Bible

All courses taught at Illiana Christian High School are taught from a Reformed perspective, using God’s General and Special Revelation as basis for what is taught. God’s Word permeates every class and activity. However, it is also very important that Bible is taught as a formal discipline, to augment what is already being taught in the Christian home and church. High school students are coming into the “age of discretion;” a time in which the exact nature of their beliefs and how these beliefs shape their way of living becomes very important. A study of the Old Testament helps them understand who they are in relationship to God’s covenant nation. As they prepare themselves for the adult world, knowledge of the content and doctrines of the New Testament helps them to better understand their relationship to Christ and His Kingdom. Therefore, it is important to know the Old Testament, Gospels, and Epistles, and the doctrines taught in them as thoroughly as possible.

CTE (Career & Technology Education)

• CTE: Business, Marketing, Information Tech: The world is one of limited resources and unlimited wants or desires. The conflict that results forces all people to make choices. In the area of Christian business education, we want to help young people realize that God will judge the choices they make. We must make our economic decisions from a Christian perspective. We want to look at that Christian perspective from two points of view. As Christians living in an organized economic system, we function in the roles of a consumer or user of goods and services and as a worker or producer of goods and services.
• CTE: Engineering/Technology: The only things that are not designed in this world are items that were already designed by the greatest designer of all time and that is our creator God. God gives us these amazing creative minds to design, create and innovate new and existing designs for His glory. In the following courses, students will enhance their understanding of one of the most important life skills, that of problem solving. They will use new, cutting edge software, 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, Robotics, etc. to design, create, and gain a better understanding of the correct way to problem solve and never give up. The perseverance through taking these courses will follow them through any career pathway they might choose.
• CTE: Family & Consumer Sciences: God created individuals to be stewards of all of His creation, to reflect His love, and to develop a Godly character. The family is the primary unit God ordained to help individuals fulfill God’s design. It provides the best environment for physical, spiritual, social and academic growth. Family and Consumer Science (FACS) courses concentrate on practical knowledge and skills that strengthen individual and family life. Spiritual truths are the foundation of the practical application taught in FACS classes.
• CTE: Trade & Industry: Trade and Industry is an area of study dealing with the knowledge, skills, and techniques related to the use of resources in five basic categories: graphic communication, industrial materials and processes, electricity/electronics, power and energy, and construction. It is a field of study which contributes to a better understanding of our culture and its place in God’s world. Our Trade and Industry program places its emphasis upon helping students find viable ways of participating in the development, extension and use of technologies which are in harmony with Christian values.

English/Language Arts

We believe that language is a gift of God. It comes from a God who communicates with us through His creation, His written authoritative Word, and the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. We want our students, who are God’s image bearers, to learn to take delight in and make wise use of this marvelous gift. We want them to appreciate the potential power and beauty of language as they read, write, listen, and speak. Since language, like other gifts from God, can be abused and debased by sinful human beings, we want our students to be challenged to use language as God intended: to convey truth, beauty, and love.

Fine Arts

• Music: Glorifying God through music is important for every student at ICHS. In Genesis 1:28 we are commanded to subdue the Earth. This implies that all areas of human endeavor should come under Christ’s domination. Students who attend Illiana Christian should see the glory of God in the Arts as well as all other areas of the curriculum. Students should see their talents as gifts of God, to be used for his glory, not just for entertainment, self-gratification, or any other reason.
• Art: Art is one of man’s responses to God, our Creator. He has made us in His image and has given us the ability to be creative. While we can never do what He has done, create something from nothing, we can use our creative abilities to express in a unique way our response to Him and His world. Art is a religious, cultural, social, and, sometimes, even beautiful expression of life in a particular place and time.

Mathematics

The courses offered by the mathematics department help Illiana Christian students to live the Christian life by: Giving them an opportunity to develop a language, a set of symbols or tools for functioning competently in God’s kingdom as a child of God and as a citizen of the world; giving them an opportunity to develop problem-solving techniques, since problem-solving is an integral part of subduing the earth. This involves problem recognition arising out of curiosity as well as a language for analyzing and synthesizing data and communicating results and making decisions; giving them an opportunity to develop different modes of thinking from the intuitive to the inductive to the deductive; helping them to see the magnificence of God’s creation with its perfect order which gives rise to man’s ability to be orderly in his thinking and working. This ability helps one discover much about one’s self, others, and especially about God; helping them to see the many forms, shapes, symmetries and designs inherent in creation which men have studied and found aesthetically pleasing as well as useful in much of the world’s work; helping them to exercise the logic that is necessary for assembling a convincing proof which is the basis for any kind of convincing argument, and much more.

Physical Education

The Bible has made it abundantly clear that our bodies are important to God. They are the temples in which we praise Him and through which we serve Him. We strive to build and maintain health fitness, develop sport skill, and guide students in making responsible decisions regarding the use and care of their bodies for now and the future. It is our goal that once a student completes the required Physical Education program he/she will have developed an appreciation of the importance of exercise, movement, and activity. We hope students will use this information and experience to develop their own active God-serving lifestyle.

Science

Science includes a number of disciplines seeking to understand the natural world that God created. Because it is God’s created world, we recognize the sovereignty of God and His Lordship over all of creation. He has revealed Himself to us in the world around us. Therefore, as we study and learn about this natural world, we honor and glorify God.

Social Studies

In II Corinthians 5, Paul states; “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though Christ were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” As Christians we are called to be ambassadors, the agents of reconciliation in this world. No one can be an effective ambassador without having knowledge of what they represent as well as having knowledge of the people to whom they are bringing the message. The study of history equips Christians to be effective ambassadors. As Christians we are rooted in the truth, but a historical perspective allows us to understand the world we are trying to reform. A knowledge of history will enable us to be in the world but not of it. We can understand our fellow man and bring the message of truth to him.

World Languages

The Department of World Languages views both the universal phenomenon of human language and all forms of such language as uniquely human gifts bestowed by God, Himself the Eternal Word. As a means of verbal communication among persons language is a central component in bearing the image of God, and as such is central to the Christian school curriculum. In its marvelous diversity language reflects the awesome limitlessness of the Creator. In the disharmony, alienation, and strife resultant from linguistic divergence is evident something of the evil in the human heart which would on its own corrupt and turn to ill even one of its own richest blessings. The major purpose of secondary instruction in foreign language is to uncover in and for students a sense of the cultural/linguistic riches and power at work in humankind and to develop a sense of stewardly obligation to use these gifts appropriately.