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Citrus Heights Messenger

Faith Christian Academy Witnesses Miracle in a Month

Sep 08, 2022 12:00AM ● By Story and photos by Ruth N. Morse

Open House attendees visit and explore the site of the new Faith Christian Academy campus at the former Citrus Heights United Methodist Church

Faith Christian Academy Witnesses Miracle in a Month [3 Images] Click Any Image To Expand

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Thursday evening, September 1, 2022, a Grand Opening was celebrated at the former Citrus Heights United Methodist Church for the start of the school year on September 6th. The Methodist Church property will now be used as a second campus for Faith Christian Academy which is located just down the street. Faith Christian Academy is associated with the First Apostolic Church. In a community effort of work and donations, the Methodist Church has been restored from its days of broken windows, trash and neglect.

For the Grand Opening, many showed up to celebrate the refurbished facility. All the rooms and chapel were open for touring. In attendance were congregants of the First Apostolic Church, students, parents, teachers and the local community. Everyone was pleased with the progress made on the once-abandoned property at 7833 Highland Avenue. Students and parents love the Faith Christian Academy which has grades Kindergarten through 8th grade. The academy provided free bottles of cold water, hot dogs and sno-cones from a custom food truck, Snowie Shaved Ice.

The change for the Methodist Church was the brainchild of Pastor Kenneth Sullivan of the First Apostolic Church and Principal James Champlain of the Faith Christian Academy. They noticed the former Methodist Church was abandoned and boarded up. The church had declined in membership over the years since its inception in 1961 and had been vacant for two years before Sullivan and Champlain were able to lease the property with an option to buy at the end of this school year.

Principal Champlain spoke about the process. First, he tracked down the owner of the property. This was the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church. After an agreement was made with the Conference for the eventual transfer of the property, the community work began to bring the abandoned and vandalized church back to life. With money to replace and repair, the church, school and community pitched in and finished it right before the beginning of the school year. Windows had to be replaced in the row of classrooms and the former sanctuary needed to be prepared for its new life as a chapel.

Champlain remembers the local community noticing the activity where there was once an abandoned property. CBS13 covered a story that highlighted the broken windows and boarded up colored-glass windows. The news report stated, “From a place of worship to a place of waste: A local church has become an eyesore.” Also, “It’s going to take a modern-day barn-raising effort to bring this old church back to life.” And that is exactly what happened. In a thirty-day miracle, people pitched in, cheered them on, donated time, money and some great stories. One of the women who assisted had been married in the former Methodist Church and donated to the cause.

Faith Christian Academy was started in 1976 by Betty Wilburn, the mother-in-law of James Champlain. At first it was a nursery, but it is now a school with enrollment in kindergarten through 8th grades. The new acquisition for the school will house the current junior high grades (7th and 8th) and will be the site for a new high school program starting in the fall of 2022. Both campuses are on Highland Avenue in Citrus Heights, and it is easy to walk between them. The school is popular and draws students from all over the area. Sometimes, all the children from a family will attend the school together. There is a waiting list to enter the elementary school and that has been the case for years. The capacity for the student body will increase from 140 students to 180 with the new property acquisition.

The school uses Abeka, a Christian-based graded curriculum. FCA feels that their God-given ministry is to “instruct today’s students in Christian character, language, math and traditional subject matter.” If anyone is interested in more information about the school, they can contact FCA Middle School at 916-725-5707.

While the last two years have been challenging in many ways, the collaborative effort between the churches and the school brings hope to the Citrus Heights community. After isolation, people are glad to come together. In difficult times, it is good to know that there is still hope for the transformation of a facility that at one time looked like it had outlived its usefulness. Community is important in neighborhoods, schools and churches and the expansion of the Faith Christian Academy is a testament to building for the future. From its blue pews in the chapel to its new windows in the classrooms to its foray into high school to its beautiful colored glass windows, the light and hope of resurrection is evident in the hard work and vision of all who assisted with the Citrus Heights project. Hopefully, it will inspire others to continue to build the community for future generations.