PiACE: Educating "For the Good of the Whole"

Partnership in Adventist Christian Education, or PiACE, as it is referred to, has been “in the works” in the Ontario Conference for a number of years. It is based on the “good of the whole” concept found within the New Testament church. Because Christian education is a core value of the Adventist church, we believe that educating the churches’ children is a responsibility of eternal significance that belongs to all of us. In his encouragement of love and unity among the Philippians, the apostle Paul said, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:4)

A brief history of the background of this concept in the Ontario Conference is in order.
 
At the 2001 Conference constituency meeting, a request was made for a formal and comprehensive study of Adventist education in Ontario. Ron Francis, a long-time champion of Adventist education in Ontario, was designated chair of this in-depth study, called the Taskforce on Adventist Education, which was presented to the Constituency at a specially-called fall meeting in 2005. At that time, the following was voted:
 
1.      To recommend to the constituent churches and organized companies the adoption of the concept of Partnership in Christian Education.
 
2.      To commission the Ontario Conference Board of Directors to generate a strategy for implementation of the said concept, to be presented at a specially called Constituency Meeting before the end of 2006.

The original motivating intent was that the Constituency wanted a mechanism by which any Adventist child would be able to obtain an Adventist tuition rate at any of our schools. Therefore, there needed to be a single tuition rate throughout the Conference.

A second and equally important desire was to see a significant increase in both the proportion and the number of our Adventist students in Adventist schools. Currently, approximately one in five Adventist children between the ages of 5 and 18 is enrolled in Adventist schools in Ontario.

In order to accommodate more children in Adventist schools, additional operating funds would be necessary. However, the Conference requires schools to operate a debt-free system.
 
Four committees were established in early 2006 to deal with school plants, finances, promotion of PiACE, and marketing of Adventist education.
 
During the ensuing months all committees met, with the Finance Committee, under Ron Francis, chair, investing significant time working on the critical financial piece that is the underpinnings of the success of the proposal. The Finance Committee recommended the following to the Board of Directors on January 28, 2007. In March 2008 the Board accepted the Finance Committee’s proposal in its entirety.
 
The proposal recommended that an amount equivalent to 10 % of tithe was needed to operate a viable Adventist education system (this refers to operating, not capital, funds) and that:
 
1.      Constituent churches increase their giving to 10 % of tithe within three years.
 
2.      Non-constituent churches increase their giving to 5 % of tithe within three years, and 10 % within five years.
 
3.      Small schools with single church constituencies will benefit from a phased-in reduction toward a 10 % of tithe.
 
PiACE promotion will begin in Ontario churches this fall and continue until the next Conference-wide constituency meeting in July 2009, when a vote will be held.
 
Let us pray and work for an increased awakening among our members of the need for and value of Adventist education. The children we see in our churches each Sabbath belong to ALL of us.
 
Frances Schander
Superintendent