Our Beliefs

Our faith in Christ shapes how we think about education. Every belief we hold about teaching and learning rests on a biblical worldview: the conviction that God's Word is true and speaks to every area of life. At Hickory Grove Christian School, we believe:

• All truth is God's truth, and that every subject should be taught through a biblical worldview.
• Christian education is a shared effort among the school, the home, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, and the broader body of Christ.
• Christian education must have an eternal perspective, focused on the salvation and discipleship of the next generation.
• Success at HGCS is measured not only by students' leadership, excellence, and integrity, but most of all by a lifelong commitment to Jesus Christ.
• A rigorous environment across academics, athletics, and the arts fully prepares students for the challenges ahead of them.
• Students learn in different ways, so our teachers use a variety of instructional strategies to support each learner.
• Each student is created in the image of God, with unique spiritual, academic, physical, mental, and emotional needs.

God's Word, as revealed in Scripture, guides us. Our school verse is Matthew 6:33:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

Christian faith is the basis for everything we do at Hickory Grove Christian School. We seek Christ first in all that we do.

As a ministry of Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Hickory Grove Christian School exists to fulfill our vision:

"To know Christ and to make Him known through Christian education."

We filter every part of education through this vision. It begins with the biblical presuppositions of our faith and is driven by the conviction that all truth is God's truth. It aims students toward a Great Commission mindset (Matthew 28:18–20) and leads to a biblical wisdom that is completed in the fear of the Lord.

As a school, our mission is:

Hickory Grove Christian School disciples students through a biblical worldview, forming them in academics, athletics, and arts to be committed to God, connected to the mission, and wise in Christ, that they may know Him and make Him known.

Our mission is how we pursue our vision day to day. Every classroom, team, and stage at HGCS operates within a biblical worldview, with the goal of forming students spiritually.

Our three Expected Student Outcomes (ESOs) describe the graduate our mission aims to form: a student being shaped into the likeness of Christ in every area of life. Committed to God orders our loves. Connected to the Mission orders our relationships with others. Wise in Christ orders our pursuit of knowledge.

Committed to God

Devoted to the Lord with rightly ordered loves

A committed student loves God above every other affection: God first, then neighbor, then the good gifts of this world in their proper place (Matthew 22:37–39). Through worship, prayer, Scripture reading, and Christian community, students grow from knowing the truth to trusting Christ with their whole lives. Even good things like academics, arts, athletics, friendships, and family are kept beneath Him.

Connected to the Mission

Joined to the body of Christ in shared mission

Every person bears the image of God and is made for community (Genesis 2:18). A connected student lives as part of the body of Christ across four communities: the school, the home, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, and the broader Church. Students are formed through discipleship with faculty, peers, families, and the local church, and they seek to truly know others through accountability, encouragement, hospitality, and service.

Wise in Christ

Discerning between the biblical wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10). A wise student cultivates virtue, knows what is true with eyes fixed on eternity, and lives all of life under the lordship of Christ. Through biblical literacy, Sabbath rest, and faithful stewardship of time and gifts, students learn to balance work, rest, study, and play, and to care for their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.