About: CFS (Christian Family Schools) of San Diego
CFS (Christian Family Schools) of San Diego promotes, encourages, and supports private Christian homeschooling and includes a number of local support groups in communities throughout San Diego County. We also organize events and activities available to members and non-members. Additionally, CFS encourages communication among private home education leaders by hosting leadership meetings and training several times a year.
CFS: What's in a name?
Christian Family Schools of San Diego came into existence with the purpose of supporting those who choose to privately home educate their children from a Christian perspective. Hence, the name: Christian Family Schools.
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Christian: Every form of education teaches a world view. Whether consciously or unconsciously, when we choose a school, when we choose a, curriculum, when we choose an environment, we are choosing what world view will be imparted to our children. As Christians we desire to train our children up in the "fear and admonition of the Lord". Training, by definition, is the guiding of the mental and moral development of a child. Training takes time. It takes quality time and it takes quantity time. Time equals influence. As Christian homeschoolers, we are able to impart a Christian world view rather than a humanistic, atheistic, or other world views because we are able to integrate our faith and learning daily.
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Family: A strong family bond does not just happen. Our society promotes generational estrangement. As homeschoolers we are able to make spending time as a family unit the norm. It is expected that we will participate in activities as family. It is comfortable, even helpful and profitable, for peer groups to span grades and ages. It is necessary to work out our differences in personality and learning styles. And in the process, we grow. Character is built, guidance is given, endurance is learned, patience is developed, compassion is communicated, diligence is taught, trust is earned, and vision is caught uniquely in the family.
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Schools: When we school at home, we are able to customize the educational process. We are able to give our children the time, attention, and curriculum suited to their unique needs. Academic excellence is to be strived for, but character is primary. However, character is not taught in a vacuum. When a child finishes his lesson in a timely manner, he learns diligence. When he waits his turn with the teacher, he learns patience. When he does that difficult math problem, again, and yet again, he learns endurance. Academics and character are not diametrically opposed, rather they are partners, each having their place and each assisting the other. School becomes not a battle ground, but a training ground as we raise up strong, godly, educated young adults who will impact rather than be influenced by our culture.
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Our prayer is that Christian Family Schools of San Diego,
relying on God's power and grace, may be a support to you and your family.
relying on God's power and grace, may be a support to you and your family.
Statement of Faith
-We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, the one and only final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21).
-We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Colossians 1:16-19)
-We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension and His personal return in power and glory. (Hebrews 1, 1 Peter 2:24, Acts 5:30, Acts 1:10)
-We believe salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Eph. 2:8-9, Tit. 3:5-6, Jn. 3: 14-17)
-We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. (Genesis 1:26-27)
-We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (Genesis 2:18-25, 1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, Hebrew 13:4)
-We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Colossians 1:16-19)
-We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension and His personal return in power and glory. (Hebrews 1, 1 Peter 2:24, Acts 5:30, Acts 1:10)
-We believe salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Eph. 2:8-9, Tit. 3:5-6, Jn. 3: 14-17)
-We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. (Genesis 1:26-27)
-We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (Genesis 2:18-25, 1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, Hebrew 13:4)
Educational Philosophy
We believe God in His Word gives parents the responsibility and authority to educate their children with a God-centered worldview. [Deut. 6:6-8, 11:118-21, Ps. 1:1-2, Lk. 6:40, Col. 3:17]
Our History
Christian Family Schools (CFS) began as a support group for San Diego home educators. The first meeting in 1983 consisted of 20 moms and 55 children who were house bound by rain. Here is the whole story...
CFS - In the Beginning
(By Todd Cooper, Former CFS Chairman Circa 1999)
Linda knew there must be a better way. Something was missing! Even though her daughter, Jenny, was only in the 4th grade at a Christian school, she was already getting burned out and negative attitudes were starting to show.
Soon after that, though, she found herself talking with a man who not only understood her frustrations and the problems that her children were facing but also gave a glimmer of hope, a different path that made more and more sense the longer she listened.
In 1981, home schooling was just getting started and Linda had never even heard of the phrase. Acting as a Girl Friday for her parent's T.V. show, 'LaHayes on Family Life', she had the remarkable good fortune of helping Dr. Raymond Moore, often considered the father of the modern home education movement, get ready for the T.V. interview. As she asked him one question after another about home schooling, Dr. Moore not only described her 1st and 4th grade children "to a T" but also explained how to go about making the transition from school to home school.
