As a young man in a gospel band, Thomas Hoffmaster II had no idea that years later, he would be the pastor of the church where he played and where young people would look to him for guidance. Today he is better known to his congregation as Pastor Huff and has made it his personal mission to reach out to kids in his small West Virginia community by providing a firm foundation of faith and a world-class education through Eastern Panhandle Christian Academy (EPCA).
The academy was founded in 2003 as a ministry of Heritage Free Will Baptist Church and serves students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Last year, deciding that the school needed a curriculum geared toward technology-savvy kids, Pastor Huff became intrigued with Alpha Omega Publications®' Switched-On Online®.
"Kids live in a media-driven world," he said. "They need curriculum that reflects this world, or they get bored. The multimedia elements in Switched-On® really help students stay interested."
According to Pastor Huff, he was very interested in providing new technology to his students, but he wanted more for them than the ability to recite memorized facts. With Switched-On, he found a computer-based curriculum that supported critical thinking skills that would serve his students for a lifetime. One other feature that was appealing for the pastor was the fact that the online curriculum is constantly updated.
After using Switched-On for one year, standard test scores for the same group of kids were up 11 percent from the previous year. The pastor had found what he was looking for. To add icing on the cake, the school was recently accredited by the National Association of Private Schools (NAPS).
Not content to sit back and enjoy the success, Pastor Huff heard about a church not too far away that was interested in starting a Christian school of its own. As church leaders reviewed their options, Pastor Huff offered them one more: they could open a new school as a satellite of EPCA.
By working with AOP to secure a second license to Switched-On Online curriculum, EPCA can extend its services to students 600 miles away to its new satellite location, offering them a Christ-based quality education. Although the details have not yet been worked out, Pastor Huff is excited to be able to help establish this new ministry. He and his wife Sally, who is the principal at EPCA, will help administrate so the new school doesn't have to go it alone. According to Pastor Huff, in two years the school will be up and running with enough experience to go it alone.
With so many Christian schools closing, Pastor Huff is committed to providing a rigorous and relevant, Christ-based education to young people today. As he explained, the "tween" years are a critical time to reach kids. If we can connect with children during middle school and build a strong Christian foundation, this is something that will last throughout their lifetimes.
"A Christian education is priceless," Hoffmaster said.
Pastor Huff and the staff at EPCA do much more than offer an education; they give young Christians a reason to believe. Through mentoring and offering alternatives to students whose schools have closed or who need a little extra attention, EPCA changes lives and shapes the future.
