We are in a time with many competing voices. The many stories that are told, commitments suggested, and truths proposed lead in different directions – toward or away from God. There have always been competing voices. However, in our times, the volume of competition is truly outstanding. We need discernment and practice to hear the voices that really matter. In these times, we are committed to a pattern of life and learning that follows many faithful discerners who have come before. We aim to serve the church by cultivating learning experiences and offering resources for conservative Anabaptist people.
Our Vision
The world needs people who bear the image of God and have allowed the Gospel of Christ to shape their lives.
Faith Builders seeks to assist families and churches in developing people who:
Love God supremely and follow Jesus faithfully through the Spirit
Are prepared for and engaged in lifelong service
Are humble, competent, and faithful church members
We long to see flourishing churches, effective schools, and joyful homes across the world.
We hope to see the earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
We anticipate the day when the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven.
Our confidence in this vision is anchored in years of the voices and faithful examples of the historic church. We continue to give voice to them through studying their imitation of Christ.
Our Practices
We are a conservative Anabaptist learning community located in Guys Mills, PA. We provide learning experiences and resources to guide people toward humble, joyful, Christ-centered participation in the Kingdom of God. We believe that our heads, hearts, and hands participate in the search for truth. They must, therefore, grow in proportion to each other and best grow in the context of community. We learn for the purpose of knowing, loving, and submitting to God in the context of church-and-neighbor love.
We Work Together
Teacher apprentices work closely with homeroom teachers and other apprentices to prepare, teach, and reflect.
We recreate Together
Students and staff enjoy regular recreation: a canoe camping trip, short trips, sports, and spontaneous activity.
We Tell Stories
We appreciate the power of story. Students frequently host literature nights and we ask staff to tell stories during chapel.
We Worship
We anchor our learning activities in singing, Scripture, and prayer.
We Grow Together
Students meet weekly with several of their classmates and two assigned mentors to share life, seek God, and consider their calling.
We Learn Together
We give a priority to in-person classroom learning. Here, teacher apprentices engage in a large-group debrief.
We Pray
Students regularly spend time sharing with each other before coming to Christ in prayer.
We Sing
We sing in chapel and we sing in choir. Shared singing is a powerful way that God shapes us and brings us together.
We EAt Together
We appreciate the power of hospitality. When students and staff share meals they offer the gift of hospitality to each other.
We Seek God alone
Several times a semester, students and staff set aside time for solitude and prayer.
“…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength…You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:29-31
Faith Builders is committed to the tenets and practice of historic Christianity in a conservative Anabaptist context. Our goal is to offer a positive, counter-cultural approach to education inspired by this tradition. To be Christ-centered means that we embrace participation in the church, the body of Christ. It means we see the church as the focal point of what God is doing in the world.
The church receives with gratitude the wisdom that precedes it, building on its grace not only to withstand but also to turn back the shadow of evil and injustice. The church, through Christ, is equipped to prevail against the gates of hell. There is much of our understanding that we share with Christians of all times and places. We (and the early Anabaptists) owe a tremendous debt to believers that came before.
Thus, rather than seeking state or academic accreditation, our focus is centered on seeking church accreditation and authority. We continue to walk the path they traveled through a commitment to practices that embody our beliefs.
A Christian mind has a different set of ways to access an understanding of truth than a secular mind does. Christ has the claim on truth; anything true belongs to God. To recognize the Lord our God as One and to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength is our greatest calling. Additionally, human experience shapes the mind, and we are committed to cultivating experiences consistent with the love of God.