By the end of the day, Linda was sold hook, line and sinker on the whole idea. But then she realized, "What will my husband think?!" Pastor Murph, as her husband was affectionately called by the youth group at Shadow Mountain Community Church where he ministered for 19 years, listened as Linda explained what she had heard, and decided it was worth giving it a try. Her parents, Dr. & Mrs. Tim LaHaye, were also very supportive of their decision. Therefore, armed only with the information she had gleaned from Dr. Moore and his wife, Dorothy, and their book, Linda set out on her own home school odyssey.
We're talkin' serious pioneering here!
Though home schooling was in its infancy in 1981, there were a few people in San Diego County who had decided to pursue this approach, and the Murphy's decided to seek out other "like-minded" people for support and fellowship. Linda quickly found out that there is a difference between public or secular home schooling and Christian home education. However, she didn't know of any other Christians who were home schooling, so she "withdrew" and trusted God would meet their needs.
God heard her prayer and the news quickly spread: "Hey, did you hear what Linda is doing?!" Little did she realize what the Lord was going to do.
Soon, Linda found herself spending more and more time on the phone explaining what they were doing and why. Finally, they decided to hold an informational meeting in their house and invite everyone who had been calling. Linda had seen Tom & Cheryl Cantor mentioned in a newspaper article, so she invited them to come and speak. By word of mouth, news of the meeting spread and 45 people showed up that 1st night, including Steve Coffman who was already home schooling. They started having these "newcomers" meetings every other month and invited different speakers or watched the taped interviews with Dr. Moore.
In fact, it was at one of these living room meetings that Michael Farris (President & Co- Founder HSLDA) first spoke in San Diego about home education. Mike was serving on the board of Concerned Women for America and was more than happy to share what was on his heart regarding home education and the importance of parents seriously considering and responding to the biblical mandate to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Mike and Elizabeth Smith (Vice President & Co-Founder HSLDA) were also around in those early days.
It wasn't long before Linda realized that things were quickly outgrowing her living room and that some organization needed to be put into place. Also, many new people were starting to home school their children, some of whom shared the Murphy's Christian convictions and vision, and others who didn't. A new organization brought on a host of new questions and issues, such as: What do we call it? and What about a doctrinal statement or educational philosophy? Here is an excerpt from the original version of the CFS Doctrinal Statement:
"The origin of CFS stems from the conviction of born-again Bible believing Christian parents who, with the knowledge and conviction that God holds us ultimately responsible for the education and spiritual upbringing of our children, have banded together for fellowship and encouragement, to pass along information and ideas under the name of CHRISTIAN FAMILY SCHOOLS of SAN DIEGO COUNTY."
This spiritual focus was central to what CFS was all about. In fact, when asked what message she would most like to pass on to today's home schooling parents, it is to remember that home schooling is a spiritual battle and needs to be fought with spiritual weapons. CFS needs to be a ministry concerned with helping other Christians who have somewhat unwittingly stepped right into the middle of a spiritual mine field and need support and direction in order to navigate a path to success[1]. Linda says, "Circumstances can be overwhelming, and putting your children in a school can look very enticing, but if home schooling is your calling (and it is a calling), don't throw in the towel. Rather, persevere in the Lord!"
Often, Linda found herself listening to mothers pouring out their hearts about the problems and frustrations they were encountering. "Home schooling is not supposed to be like this!", they would say. Linda would respond, "Have you been praying?", "How have your quiet times been going?" and other basic Christian life questions. Sound familiar?!
In the spring of 1982, park days started in earnest, with the first one being held in La Mesita "Dallas" Park in La Mesa. It proved to be a great opportunity for children to spend time together and realize that they were not alone; there were other families who had the same weird ideas as theirs! Mothers and children came from all over the county and in that sense, La Mesita became a kind of county park group.
As things grew, though, mothers realized that traveling to La Mesa was getting old and there were enough people in their own areas to start additional park groups. Thus, CFS became an association of park groups, coordinating activities and building community across San Diego County.
So what were the activities that Linda most fondly remembers from those early years? The bicycle safety tests was the first event that came to mind, where children would bring their bikes to be inspected by an officer and to hear about safety. Sea Lab was also a great time as well as Christmas programs and annual home school mom retreats with Debbie Beyer.
