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Bethany Christian Schools (BCS) is a private
Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some count ...
for grades 1–12 in
Goshen, Indiana Goshen ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka ...
, United States.


History

The Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference chartered a high school on June 4, 1953, to be built in Goshen on land that had been "home to a Potawatomi tribe". It opened on September 7, 1954. There were building additions as the school grew, in 1957, 1964 and 1989. Bethany Christian was founded to serve
Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radi ...
secondary school students. Following a 24,000 sq. ft. addition to the school in 1990, a middle school was added in 1996, and grades 4–5 were added in 2011. The school added third grade classes in 2021, and added first and second grades in 2022. Approximately 80 percent of the school's 350 students in 2018 joined walkouts by students from around the country to protest federal inaction on preventing school shootings. Bethany's protest included song and prayer. Students not participating gathered in the middle school gym.


Athletics

In 2021 extensive sports renovations were begun, including new tennis courts, a new pavilion, upgraded concessions and restrooms, and a new soccer facility, with a field surrounded by a new track, bleachers, press box and scoreboard, as well as new LED lights. Other planned changes include renovations to the baseball field and dugout, the softball field, and a new batting cage, with new landscaping around the entire complex. In 2007, BCS was barred from hosting sectional championships because of its refusal to play
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
at sporting events, as the lyrics are at odds with pacifist ideals of Mennonites. By the 2015 school year, the BCS board decided to play the national anthem at certain sporting events, but it was criticized by some in the community for yielding to considerations of home-field advantage, revenue, and the publicity of hosting championship series, to make the decision. Bethany Christian won its first state championship in 2023 in the 1A Boys soccer state championship. The Bethany Christian Bruins are members of the Hoosier Plains Conference. School colors are royal blue and white. The following
Indiana High School Athletic Association The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Indiana. It monitors a system that divides athletically-competing high schools in Indiana ...
(IHSAA) sanctioned sports are offered: *Baseball (boys) *Basketball (girls and boys) *Cross country (girls and boys) *Golf (boys) *Soccer (girls and boys) *Softball (girls) *Tennis (girls and boys) *Track and field (girls and boys) *Volleyball (girls)


Awards

* BCS received Elkhart County's 2006 Urban Conservation Award for its wetland study site, which transformed a retention pond into "a diversified wetland and a research site for students". * In 2017, Bethany Christian Schools received the
U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
's Green Ribbon Schools Award, one of two schools in Indiana and 63 schools nationwide to be commended for excellence "in the areas of reducing environmental impact and costs, improving the health and wellness of schools, students, and staff, and providing an environmental education, incorporating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), civic skills, and green career pathways". * The
Indiana Department of Education The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) oversees primary and secondary education in the U.S. state of Indiana. The department is managed by the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, an elected office most recently held by Jennifer McCo ...
recognized Bethany Christian Schools among 70 schools statewide for student success on Advanced Placement exams in 2018.


References


External links


Bethany Christian Schools
{{authority control Private middle schools in Indiana Private high schools in Indiana Mennonite schools in the United States Schools in Elkhart County, Indiana Christian schools in Indiana Educational institutions established in 1954 1954 establishments in Indiana