Crean Lutheran High School

Capital Campaign

“TREASURE THE TRUTH” Capital Funding Campaign

Jesus said, “Where your Treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the Truth.” III John 4

Dear Friends in Christ,

Will you please help us Treasure the Truth? Let me tell you why this is important!

Can you remember that joyous and holy time when your children, your grandchildren, or students under your teaching finally grasped and acted upon a “lesson in life” that you taught them?

Perhaps it was the first time they said “Please” or “Thank you.”
Perhaps it was the first time you saw them reconcile a fight between friends in your backyard.
Perhaps it was the first time you saw them, when they didn’t know you were looking, make the “right” choice when temptation was at hand.

These joyous and holy moments are what God’s Word speaks about in III John 4, where we are reminded that “There is no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the Truth.” Our present world begs and yearns for a generation who will be taught unchanging Truths, based on God’s Word, which will form the foundations of their character, morals, and values, and which will then guide and shape our culture and nation.

“Walking in the Truth” does not happen without intentional teaching and instruction – and without investing time and resources in that teaching.

Crean Lutheran South is a “Decidedly Christian! Distinctively Excellent” school which is academically excellent, Christian character committed, and community integrated.
"Treasure the Truth" is the name and mandate of the Capital Funding Campaign of Crean Lutheran High School. Our goal is to raise $46 million over the next 8 years -- by 2017. Crean Lutheran's first phase, estimated to cost $44 million and planned for completion during the summer of 2010, will be financed through a wonderful partnership with our national Lutheran Church and a couple additional Christian-minded lending partners. The debt service for this phase 1 will be paid from our operating budget. We estimate that it will require an additional $46 million to complete the full build out of Crean Lutheran's master plan. It is therefore our goal -- prayer and effort! -- to raise this $46 million through our "Treasure the Truth" Capital Funding Campaign.
Building on the rock-solid foundation of Jesus Christ and His Word, Crean Lutheran South is acquiring a beautiful site at the cultural crossroads of Orange County, California, and is building a state of the art, high tech campus.

Please read the Treasure the Truth Overview which outlines the Case and Need, the Solution, our Partnerships, and the Opportunities – and then, please help us Treasure the Truth by committing a tax-deducible cash gift, a tax-free IRA disbursement, some real estate or appreciated stock, or a Living or Lead Trust to this investment of “teaching in light of eternity”! Indeed, there is no greater joy for us on earth or the Lord in Heaven than to see, hear, and benefit from our children walking in the Truth. This is investing in eternity as we Treasure the Truth! Please join us!

Proclaiming Jesus Christ through Excellence in Education,

Pastor Bill Bartlett, Executive Director

“Treasure the Truth” Campaign Overview

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the Truth.” III John 4

What is "Treasure the Truth"? It is a capital funding initiative to provide strength and resources for purchasing a permanent site and building a 21st century high school campus which will, in phase 1, provide comprehensive facilities for academics, arts, and athletics within a “Decidedly Christian! Distinctively Excellent!” and creative complex of buildings, athletic fields, walkways, and indoor and outdoor spaces which are conducive to learning and community-building, environmentally responsible, and aesthetically pleasing and enriching to the Orange County neighborhood.

The Case & Need

In the mid-1990s, Orange Lutheran High School and its friends began to pray about the possibility of a South Orange County campus to accommodate the growing need for high quality Christian education. There was no Christian high school in South Orange County within a 10-mile radius of the densely populated and easily accessible intersection of the 405 & I-5 freeways – and no full program, excellent Protestant high school within a radius even far wider.

The Solution: Crean Lutheran High School (CLS)!

In the summer of 2004, the Lord orchestrated a “coming together” of churches, educators and laity for the purpose of making this vision and prayer of a new Lutheran high school a reality. In the fall of 2005, Crean Lutheran High School (CLS) was incorporated, and in the fall of 2007, CLS opened with 100 students (70 freshmen and 30 sophomores)! it has since grown to over 300 students in its 3rd academic year.

