The Past
GHC’s tradition of Christ-centered education goes all the way back to 1880 when the school was founded to teach the Christian faith, the Dutch language, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Early growth occurred in 1889 with the arrival of the Reverend Klaas Kuiper from the Netherlands to pastor First Christian Reformed Church.
A society for Christian instruction based on Reformed principles was organized with Kuiper’s leadership. This was the first Christian school organization in Western Michigan and the United States, with Reverend Kuiper serving as its first president. As president of the National Union of Christian Schools, later known as Christian Schools International, Rev. Kuiper can rightly be called “the Father of Christian instruction in America.”
The Present
In 2016, school board members, teachers, parents, and supporters of GHC completed the school’s Strategic Plan, ensuring a path to influence lives for Christ in the Tri-cities area. This led to the start of Spanish immersion in August 2017 at the Kindergarten and 1st grade levels, middle school Winterim in January 2017, all day preschool offerings in August of 2018, and many other advancements in the area of programming, finances, marketing, and faith and community development. GHC also received full accreditation status from Christian Schools International (CSI) in May of 2017. You can view the school’s Strategic Plan here.
The present location at the corner of Ferry and Grant was dedicated in 1953 as a kindergarten through ninth grade building. Today, as the longest continually operating member of Christian Schools International in the United States, Grand Haven Christian has preschool through eighth grade students from over 35 different churches and several denominations both Protestant and Catholic.
The Future
GHC continues to strive for excellence in all we do. At GHC, we center everything on Jesus Christ, including curriculum, extracurricular activities and service to our community. We are committed to shaping hearts for service to God in His world.
Future initiatives include Teaching for Transformation training for current staff as GHC intentionally weaves God’s active story throughout the curriculum by creating learning experiences that are both engaging and authentic. The school is also committed to building relationships throughout the community with area organizations, businesses, and mentors. A capital campaign is also on the horizon as the school updates infrastructure, security, curriculum, and technology options throughout the building, all the while preparing for expected increases in enrollment over the next five years.
