The mission of Heritage Oak School is to serve Christian families and their children by discipling passionate hearts and strong minds to be ALL for Christ; to:

Adore Jesus first and foremost by honoring Him and nurturing a Godly character

Learn to know God’s Word and His Creation, growing in knowledge and wisdom while thinking clearly with discernment

Love Jesus by serving others and influencing the world with the gospel.

OUR VISION

• It is the vision of this school is to educate, promote, establish, and equip students in the classical approach to education in light of a Christian worldview grounded in the Old and New Testaments.
• The vision of the school is to educate through the classical approach to ensure that our Western heritage is not lost. This will be accomplished through association with other classical schools in theAssociation of Classical & Christian Schools. Through various means we will seek an educational standard for a unified and directed approach to classical and Christian learning.
• Our vision is also to teach through a methodology known as the Trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric), which is the educational and classical foundation of our western culture. We believe that God will bless this approach as He has in the past, as long as it follows the principles of His Word.
• We believe that Christianity must be studied in light of its impact on Western culture, and that it must be a part of every subject. In recognizing that our cultural heritage is from God, we do not idolize it, but we ground all that we seek to do upon the revelation of God, both in creation and Scripture, with the former being interpreted by the latter. As a classical and Christian school, we are seeking to integrate all our teaching around the revealed Word of God.

Our Students:

• We aim to graduate young men and women who think clearly and listen carefully with discernment and understanding; who reason persuasively and articulate precisely; who are capable of evaluating their entire range of experience in light of the Scriptures; and who do so with eagerness and joyful submission to God.
• We desire them to recognize cultural influences as distinct from biblical, and to be unswayed towards evil by the former.
• We aim to find them well prepared in all situations, possessing both information and logical knowledge, and knowing how to use them to God’s glory.
• We desire them to be socially graceful and spiritually gracious; equipped with and understanding the tools of learning; desiring to grow in understanding, yet fully realizing the limitations and foolishness of the wisdom of this world.
• We desire that they have a heart for the lost and courage to dissuade those who are stumbling towards destruction; that they will always distinguish between real religion and religion in form only; and that they possess the former, knowing and loving the Lord Jesus Christ. And all these we desire them to possess with humility and gratitude to God.

Teachers:

• We will teach a Biblical worldview. Colossians 2:8.
• We will teach using God‐centered curriculum and all teachings will be filtered through the Scriptures. Proverbs 9:10, 2 Timothy 3:16.
• We will teach the children behavior and character qualities pleasing to God. Proverbs 20:11, I John 3:18. We believe in order for a child to be considered well‐educated and ready to serve both God and country, he must learn to deal with any situation or idea put before him. He must be able to assess each problem or situation according to Biblical standards; then have the courage and wisdom to act upon his convictions. Titus 1:9.
• We will teach the children to honor and respect their parents. Ephesians 6:1 – 2.
• We will seek God with all our hearts to provide teachers who will be Godly role models for the children, whose lives are strong in character and personal discipline. Luke 6:39 – 40.
• We will teach the children the preciousness of others and how their behavior affects others. Our desire is that there will be positive peer influence with older children demonstrating spiritual growth. I Corinthians 15:33, Philippians 2:1 – 4.

Parents:

• We aim to cultivate in our parents a sense of responsibility towards the School and the School community, to see them well‐informed about our goals and approach, and to see them improve in parenting skills through the Parenting Classes.
• We desire them to grow with the School ministry and to be involved and excited about the journey. Our aim is to help them follow biblical principles in their families, in addressing concerns with this ministry and with each other; that they would be inclined to listen to both sides of an issue before rendering a verdict, and embrace the Scripture’s injunctions to encourage and stir up one another to good works and love.

Community:

• Finally, in our relationship with the community of Tehachapi, we aim to be above reproach in our business dealings and supportive of the local business community. We seek to exemplify to them the unity of the body of Christ and bring honor to the Lord in our endeavors.

We recognize and believe in the authority of the Bible as the Word of God.  We do not recognize creeds issued by man as authoritative and binding, but we do offer in humility and sincerity the following statement of doctrine:

1. The Scriptures. Old and New Testaments are the divinely inspired Word of God and infallible in their original writings.  They are perfect and complete, the only written revelation of God to man, and authoritative in all matters.  II Timothy 3:16‐17; II Peter 1:20‐21; Galatians 1:11‐12; II Peter 1:10‐12; Luke 24:44.

