Fifty years ago, the Dayton Christian School Class of 1972 marched to Pomp and Circumstance at Christian Tabernacle Church on Best Street in Dayton. Those 23 students and the crowd in attendance could not have foreseen the miraculous journey God had in mind for DC.
Dayton Christian will celebrate 50 years of graduating Warriors for Christ this Sunday as members of the Class of 2022 cross the stage at SouthBrook Christian Church to receive their diplomas. These graduates are the reflection of a deep history founded six decades ago on faith and prayer.
DC was founded in 1963 by Bud “Claude” E Schindler and a small group of believers at Patterson Park Church who had a vision to start a Christian school in the area. Dayton Christian Elementary School began with one class of 14 kindergarten students, one teacher (Mary Beam), and a vision to “Educate for Eternity.”
That focus meant a Biblically-integrated curriculum that was built on prayer and focused on Christ.
“The heart and focus of our ministry has always been and has always got to be a focus on Christ,” Schindler said. “It was founded with a deep desire to exalt the name of Jesus Christ and present the truth of God’s Word.”
It wasn’t always easy. There was no endowment for the school and there was no money to build any of the campuses – but God always provided.
“We spent a lot of time in prayer,” Schindler said. “Man couldn’t have done what needed to be done. It had to be God.”
Five thousand graduates later, Dayton Christian School has had an impact all over the globe. However, the greatest legacy of Dayton Christian School is her alumni.
DC alums serve as college professors, professional athletes, pastors, television stars, journalists, doctors, and missionaries, just to name a few. For Schindler and the entire DC faculty and staff, DC’s purpose is fulfilled by watching our alumni find their true calling in life and using it to glorify the Lord.
“What brings me the greatest joy is seeing our graduates,” Schindler said. “It’s the sentiment from 3 John 1:4 where it says ‘I have no great joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.’ That is joy!”
This is our hope for the Class of 2022 – that they may join the classes that have gone before them in upholding God’s truth in the world. Congratulations graduates – may God bless you richly!
