-grades |
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| 1995 |
Guidance services for high school students, as well as a computer lab, are added. |
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| 1997 |
The inner courtyard and old kitchen are remodeled into a large dining room/fellowship hall, kitchen, and administrative offices. A hot lunch program begins in November. |
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| 1998 |
With 392 students enrolled, Mrs. Kathy Bruns joins the administration in the new position of elementary principal. |
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| 1999 |
With 450 students enrolled, the elementary has two or three sections of each grade level, from Pre-K through 5th. The church and school boards vote to begin a building project. |
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| 2000 |
The “Building a Legacy” campaign is held from January through March. Church and school families pledge over $1.5 million over three years to add an addition to the building and improve traffic flow. Groundbreaking for a three-story, eighteen-classroom addition is held on April 10. Project completed in December 2000. A high school principal who will also do guidance is added to the administrative staff in August. |
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| 2001 |
“Building a Legacy” Miracle Goal of $2.5 million is reached in May. Two new computer labs, two college-level science labs, and networking of the entire facility is the result of a $256,000.00 grant from the Dekko Foundation. Construction of multi-purpose facility begins in July of 2001, and is completed in May of 2002. |
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| 2002 |
The DESIGN program is launched to identify each student’s unique design and develop it through large group, small group, and individual activities. |
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| 2003 |
Mr. Mark Wever finishes as administrator after 10 years. The school year ends with an enrollment of 558 students. Mr. Randy Carman, the new school superintendent, assumes leadership of the school in July. |
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| 2004 |
Mr. Mike Christner begins his role as full-time secondary principal, and a 1st-12th grade art program is added to enhance both elementary and secondary curriculum. Lakewood Park Baptist Church starts the Early Learning Ministry. |
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| 2005 |
The Power Plus program is started in 7th-12th grades in an effort to help students live their faith through engaging with the world in community service. |
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| 2006 |
Four mini-buses are purchased through funding from school families and a local foundation to aid with transportation for this service and other school functions. The school equips every classroom with a computer, projector, and DVD/VCR for multi-media instruction. The high school lab is equipped with new computers for instruction. |
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| 2007 |
Linda Pearson begins her role as full-time elementary principal following the retirement of Kathy Bruns. |
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