Thank you for your interest in Santa Barbara Christian Homesteaders. We pray that this site helps you in your search for information about private Christian homeschooling. If you determine that SBCHI would be a good fit for your family, we would be very pleased to have you apply for participation. May the Lord richly bless you on your homeschooling journey!
Mission Statement
Santa Barbara Christian Homesteaders (SBCHI) is a non-profit corporation whose specific purpose is to support and encourage those who desire to privately educate their children at home in accordance with Christian principles.
History
SBCHI was started by pioneer homeschooling families and has been in existence for over 40 years. It is an incorporated Christian support group of traditional families with their own schools. There is a Board made up of four couples and a Leadership Team of women in positions of major responsibilities. There are no paid employees in the organization. SBCHI belongs to the CHEA (Christian Home Educators of California) Support Network.
Statement of Faith
Christian Home Educators Association of California (CHEA) operates under the following Statement of Faith. CHEA members are not asked to sign any agreement, but they are expected to understand that CHEA functions as a Christian organization, seeking to glorify God in all they do.
Santa Barbara Christian Homesteaders, Inc., as a CHEA Support Network member support group, also operates under this Statement of Faith. We require that all parents, or at least the primary teaching parent of each family, sign this Statement of Faith. Board Members and those who have positions of responsibility in SBCHI must be Christians in belief and conduct and are required to sign the Statement of Faith.
We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, the final authority of faith and life, without error in its original writing both in doctrine and historical details, and that all true knowledge is consistent with its revelation. (II Pet 1:21)
We believe that there is one self-existent God who has always been and will always be, manifest in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that knowing Him truly is the foundation of all knowledge, wisdom and understanding. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God manifest in the flesh, born of a virgin, that He is the Savior of mankind through His death on the cross, that He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, and that He will return again and will raise those who have believed in Him to reign with Him in power and glory throughout all eternity. (I Cor 8:6; John 1:1-3,14-18; John 10:27-30; Luke 1:35; John 11:25; I Cor 15:4; Acts 1:11)
We believe all people are sinners by nature and choice and are spiritually dead. We also believe that those who repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. (Rom 3:23; Rom 5:8-9; Tit 3:5; Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11; Eph 2:1-10)
We believe in the brotherhood of all believers who, through faith, have received the salvation provided by God's grace through the death of Jesus Christ. (John 3:16-19; John 5:24)
We believe God originally created persons, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin. We affirm that gender is determined by our biological sex. God who made male and female in His image graciously provides our sexual identity at our conception. (Gen 1:26-27; Matt 19:4-5)
We believe God established marriage to be a lifelong monogamous covenant relationship between one man and one woman. Marriage so defined is the only permissible context for intimate sexual expression and is the foundation for the human family. (Gen 2:24; I Cor 7:11; Heb 13:4; I Tim 3:12)
We further believe that human life is precious and should be protected from beginning, at fertilization, until natural death. (Ps 127:3; Ps 139:13-16; Gen 9:5-6; Ex 20:13)
We believe that children belong to God, who has given the responsibility and authority for their upbringing and education to their parents, and that it is their responsibility to protect this parental right. (Gen 33:5; Pro 22:6; Proverbs 29:17; Deut 6:7; I Tim 3:4)