Student Profile

The typical Abundant Life Academy student is not in need of serious psychological health treatment, they need to know self-discipline, self-sacrifice, and service towards others, giving, charity, and adversity. They need to experience hard work, perseverance, and longsuffering. They need to get outside of themselves long enough to see how well they have it, and begin to appreciate all that they have been blessed with. They need to be grateful for all that they have and begin to invest themselves in the lives of others.

Because of the lack of respect for parental authority the prospective ALA student is in need of an alternative educational setting (with a spiritual Christ-centered root). The ideal Abundant Life Academy student has began to "struggle" as he/she makes one poor choice after another (following the desires of the insatiable flesh). Not too long ago this student seemed to be the perfect child. However, around the time of puberty things started to change and the sweet kid turned into a stranger. Instead of maturing into a healthy sound teen with a strong moral compass, this student now identifies more with the latest hip-hop rapper or gangster. Some of our student spent countless hours playing video games, or messaging friends through the Internet until the wee hours of the night. Some of our students have become sexually active or have begun to experiment with drugs. Most of our students are insensitive to how they hurt others and are developing an "I don't care attitude". Again, they need Jesus.

The prospective Abundant Life Academy student is most likely rejecting his/her Christian upbringing, or at least seems spiritually lost in comparison to where they once were. This student has dropped their affection for sports, healthy hobbies, and good friends. Good grades are no longer important because working hard in school takes away from their social life and school is not cool with their new circle of friends. As a matter of fact their new friends have become the center of their universe and their values no longer are in alignment with their parents.

The Typical Abundant Life Academy Family

The typical Abundant Life Academy family is a Christ-centered family who loves Jesus with all of their hearts, and strives to be led by the Holy Spirit. The Abundant Life Academy family is a family of faith, fully submitted to God. Furthermore, this family has provided everything they can to their children. The ALA family is not perfect, but there is nothing more important then their children. The ALA family would sacrifice their own lives for the life of their child. Providing and protecting their child has always been of the utmost importance to the prospective Abundant Life Academy parent. Moreover, the prospective ALA family has been devastated by their troubled teen's decline. Even though the parents have always model strong Christian values their precious child has turned away for no apparent reason. Not only that, but the other children in the family are starting to be adversely affected by the actions of the troubled one. The typical Abundant Life Academy parent is willing to do whatever it takes to turn their son/daughter around before it is too late.

How Abundant Life Academy Views the Troubled Teen

At Abundant Life Academy we see our students a little differently than most, as we see the current underachieving rebellious teen as a future leader in training, only he/she has yet to see the inherent power within himself through Christ. We believe that with the intimate relationship of a loving God our students will return to their Christian heritage, and become the man/woman of God they were destined to be. Only by the Holy Spirit can a troubled child be led to make good choices for themselves. There is an enemy who is battling against the destiny of our children, and only through a Spirit-filled life can one prevail.

We believe that the three most powerful forces of life (when led by the Holy Spirit) are leadership, creativity, and life management (God's gift to us). The key to releasing these powerful forces is usually found in the midst of one's struggle, but only as we put our faith in God. For instance, the struggle for identity in the life of a teenager is an incredible potential training ground for future success. However, without faith one cannot “see” through the struggle. Unfortunately, most kids fail in the midst of the struggle for identity without ever realizing that their failure could be used to promote them into a powerful position in Christ. Only through a life submitted to Jesus Christ can the blind eyes be opened and the “crisis” be used to glorify God. In these cases, a traditional Boarding School is not the answer. Abundant Life Academy is anything but traditional.

At Abundant Life Academy we see failure as opportunity, and potential power, while others see failure as a problem that must be eliminated. Where other schools and programs see kids who are defiant and rebellious, we see them as the next generation of leaders, full of creativity, only they lack adversity and life management skills to put it all together (they lack the leading of the Holy Spirit). We see their struggle as an opportunity to promote them into a prevailing place full of promise as they re-discover Jesus (replacing beauty for ashes).