Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, marked a milestone at Central Valley Christian School in Tangent, Ore., as the community celebrated 60 years of ministering to the Corvallis, Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home, Ore., communities.
More than 200 people joined the staff, students, volunteers and parents for Sabbath morning worship and fellowship in the gym. Chuck Burkeen, Oregon Conference ministerial director, not only taught the adult Sabbath School lesson but also pinch-hit for Oregon Conference president Dan Linrud, who was ill, by offering an especially relevant morning message.
Burkeen helped the audience remember how Central Valley Christian School has been an “Ebenezer stone” for an awful lot of people through the last six decades, reinforcing how God has used Central Valley to lead so many as they walked with and toward a Savior.
The school, located on Highway 34 since opening in 1957, began as a first- through eighth-grade school. It expanded to junior academy status by adding ninth and 10th graders in 1971 and returned to pre-K through eighth grade in 2011 to better minister to its community’s needs.
The celebration continued with a classic “haystacks” lunch. After the fellowship meal, many remained at the school to connect with friends from years past or relive on-site memories.
The evening finished with a food fair and dessert auction aimed at supporting Central Valley’s developing capital campaign. When the burgers had been flipped, the taquitos had been rolled and the noodles dished onto plates, the auction began and, once again, the Central Valley Christian School community came up big, supporting the school to the tune of more than $4,500.
With that kind of community investment time and time again, Central Valley Christian School looks forward to many more years of leading children and their families to Jesus.