(Updated 2006) Today, the Murphys are a busy family. Gareld, Linda's husband, has been in the ministry for 25 years and is now working with Tim LaHaye Ministries coordinating their prophecy conferences. Linda is busy working on a crisis pregnancy center, College Area Pregnancy Services (CAPS),
which was originally started by her daughter, Jenny, who is now married and working with her husband up at Hume Lake. Factoid: Jenny was the first recipient of the CHEA High School Scholarship...right here in San Diego!
Their son Joel is at Talbot Seminary studying Christian education and works with 80 Jr. High students definitely a man of great courage! And Jeremy, the youngest son, is at a Jr. College and learning to fly a helicopter.
Over the years, people have said, "Linda, you did such a good job!", but she is quick to acknowledge that it was totally the Lord's doing. She has been excited to see how He has raised up families and leaders all over the County who share the same vision and compassion for Christian home education that she had from that first conversation with Dr. Moore. It has also been very good to see fathers take an increasingly strong role in directing their family's spiritual growth and education.
Praise the Lord that he has blessed San Diego so much through faithful families like the LaHayes and the Murphys, that He inspired leaders like Dr. Raymond Moore, Michael Farris, and J. Michael & Elizabeth Smith, and that he brought them into our lives at a critical point in time. May He be glorified in all our families, and may His praise be always on our lips!
[1] It was interesting to realize how, from the beginning of the organization, the calling was to serve private Christian home educators. There were numerous people choosing home education, Christian and non-Christian, but CFS was formed specifically to facilitate fellowship and support between privately home schooling Christian families, even though this phrase didn't surface until later years.
©2006 Christian Family Schools. All rights reserved.
CFS - In the Beginning
(By Todd Cooper, Former CFS Chairman Circa 1999)
Linda knew there must be a better way. Something was missing! Even though her daughter, Jenny, was only in the 4th grade at a Christian school, she was already getting burned out and negative attitudes were starting to show.
Soon after that, though, she found herself talking with a man who not only understood her frustrations and the problems that her children were facing but also gave a glimmer of hope, a different path that made more and more sense the longer she listened.
In 1981, home schooling was just getting started and Linda had never even heard of the phrase. Acting as a Girl Friday for her parent's T.V. show, 'LaHayes on Family Life', she had the remarkable good fortune of helping Dr. Raymond Moore, often considered the father of the modern home education movement, get ready for the T.V. interview. As she asked him one question after another about home schooling, Dr. Moore not only described her 1st and 4th grade children "to a T" but also explained how to go about making the transition from school to home school.
By the end of the day, Linda was sold hook, line and sinker on the whole idea. But then she realized, "What will my husband think?!" Pastor Murph, as her husband was affectionately called by the youth group at Shadow Mountain Community Church where he ministered for 19 years, listened as Linda explained what she had heard, and decided it was worth giving it a try. Her parents, Dr. & Mrs. Tim LaHaye, were also very supportive of their decision. Therefore, armed only with the information she had gleaned from Dr. Moore and his wife, Dorothy, and their book, Linda set out on her own home school odyssey.
We're talkin' serious pioneering here!
Though home schooling was in its infancy in 1981, there were a few people in San Diego County who had decided to pursue this approach, and the Murphy's decided to seek out other "like-minded" people for support and fellowship. Linda quickly found out that there is a difference between public or secular home schooling and Christian home education. However, she didn't know of any other Christians who were home schooling, so she "withdrew" and trusted God would meet their needs.
God heard her prayer and the news quickly spread: "Hey, did you hear what Linda is doing?!" Little did she realize what the Lord was going to do.
Soon, Linda found herself spending more and more time on the phone explaining what they were doing and why. Finally, they decided to hold an informational meeting in their house and invite everyone who had been calling. Linda had seen Tom & Cheryl Cantor mentioned in a newspaper article, so she invited them to come and speak. By word of mouth, news of the meeting spread and 45 people showed up that 1st night, including Steve Coffman who was already home schooling. They started having these "newcomers" meetings every other month and invited different speakers or watched the taped interviews with Dr. Moore.
