A Christ-Centered Educational Facility Serving
Students in Grades Pre-K through 12.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." observed the wise King Solomon
under divine inspiration (Proverbs 1:7). Through the centuries, the pursuit of learning
has been one of the primary endeavors of mankind's existence. Unfathomable effort,
incalculable expense, and countless hours have been devoted to the ceaseless task of acquiring
knowledge and passing it on to future generations. Education is inexorably linked with survival.
Yet, in the really BIG picture, from the perspective of the Eternal God, education is of little
value when it usurps from its foundation the defining Rock upon which all the mysteries of the
universe, great and small, both abide and derive their meaning.
"And He
[the Son, Jesus Christ]
is before all things, and by Him all things consist." (Colossians 1:17)
The Founding of Living Word Academy
Back in 1972, the Lord called Bro. Robert
J. Mazur to pastor the Living Word
Church, anointed him to preach the
Word of God, and spoke to his heart
about many things that would come to
pass. Two of these were that the Church
would be in Syracuse, and that the
Church would have a Christian Academy:
A place to train up young people to
help produce spiritual life and academic
excellence in its future generations.
In looking back to the early years, it was
hard to imagine how the Lord would
do it. The majority of the brethren in
the assembly or Church in 1972 were
not professionals. In fact, they were the
ones that no one else wanted. Some had
known some real trouble in their lives.
Others had been bound by drugs, or had
been in jail. Many didn't have jobs.
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his
great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ, (by grace
ye are saved;)...That in the ages to come
he might shew the exceeding riches
of his grace, in his kindness toward us
through Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2:4-5,7)
God, in His mercy, had saved these men
and women and was transforming lives.
More and more hungry hearts came for
the Truth: people from every walk of
life, of all different ages and different
positions in society. A large handful of
them were professional teachers.
Little by little, year by year, the Lord
was putting the pieces into place for the
founding of Living Word Academy. As
He brought in the talent, the Church
grew spiritually, and became able to
faithfully operate such a broad-scoped
ministry. With each family that was
added to the Church, the need for the
Academy grew. Parents found that it was
counterproductive to have their children
learn from non-Christian public school
teachers who taught the godless values
of secular humanism. As a result of
this, the Church tried to "patch up" the
spiritually sick, ailing, and even dying
young people with "spiritual first-aid" on
weekends. They would come to Church,
Sunday school, or youth fellowships
and shed tears of repentance and determine
to serve the Lord after having been
drawn into worldly attitudes and behaviors
by their involvements in the public
school. Then they would have to go right
back to that ungodly influence on Monday
morning and the whole cycle would
begin again. Many of the young people
at that time experienced great conflict
spiritually and morally. They needed the
opportunity to serve God in a consistent
Christian manner.
Living Word Academy on opening day, 1979.
By January of 1979, Pastor Mazur
believed it was time to take steps to
open the Academy. After the necessary
preparations were made, LWA opened
just in time for the school year in
September 1979. On opening day, there
were five teachers, 65 students from eight
different school districts, and approximately
40 to 50 volunteers working as
teaching assistants, kitchen help, maintenance
workers, etc. Classes were being
held at the Church building. Lack of space
was a real problem at the Church structure,
especially for the physical education
department. Wanting to alleviate at least
that problem, an inquiry was made to
the East Syracuse-Minoa school district
about possibly renting a gymnasium.
We were told that we could not rent a
gym, but that just down the road from
the Church facility, the district owned
a school building they hoped to rent or
to sell. It sounded too good to be true!
A beautiful 16-acre educational facility
less than a quarter-mile down the road
from the Church building, available at
just the right time! It testified again of
the hand of the Lord ordering the steps
of those who wait on Him. Living Word
Academy has been at 6101 Court Street
Road ever since. The Academy became
N.Y.S. Board of Regents-accredited
(registered) in September of 1981 and
was reaccredited (reregistered) in April
of 1987. *
Living Word Academy today is located right next to Living Word Church.
As it was in the beginning, so it is
today, that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
is the life-source to the Academy. He is
the One who keeps it going financially,
and He is the One who puts the call in
the hearts of the brethren to serve there.
At Living Word Academy, we recognize
how tremendously important it is
to nurture today's students, as they are
the adult Church members of tomorrow.
Not only must we teach them quality
academics, but also we must teach them
by example what it means to be a disciple
of the Lord Jesus Christ in today's
world. This type of Christ-Centered
education is what Living Word Academy
is all about.
*Soon after the Academy opened,
Church leadership sought accreditation
by the New York State Board of Regents.
Many Christian schools operating today
often won't or can't obtain accreditation.
Living Word Church's policy towards
the Academy has always been that the
Lord's children deserve at the very least,
an education which uses accreditation
as the minimum standard of operation.
To that end, Living Word Church subsidizes
Living Word Academy for approximately
25% of its total operating budget
each year.
The Academy is cleaned and maintained
by a largely volunteer staff, including
many LWA alumni.
In addition to the volunteer cleaning
staff, all 7th through 12th grade students
are required each day to clean the Academy.
They clean, sweep and dust their
rooms, hallways and doorways as well
as collect and dispose of all trash. We
try to instill a sense of ownership and
responsibility for the school the Lord
has given them.
