Rev. Jeffrey Hendrix
Rev. Jeff Hendrix is the Headmaster of Sursum Corda Classical School, a new school he helped open in just 2024, and the Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church (ELS), Oregon, WI. He has an MA in Telecommunications from Ball State University and an MDiv from Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary. He serves as the chairman of the Christ in Media Institute at Bethany Lutheran College, and is working on editing a new journal centered around the Great Conversation in the Liberal Arts and Lutheran Art and Media. He also serves as the secretary of the ELS Board for Youth Outreach, helping plan the national Lutheran Youth Association Convention, and has produced catechetical videos and resources on teaching the liturgy. He and his wife Carla have five children.
Starting Small: How Our Small Congregation Started a Hybrid Classical School
A fire that has too many logs put on will be smothered. From the beginning we had stated this as part of our vision, but it also came of necessity, factoring in our congregation’s small size – averaging just 35 attendees per week. It was important to constantly remind ourselves that success should not be measured by growth, but rather by the ability of a school to lift students’ hearts.
A classical Lutheran education for children should not be measured by growth, but does have to be sustainable. Sustainability, however, is very scalable. In this presentation you will learn how one tiny congregation started a hybrid classical Lutheran school. Insights will be shared about some of the challenges faced, some of the resources available, and the practical side of starting a school. The hope is not to offer a formula, but to encourage other individuals and congregations to consider what faithful, sustainable, classical education to children might look like in their own context.