In fact, it was at one of these living room meetings that Michael Farris (President & Co- Founder HSLDA) first spoke in San Diego about home education. Mike was serving on the board of Concerned Women for America and was more than happy to share what was on his heart regarding home education and the importance of parents seriously considering and responding to the biblical mandate to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Mike and Elizabeth Smith (Vice President & Co-Founder HSLDA) were also around in those early days.
It wasn't long before Linda realized that things were quickly outgrowing her living room and that some organization needed to be put into place. Also, many new people were starting to home school their children, some of whom shared the Murphy's Christian convictions and vision, and others who didn't. A new organization brought on a host of new questions and issues, such as: What do we call it? and What about a doctrinal statement or educational philosophy? Here is an excerpt from the original version of the CFS Doctrinal Statement:
"The origin of CFS stems from the conviction of born-again Bible believing Christian parents who, with the knowledge and conviction that God holds us ultimately responsible for the education and spiritual upbringing of our children, have banded together for fellowship and encouragement, to pass along information and ideas under the name of CHRISTIAN FAMILY SCHOOLS of SAN DIEGO COUNTY."
This spiritual focus was central to what CFS was all about. In fact, when asked what message she would most like to pass on to today's home schooling parents, it is to remember that home schooling is a spiritual battle and needs to be fought with spiritual weapons. CFS needs to be a ministry concerned with helping other Christians who have somewhat unwittingly stepped right into the middle of a spiritual mine field and need support and direction in order to navigate a path to success[1]. Linda says, "Circumstances can be overwhelming, and putting your children in a school can look very enticing, but if home schooling is your calling (and it is a calling), don't throw in the towel. Rather, persevere in the Lord!"
Often, Linda found herself listening to mothers pouring out their hearts about the problems and frustrations they were encountering. "Home schooling is not supposed to be like this!", they would say. Linda would respond, "Have you been praying?", "How have your quiet times been going?" and other basic Christian life questions. Sound familiar?!
In the spring of 1982, park days started in earnest, with the first one being held in La Mesita "Dallas" Park in La Mesa. It proved to be a great opportunity for children to spend time together and realize that they were not alone; there were other families who had the same weird ideas as theirs! Mothers and children came from all over the county and in that sense, La Mesita became a kind of county park group.
As things grew, though, mothers realized that traveling to La Mesa was getting old and there were enough people in their own areas to start additional park groups. Thus, CFS became an association of park groups, coordinating activities and building community across San Diego County.
So what were the activities that Linda most fondly remembers from those early years? The bicycle safety tests was the first event that came to mind, where children would bring their bikes to be inspected by an officer and to hear about safety. Sea Lab was also a great time as well as Christmas programs and annual home school mom retreats with Debbie Beyer.
(Updated 2006) Today, the Murphys are a busy family. Gareld, Linda's husband, has been in the ministry for 25 years and is now working with Tim LaHaye Ministries coordinating their prophecy conferences. Linda is busy working on a crisis pregnancy center, College Area Pregnancy Services (CAPS),
which was originally started by her daughter, Jenny, who is now married and working with her husband up at Hume Lake. Factoid: Jenny was the first recipient of the CHEA High School Scholarship...right here in San Diego!
Their son Joel is at Talbot Seminary studying Christian education and works with 80 Jr. High students definitely a man of great courage! And Jeremy, the youngest son, is at a Jr. College and learning to fly a helicopter.
Over the years, people have said, "Linda, you did such a good job!", but she is quick to acknowledge that it was totally the Lord's doing. She has been excited to see how He has raised up families and leaders all over the County who share the same vision and compassion for Christian home education that she had from that first conversation with Dr. Moore. It has also been very good to see fathers take an increasingly strong role in directing their family's spiritual growth and education.
Praise the Lord that he has blessed San Diego so much through faithful families like the LaHayes and the Murphys, that He inspired leaders like Dr. Raymond Moore, Michael Farris, and J. Michael & Elizabeth Smith, and that he brought them into our lives at a critical point in time. May He be glorified in all our families, and may His praise be always on our lips!
[1] It was interesting to realize how, from the beginning of the organization, the calling was to serve private Christian home educators. There were numerous people choosing home education, Christian and non-Christian, but CFS was formed specifically to facilitate fellowship and support between privately home schooling Christian families, even though this phrase didn't surface until later years.
©2006 Christian Family Schools. All rights reserved.