Vision is critical to the success of any organization, and Fortis Academy has a clear vision: To develop Christian thinkers and communicators. The most important element of that vision is “Christian.” That term was given to believers and was descriptive of their goal to be like Christ. That means we are not only to believe the right things but to act the right way and treat others, even unbelievers, with the respect and dignity of those created in the image of God and for whom Christ died. In the classical tradition, this includes developing the image of God in man in every aspect from virtue, character, skills, reason and faith.

Education and discipleship are intimately intertwined. Many of America’s founding fathers understood this, and so they began developing schools right after our nation was formed. At the heart of that education was Christian faith. They were convinced that a nation only succeeds and prospers if the character of the people is good. The great enemy of good character? Sin. The solution? Jesus. The moral requirements of God’s law are understood through creation itself. When studying classical literature, we can see it interwoven throughout. It is absolutely amazing, certain truths really are self-evident. Yet there is always a tension between acknowledging the truth and being able to develop virtue. While the classical world was committed to this, only the gospel of Jesus Christ made it truly possible. As Jesus said, Christians will be known by their love. Love is the fundamental nature of God and of His law. The grace of God in Jesus Christ makes us loving. Tied to the vision of Fortis is to help our children to think in these Christian terms and communicate to a world that desperately needs Jesus.

We are constantly reevaluating how to better achieve our vision at Fortis. I am convinced the answer is teamwork. All of our families, faculty and staff are committed to our vision, and the more we can work together to achieve it, the more successful we are going to be as a school. This year we have looked at ways we can develop many areas our school to be even better, and the answer is through organizing teams that will help with those areas such as social events for our students and training for our families. Biblical principles work when they are applied to organizations, and one biblical principle Christ taught the church is that when every member does their part it causes the church to grow. The same thing is true for every organization. When a community unites around a vision and peoples’ talents are activated to achieve it, success is inevitable. That is one of the strategies we are developing at Fortis to better achieve our vision. Fortis is great because of all of the people committed to its vision. The fruit of our greatness? That our children will be well prepared for life whatever vocation God has given them. Semper Fortis!