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 began September 4, 2007, for middle and high school students. Parents shared 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 two 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.

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

Courses offered this year are: Old Testament Poetry and Prophets, Comparative Religions, Physical Science, Ancient History, Speech, Study Skills, 6th and 7th-grade Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Advanced Math, Chemistry, English, World Literature, American Literature, American History, French 1, French 2, Accounting, and Middle School Exploratory. Maranatha currently offers classes for students from 6th 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. Maranatha's first game this season was in Omaha, Nebraska.

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

This first year Maranatha will start with a boy's varsity and a girl's junior high program. Already eleven games have been scheduled for the boy's varsity along with one tournament. These include games with Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, Ames Vision, the Omaha Road Runners, the Des Moines Warriors, and the Hardin County basketball tournament. The girl's games are yet to be scheduled. Practice began October 16th for both the boys and girls.

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

Students at Maranatha have an exciting opportunity in the weeks ahead. They will be taking 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.

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