Develop Minds, Build Faith, Be Disciples
My time at BMS began in Preschool, but for kindergarten and 1st grade, I went to Indian Valley Elementary. I returned to BMS and have been here for second, third, and fourth grade. My mom and dad missed the smaller, more personal experience and they appreciate being a part of a group of people who choose to display Christian morals and values in everyday life at school.
Some of my most special experiences have been becoming friends with my classmates. I also really enjoy special events such as the hayride in the fall and dressing up for Little House on the Prairie Day in 2nd grade. Currently, we are starting to work on an animal cell project. I am really looking forward to Outdoor School next year. I think we will get to do a lot of hands-on activities here at school. I enjoy art because it allows me to be creative. I like to draw. I like music because we have our own recorders. Gym is fun, because we never know what we are going to do, and we play fun games.
Some challenges at school are hard tests and adjusting to extra homework in 4th grade. My favorite subjects are Spelling, Bible, and Science. I appreciate being able to learn about Jesus and pray in school. My teachers are very kind and they help me to understand the work better. I also really love recess where I play football and soccer with my friends, and I think the food is delicious. Thank you to everyone who makes my education possible!
Grant Peachey, 5th grade
I have been attending BMS since preschool. Some meaningful and enjoyable experiences at BMs include field trips, outdoor school in 5th grade, the school sale, student council, and Spiritual Renewal Day. I love the outdoors and that enhanced my learning at outdoor School. I am glad for the opportunity to be a part of student council. Learning to work with others on student council has been a good experience and has taught me to think of others and their preferences when planning activities. I like Spiritual Renewal Day because it is a day that brings your focus back to Jesus in the midst of the school year.
Navigating changes within the school has been challenging at times, but sometimes change is necessary. My favorite subject in school is math. I love to play soccer and basketball. I appreciate the Christian atmosphere at BMS and want to thank the teachers and staff for their hard work and time they have invested in me as well as many others.
Ethan Renno, 9th grade
My time here started in preschool, but I left for a short fraction of the year in first grade. I quickly realized that public school was not the atmosphere that I was used to and I wanted the people and community that we had here back, so I returned here very quickly in first grade. Even as a very young student, I understood the difference and valued the atmosphere here. Through the years, I’ve been really amazed at the ways that BMS has grown and become better as a school. Every year, we continue to change things and grow in ways that are beneficial to us.
There are a few challenges that I thought I would have here at BMS. I thought that, not being in a public school, I would have missed opportunities. But I was so very wrong. I now see the amazing opportunities that we get both academically and spiritually. We have so many opportunities through worship, chapel, prayer groups, and with our teachers to spend time with Christ and work on our own spiritual walks. It’s more than just Bible class. It is amazing that we are given such personal opportunities to grow both with people and on our own spiritual walks.
I also thought that I would find the small atmosphere difficult because there are not as many people to become friends with, and you don’t have a wide variety of people to connect with. But I was also very wrong about that aspect. I realize that in the tight-knit community we are able to form a really close bond. We can really connect with our entire class and be a community. We are also recognized, not just as another student who walks through the door, but as a person who really contributes to the atmosphere at BMS.
One of the things that I deeply appreciate about BMS is that the faculty, teachers, and staff here really desire to impact our lives. They really want to be here and make a difference in each of our lives. They give all that they have to their jobs and put a ton of effort into us. They want to mentor us. They don’t want us to leave here just being prepared academically for the world, but to leave here being better people. They want to see us grow like that.
They’ve also provided some really meaningful experiences here for us. Some of the highlights that I recall are Living Museum and Outdoor School. I love participating in choir and have enjoyed playing soccer a lot. Some of the different things that we do throughout the year, like Spirit Week are also special highlights. It is fun to do things like that together in a school and because we are smaller it is easier to communicate across the school and come together as one group. BMS has been a really great place for me to learn and grow. I am very blessed to be able come here and am thankful that I’ll be able to graduate from here and continue to be a part of the community of families that make up BMS!
