You are invited to a community roundtable where we will share about the unique challenges facing our adolescents today. Christian schools provide an atmosphere that promotes learning from a biblical worldview that equips them to navigate culture with grace and grit. Our panelists will briefly share from their perspective and then we will open for sharing your experiences and visioning together. We want persons of faith, parents, teachers, coaches, and other professionals who work with kids as we consider building together a Christian middle school for our community.
Rick Kempton is a recognized national/international leader in Christian School education. During Rick’s nearly 40 years as a Christian school administrator he has served for 26 of those years as an elected member of the Association of Christian Schools International Board (ACSI). Rick is the only board member to twice be elected to serve as the board chairman. He has served as the superintendent/head of school for two Christian schools, 28 years in Southern California and the last 10 years here in Maryland. In addition to Rick’s involvement with ACSI and leading two Christian schools, he has chaired school accreditation visits in California, Arizona and in a number of Christian schools in Asia.
During Rick’s years serving Christian schools he has also become a sought after presenter at conferences, retreats, symposiums and similar venues on topics related to leadership, campus culture,critical issues facing Christian schools, along with topics related to marriage and family. He and his wife Barbara celebrated 50 years of marriage on June 10, 2022. He anticipates continuing for one additional year at Annapolis Area Christian School before moving full time to Mesquite, Nevada .
Rev Faith Wilkerson is the Pastor of Mt Harmony-Lower Marlboro Church and former Head of School at The Wesley School in Owings (founded in 2019 for grades K-2nd) and is currently serving on the development of The Wesley Upper School, a church exempt school operated at Centenary United Methodist Church in Shady Side. She will share the roots of Methodism in education and the untapped connectional possibilities between churches to respond to the cultural crisis at hand.
Rev Brian Berger is the Pastor of Smithville United Methodist Church in Dunkirk who understands the importance of the mentoring teens and team building. He is a Character Coach for one of the local highschool football teams and has experienced the impact, first hand, of Christian initiatives such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes.