Position Paper

United Pentecostal Church International

Weldon Spring, Missouri, USA

www.upci.org

CHURCH SCHOOLS

Adopted by the General Conference in 1983

Inasmuch as the United Pentecostal Church International is a worldwide organization of more than 9,000 local assemblies existing to propagate the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Inasmuch as this proclamation includes the discipling of constituents and the training of children, and

[Inasmuch as it is] furthermore our firm conviction that this training of children can be extended to their proper education within a Christian environment, and

Whereas it is within our rights as citizens of these United States [of America] to consider our parochial Christian schools an extension of our local church ministry, and

Whereas there are areas of these United States [of America] where this freedom of choice concerning the education of our children is being assailed and denied by certain states within this union,

Be it resolved that this 59th General Conference of the United Pentecostal Church International go on record as upholding this basic liberty of a local church to provide for its constituents a private parochial school without interference from any external authority with reference to its curriculum or teachers.

Furthermore, we go on record as opposing an effort by any governmental agency to impede this right; we dedicate ourselves this day as a unified body to protect, stand with, pray for, and lend assistance in all practical ways to any assembly whose right as described herein has been violated.

We further reiterate that inasmuch as our educational concepts are rooted in scriptural Judeo-Christian principles that it is not incumbent upon our schools to accept any curriculum imposed upon them by the education proponents of secular humanism that would violate these principles.