It’s impossible – It can’t be done – It would cost too much – We’re too small . . . So echoed the pessimistic voices within our churches for many years.

In the early part of 1959, a Steering Committee came into existence designed to stimulate interest in and investigate the possibility of providing our churches with its own system of secondary education. On September 15, 1959, a group of Protestant Reformed people met together at Southwest Church in response to an invitation by this steering committee. At this meeting a Society was formed and the name Society for Protestant Reformed Secondary Education was adopted. At this same meeting a temporary Board was appointed to function until the spring of 1960 at which time an annual meeting was to be called. In March 1960 this annual meeting was held. The Society elected a new Board of nine members and adopted a constitution and by-laws. Since this time the Board has been busy with the study of curriculum needs and the investigation of available sites on which to locate a school.

There are still many who rebel against membership in this society, often with the feeble excuse that they are too busy to take an active part in the management of the society. To be sure, no one would force this on a person and just how much effort does it take to attend one of two meetings a year to vote on the principal issues. Or perhaps non-membership connotes non-support of the cause for which the Society was initiated.

The membership of the Society now stands at 106. This represents a small percentage of the aggregate male membership of our churches in the metropolitan area of Grand Rapids. It is rather poor representation for so worthy a cause. As to whether it is a worthy cause we would point out that not once have we heard an argument against a Protestant Reformed High School as an ideal. The fact that it may take quite a while to realize this ambition does not indicate a reason for non support. Certainly all members of our churches must admit that if a more accurate doctrinal theory justifies the existence of our denomination, then from it must proceed a better world and life view; and logically, anything to promote in practice this world and life view must be not only justifiable but necessary. Let us caution ourselves at this point not to get carried away with building a monument to our name, but to concentrate on providing education for our children which is distinctively Christian. If, then, there are no objections as to ideology, the only area of objection must be the area of materialism and the purely human element of our ability to provide the mechanics for promoting this world and life view. (Purely human, for no one questions God’s ability to promote His Cause). In reply to this argument we point out that since the Society began functioning normally, less than a year ago, it has received a good deal of money in the form of unsolicited collections. And all this without anyone being in a forced position.

And so we of the Society solicit the membership of our young people as well as that of those of all ages, on the basis that we are all obligated to support this movement even in its infancy and further for the purely practical reason that all of us will be using the facilities of this high school. It seems silly for anyone not to want a voice in the control of this project, e.g. the location of the property.

We urge you all, members and non-members, to attend the next annual meeting which will be announced soon. If anyone cannot attend but would like to become a member, please contact any member of the Board.

Yours for distinctively Christian Education,
J.A.Lanning
Secretary, Board of the Society for P.R. Secondary Education