2. There is only one God who as Creator of the universe manifests Himself in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Genesis 1:1‐2, 26; Deuteronomy   6:4; Ephesians 4:6. God the Father.  He is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. He reveals Himself as a merciful and loving Father seeking fellowship with mankind.  John 5:19‐26; II Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 21:3.God the Son.  He is revealed as Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin. He is both God and man sent  to seek and to save that which was lost .  Luke 19:10; John 1:1‐2, 14, 18; 3:16; Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18‐21.God the Holy Spirit.  He is sent forth from the Father to indwell the saints, to be their counselor and comforter, to empower them for service, and to seal them to Himself.  His work is to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.  He bestows spiritual gifts upon the believers for the perfecting of the saints.  John 16:5‐16; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:13‐14; 4:7‐14.

3. Man was created in the image of God without sin.  He voluntarily fell from his sinless state and sin has been passed on to all of mankind, alienating all from God and resulting in physical and spiritual death.  Genesis 1:27; 2:7; 3:1‐19; Psalm 14:1‐3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:23; 6:23; Revelation 20:11‐15.

4. Because mankind is hopelessly lost, we are in need of a Savior.  Salvation has been provided through the substitutionary death of Jesus upon the cross.  Through the shedding of His blood we have the forgiveness of sin.  Salvation is a gift entirely by the grace of God.  Through repentance and faith in His death and resurrection we have a living hope and  through faith are shielded by God s power until the coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time . Please Note: Salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, on the merits of Christ alone, and not through the merit or works of man. The grace that saves does not come through acts of obedience or church sacraments.  I Peter 1:3‐5; I John 1:7‐9; 5:10‐13; Hebrews 10:5‐25; Revelation 1:5‐6; 5:9‐10.

5. Christ’s Church is composed of all born‐again believers in Him.  Matthew 16:15‐19; Ephesians 4:1‐16; Colossians 1:24‐27. This local church is that body of believers who are voluntarily united together for: a. Worshiping God.  John 4:23‐24; Hebrews 10:25. b.Ministering to the saints.  Galatians 6:2; John 13:14; I Peter 4:10. c. Evangelizing and discipling.  John 21:15‐17; I Corinthians 11:23‐25; Acts 1:8.d. Keeping the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Matthew 28:18‐20; I Corinthians 11:24‐26.e. We believe in, and practice, baptism by immersion.

6. At the close of this age all of mankind will be judged.  The believers will be rewarded for their acts of righteousness and the unbelievers will be judged for their deeds and unbelief.  Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.  (Hebrews 9:28) Daniel 12:1‐3; I Corinthians 3:9‐17; Revelation 20:11‐21:8.

7. Marriage is an ordinance of the Church that has been established and instituted by God from the dawn of the human race, as described in the early chapters of Genesis. It has been codified in the Mosaic Law, and the Old Testament prophets compared it to the relationship between God and His people. Jesus Christ our Lord explained the original intention and core elements of marriage. When quoting the writings of Moses, Christ reminded us that “a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife, that the two shall become one flesh.” The Apostles give explicit instructions on this union, teaching that marriage is a typology of Christ and His Bride, the Church. As such, the Church views marriage as a profound spiritual institution established by God. In accordance with the Holy Scripture, Country Oaks Baptist Church defines “marriage” as the exclusive union of one man and one woman in which such a union is a lifetime commitment, as described in the Scriptures. A civil government’s sanction of a union will be recognized as a legitimate marriage by this Church only to the extent that it is consistent with the definition of “marriage” found in these By‐Laws and Statement of Doctrine. Ref: Genesis 1:27; 2:18‐24; Malachi 2:13‐16; Matthew 19:3‐12; I Corinthians 7:1‐40; Ephesians 5:21‐33; I Peter 3:1‐7.

8. Human Sexuality – Legitimate sexual relations are exercised solely within marriage as described in Holy Scriptures. Hence, sexual activity outside of marriage (referred to in the New Testament as “porneia” in Greek) including, but not limited to adultery, premarital sex (fornication), homosexuality, and pedophilia are inconsistent with the Bible and the Church. Further, lascivious conduct, transgender behavior, and the creation, distribution, and/or viewing of pornography are incompatible with the Biblical witness and the teachings of the Church. Reference: Exodus 22:16‐19; I Corinthians 6:9‐11 and 15‐20; 7:1‐12; Ephesians 2:1‐3; 4:17‐19; 5:1‐7; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 1:13‐16; 4:1‐5.

9. Affirmation – Every pastor, elder, member, ministry leader or worker, volunteer, or employee shall affirm the Country Oaks Baptist Church Statement of Doctrine, and shall conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent therewith.

*The statement of doctrine adopted by Heritage Oak School is that of the Southern Baptist Convention and is printed in our other manuals, including the staff manual and the parent handbook. It is intentionally Protestant in nature and is considered central to Christian denominations. As written here, and in our other documents, this Statement of Doctrine is accepted as policy by the Board.

*As a member of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools, Heritage Oak School also subscribes to the ACCS statement of faith which is not in conflict with ours.