Gracie Civitts, 11th grade
We are living in a time when the created ones, the created people have the audacity to believe that they know better than the Creator. So much so that they are willing to override His original design and redefine gender, marriage, family, life, and truth itself to make it more subjective, more palatable, and more comfortable. Let me tell you that grieves me.
So when I come here and see teachers who are willing to pray for and with my kids. When I come here and Beth Peachey looks at my son and says, “This is the way the Lord made your brain.” When I come here and see a school who has a Biblical Statement of Faith and Biblical Statement of Marriage & Sexuality on a public facing website, who will unashamedly and unapologetically stand for and teach a Biblical Worldview and Christian values, I will get behind that every time.
Andrew & Kate Kramm, parents of Lucas (3rd), Mathew (1st), and Abigail (K)
Click here to listen to the entire testimony that Kate shared at our 2022 Fall Fellowship Dinner or here to read her story.
"We choose BMS for our family because it is consistent with our Christian beliefs and our kids thrive in its smaller sized school setting. We appreciate all that is offered to Emma and Ian daily, not only academic-wise, but also for their personal growth in the Lord. Thank you to our amazing teachers and staff who go above and beyond for our school and students."
Joe & Colette Kauffman, parents of Emma & Ian (8th grade)
"We chose BMS for our family because we believed then and still believe today it is the best choice for our children’s education. BMS has the most amazing staff and teachers, all working together to achieve the mission of BMS. We were new to BMS and didn’t really know anyone when we sent our oldest child to 2nd grade; now 9 yrs later, all 4 of our children are attending and the BMS “community” is one of the things that makes it special."
Phil & Lori Weaver, parents of Chantal (12th), Angelina (10th), Isabella (7th), & Brantley (3rd)
"We have gained amazing things by having our daughters at BMS. Not only were they academically challenged, but their souls were fed, the small class sizes allowed them to make friends with everyone, not just a small group of people, and the teachers and staff are just incredible supports in so many ways. We truly feel that BMS has become a family and a place we will continue to support long after our children have graduated."
William Henson & Allison Fisher-Henson, parents of Anney (class of 2020) and Emilee (class of 2023)
"We choose BMS for Ellie and Ava because of the Christ-based atmosphere. We love that they can pray to, talk about and sing to God daily. We love that the classes are smaller, which enables the teachers to be able to help them more individually if necessary. We cannot say enough about the faculty at BMS! They are there to encourage and really care for the students. Several times we have said that BMS is like a small family. Everyone pulls together for the mission of the school. "
Eric & Heather Boring, parents of Ellie (12th) & Ava (11th)
"I don’t really know how much different of a person I would have become had I not gone to BMS. But maybe that is the testimony of BMS’ impact. That I don’t have to wonder what I would have been like, had I not attended BMS. Instead, my parents made a commitment to send me, and my 3 siblings, to BMS, a place that reinforced the beliefs and disciplines that we were taught at home. It was impossible for me at that time to realize and to appreciate the sacrifice my parents made to give us a education with a Christian foundation. Now as a parent I realize those things. Several years ago, when our oldest son Declan was enrolled in the 3-year-old preschool class and I wrote out a check for his tuition, I realized that it was the beginning of many checks that will be written over the next 23 years.
So why choose a place like BMS to educate our children? I’m not naïve enough to believe that if we send our kids here, they’ll be protected from all the “bad” things that kids have to deal with at public school. For me it's that Biblical foundation that is woven into everything that is done here. So, we know that the things being taught in the classroom are consistent with scripture, we know that discipline will be handled in a Biblical manner, that the standard to which students will be held is the standard Christ calls us too. These are the reasons we choose a place like BMS.
We might choose BMS for the smaller classroom sizes, that allow for more individualized instruction. This setting that allows for students to explore and grow in their gifting. That’s what BMS did for me. I’m the kind of person that disappears in large crowds. But in a place like BMS I was given opportunities to grow and exercise my leadership abilities. I also had teachers who encouraged those things they saw in me. Those are the ways BMS impacted who I became."
-Adam Peachey, Class of 2001 (View more testimonies from our Alumni & read featured Alumni Spotlights)