“Challenging students through Christ-centred education to pursue a life of Godly character and academic excellence.”
This is the motto of CBF Christian School, which has been educating students with a Christian focus for 45 years now in Swan River.
The journey of establishing a private Christian education in Swan River began in the late 1970s when a group of families felt that they were being called by God to start a Christian school. This group consisted of Jake and Doris Reimer, George and Elsie Braun (the pastor of Community Bible Fellowship at the time), Ben and Alma Dyck, along with Doug and Gena Reader (the pastor of Little Woody Baptist Church) and the Earl and Shirley Reader (members of Little Woody Baptist Church).
“For my parents – Jake and Doris – this desire was not a reaction to anything bad that was going on in the public schools,” said Melanie Bird, who was one of the first students in the school when it was established in 1980, joining when she was 11 years old. “They were quite happy with the schools in the Valley and were not entirely convinced that starting a Christian school was what God wanted them to do. But, God nudged them to continue on with the pursuit of investigating what would all be involved.
“This was a very busy time in my parents’ life. They had just finished building the church (which was in a building on Ross Street at that time), they had three school-aged children and my father had a growing construction business. Neither of my parents had completed Grade 12, so starting a school was definitely outside of their comfort zone.
“In the process of investigating what would be involved to start a school, my parents would take our family on road trips to the USA to visit other Christian schools,” Bird continued. “Christian schools were a relatively new idea here in Canada at that time. It was during this time that both Mom and Dad grew in their conviction that this was what God wanted them to do. They saw the opportunity to include God’s truth in the daily education of children. This was not a way to protect children from worldly influence so much as it was to equip them with God’s Word and to teach them from a Christian perspective.”
Once the idea of developing a Christian school gained traction, several Swan Valley churches showed their support, with members from many different churches joining the initial board.
In the first six years, the school was merely a series of cubicals mounted to the walls along the perimeter of the church sanctuary, designed to be folded down during the week and folded up for Sunday morning service. Each student worked at their own pace and teachers and educational assistants were there to offer guidance as needed.
A more suitable church and school building was eventually erected in 1986, which is the building where Community Bible Fellowship (CBF) and CBF Christian School stands now on Hwy. No. 83. The current building incorporates a full classroom setup with school on one side of the building and church on the other.
High school classes were also eventually brought in the mid-1990s, starting with Grade 9 and eventually growing to include 10, 11 and 12. More classrooms were built as well to accommodate. At it’s peak during these high school years, the school had 92 students in the student body.
In 2005, the high school classes ended up closing as too many students desired to pursue the greater opportunities at the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School and was difficult for a much smaller and resource-poor school to compete.
“We were one of the first schools in the Valley to have Junior Kindergarten,” said CBF Christian School Board Chair Tracy Burick, who has been involved in the school since the 1990s.
The Swan Valley School Division eventually incorporated Junior Kindergarten soon after, but by the time the COVID-19 pandemic rolled around, Junior Kindergarten was no longer sustainable for anyone.
To date, the school now has 37 students enrolled between Kindergarten to Grade 8.
“Everything we teach is Manitoba curriculum, and we just bring it from a biblical lens,” said Burick. “Like, if we’re teaching science or math, we say God created these concepts and this is how we’re teaching it.
“We do have a Bible class on top of it where we’re teaching bible in place of where another school might have French class or band.”
Burick noted that some of those electives that other schools might offer might not be available at CBF Christian School, but they do still have sports programs and music programs that round out the school experience.
Burick highlighted the importance of teaching the same materials as a public school would – especially because their students would most likely move on to the only secondary school in the Swan Valley – but still adding the Christian Biblical perspective on those same materials, and not leaving students isolated away from secular viewpoints.
“Our heartbeat has always been that we want to include Jesus in the students’ school day,” said Burick. “We want the children to be grounded, we want them to understand, we want them to know, we want them to serve God and that’s what we want for them educationally, adding life skills and moral character.”
Burick emphasized the addition of note only praising students for academic achievements, but also character achievements, in a way that encourages personal development as educational development.
Some of the biggest challenges in running a private Christian school is finances, as a portion of funding comes from a provincial grant and the rest comes from tuition, which the school does their best to keep as affordable as possible. When there is fundraising, it’s often a parent-led initiative raising money for a specific project like a playground structure.
“It’s a balance, and people who can or can’t afford the tuition in a small community is always taken into consideration,” said Burick. “At the same time, we can’t pay our teachers what the (Swan Valley School Division) can pay, so that doesn’t make us as attractive to everyone because of that. To our teachers, it’s a ministry, and they come knowing full well that they’re not going to be able to be paid as much, and they do it because they believe in why they’re doing it.”
The school has also received support from many people from many different Swan Valley congregations over the years. While the school doesn’t regularly receive significant donations from other churches, many of the staff, board members and parents come from outside of the CBF congregation.
Students like Bird grew up to raise her own family and send them to CBF Christian School, and see them receive the benefit that she received when she was a young girl. Bird has essentially remained involved in the school in one way or another since she attended.
“I had the privilege of being the school secretary for 11 years, teach art, and now I sit on the school board,” she said. “I’ve gained a greater appreciation for all the passion, dedication and hard work the staff, teachers and board have for CBF Christian School.
“But, most importantly, I am truly in awe of what God has done here. From prompting those young parents in the late ‘70s to pursue starting the school, to providing financially through many different challenging times, also providing so many excellent teachers, staff and principal, and finally providing families that continue to see the value of what CBF Christian School is doing and desire to be a part of it. With confidence, I believe He will continue to provide as long as He desires to do so, and none of this would have been possible without Him.”