WELCOME TO MARANATHA CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

Maranatha Christian Academy is a new private, non-denominational Christian school in Ames, Iowa, located at 3504 Grand Avenue. Classes will begin this year on September 2, 2008, for elementary, middle, and high school students. Parents will share in the opening day devotions with the students. Maranatha is currently meeting at Heartland Baptist Church. We are blessed to have such excellent facilities as those provided to us at Heartland Baptist.
What Does Maranatha Mean?
Maranatha Christian Academy. What's in a name? What does the word "Maranatha" mean, you ask? The word "Maranatha" is a Syriac phrase meaning "our Lord comes." It is found in I Corinthians 16:22 in the New Testament of the Bible. Early Christians would use "Maranatha" as a greeting and a farewell to remind each other that Jesus could come back at any moment for them. We have chosen this as our name because it helps us to maintain an eternal focus in all that we do here and now.

OUR TEACHERS AND CLASSES

God has blessed Maranatha Christian Academy with three highly qualified faculty members dedicated to providing thoroughly Christian academic instruction aimed at shepherding students' hearts toward godliness through their relationship with Jesus Christ. Mr. Joel Newman and Mrs. Jenny Anderson are both alumni of Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny. Newman earned a Bachelor's degree from FBBC and a Master of Education degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is a licensed teacher in Iowa with six years of teaching experience, and he is currently finishing an internship with the Association of Christian Schools International for Christian School Administration. Anderson earned a Bachelor's degree and a Master of Arts degree from Iowa State University. She has taught in several Christian high schools in Iowa and Minnesota for the past twenty-six years, and she holds an Iowa Master Educator's license. Mrs. Rebecca Carlson is the new 4th-6th grade teacher. She graduated from Wayland Baptist University and has previous teaching experience at Des Moines Christian School.

Mrs. Jennifer Anderson, Mrs. Rebecca Carlson, and Mr. Joel Newman are the elementary,
middle, and high school teachers at Maranatha Christian Academy meeting
at Heartland Baptist Church.

Courses offered this year in the middle and high schools are: Bible classes for all ages, Ethics and Issues, Physics, Geography, Physical Science, Drama, Study Skills, 7th and 8th-grade Math, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Advanced Math, Government, Economics, English, a special literature class—Understanding the Times, French 2, Spanish 1, and Middle School Exploratory. Maranatha currently offers classes for students from 4th through 12th grade.

NICKERSON NAMED BASKETBALL COACH

Maranatha Christian Academy is pleased to announce that veteran Basketball coach Nick Nickerson has been named as the new basketball coach. Nickerson has been instrumental in starting four basketball programs in the past. He began the girl's program at Ankeny Christian Academy, and most recently started the Ames Vision program for both boys and girls. Ames Vision has competed with teams all over Iowa, in several surrounding states, and participated in national tournaments. In its first season, the Maranatha Mustangs boys team compiled a record of 7-6.

MARANATHA WILL ADD GIRLS BASKETBALL

This year Maranatha will have both a boys and girls varsity program. Already about 15 games have been scheduled for both teams. These include games with Ottumwa Christian, Cono Christian School, the Des Moines Warriors, Countryside Classics, Floyd Lighthouse Academy, LIFE, Hardin County, the Omaha Road Runners and Omaha Warriors, and both teams will play in at least one tournament. Practice will begin in October for both the boys and girls. Mrs. Rebecca Carlson has been named the assistant girls basketball coach. Mrs. Carlson played varsity basketball for six seasons at Crosswalk Christian School in Kansas.

STUDENTS CHOOSE SCHOOL COLORS AND A MASCOT

Students have been excited about the opportunity to choose school colors and a school mascot for the new school. Royal Blue and Silver were selected as the colors and the mascot chosen was the mustang. The choice of a mustang is based on verses in Revelation 19 which refer to Christ's second coming on a white horse: "And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him is called Faithful and True and in righteousness he doth judge and make war...And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean...And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Since the name Maranatha also refers to Christ's second coming, a white mustang seemed appropriate to the students.

SELF-DEFENSE CLASS FOR STUDENTS

Last year students at Maranatha took a specially designed PE course in self-defense. Mr. David Windus is the owner of the United States Martial Arts Alliance studio in the Northern Lights shopping area in north Ames. He is a Master Instructor in martial arts with over 20 years of experience and has offered to teach a class in self-defense to our students This class will meet once a week for twelve weeks and cover basic techniques of self-defense. Mr. Windus emphasizes the importance of young people learning basic self-defense techniques in today's changing world. Thank you Mr. Windus for helping our students!

We invite anyone interested in more information about
Maranatha Christian Academy to call 515-203-9675.