The CLS vision is a 1,200 student, full-program, academically excellent and distinctively Christ-centered high school in South Orange County with…

A full academic curriculum, including AP courses, electives, Bible, weekly chapel, college counseling and college-prep courses.
Extracurricular opportunities to develop God-given skills and abilities.
Small classes with credentialed, Christian, and caring teachers.
State of the art campus, including computer lab, library, athletic fields, and spacious classrooms.
Competitive sports program.
Intentional integration of Christian worldview with practical discipleship to impact culture.
Operated by the Lutheran Church – the largest protestant school system in the nation with 300,000 students and over 3,000 schools.

Our Partnerships

Fulfilling one of CLS’s core values, that of engaging the community in real world partnerships, CLS has established mutually beneficial partnerships with several significant institutions:
- Novaquatics – in a collaboration for an aquatics center.
- Concordia University – in a multi-faceted collaboration connecting Crean Lutheran and Concordia University students and professors in science, education, missions, leadership, and more.
Local donors and benefactors have already given or committed $12 million.
Our national Lutheran Church, through the partnership that the larger Body of Christ provides, is coordinating the financing of this ministry.

Will you please help us “Treasure the Truth”?

God’s Word reminds us that “where our Treasure is, there will be our hearts also.” Matthew 6:21
God’s Word also correctly observes, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the Truth.” III John 4

Children are God’s homework assignments to parents, to the Church, and to the community.

The greatest investment we can make is the investment with the greatest return – and that is investing in our youth.

Only as we invest in the comprehensive and excellent education of our children and students as they are nurtured and shaped with a Decidedly Christian! Distinctively Excellent! education will we and future generations experience the joy and benefit of having invested in education rooted in eternity!

The Birth and First Three Years of Crean Lutheran High School HIS-story

Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer (meaning “stone of help”), saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." I Samuel 7:12

This verse has been a recurring theme and proclamation among the Saints of CLS throughout our first two years of HIS-story! As we again proclaim this verse, let us be mindful of the significant milestones that adorn the journey of CLS’s third year of educating and preparing students to be servant-leaders and cultural change agents in our communities and world!

Full 3-year Accreditation granted by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) during our first academic year, validating CLS’s academic excellence.
More than doubling our enrollment in our second year, from 100 to over 200 students, bringing CLS’s student body size into the top half of all Lutheran high schools.
Successfully integrating 21st century technology into every CLS class through laptop access to syllabi, assignments, grades, parent communication, and college and career planning.
Maintaining an unswerving commitment to our vision and mission summarized in our motto: “Decidedly Christian! Distinctively Excellent!”
The birth and incredible early establishment of a widely respected, excellent, and well-integrated International Student Program which leavens the entire school with a global perspective.

As we press on toward the future, may the promises from our Lord’s Word strengthen, enthuse, and motivate us,

The Future and Transformational Impact of CLS in Students, Families, and the Community
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. I Corinthians 2:9

This coming year will see many more signs of maturation and development of Crean Lutheran!

CLS "Early College Courses" with Irvine Valley College -- allowing CLS students to take college credit courses on our very own CLS campus taught by qualified college professors. 23% of CLS's current student body is now enrolled in one of these classes!
The beginning of construction of CLS’s permanent campus.
This year’s realization of having students in all four grades (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors) and preparing for CLS’s first graduating class!
The expansion of CLS’s academic and extracurricular programs:
Added flexibility in scheduling due to expansion of online and collaborative education classes
Participation in varsity level sports within the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) – including the literal kick-off of CLS’s football team
A collegiate level, web-based course delivery system (Moodle) integrated across our entire curriculum enabling enhancement of educational methodology in all classes.

This Capital Campaign is titled, “Treasure the Truth.”

“Truth” refers to the eternal and unchanging Truth of God’s Holy Word, which is the foundation of all education, sacred or secular. As Dostoyevsky once said, “If there is no God (or Turth), then everything is permissible.” Truth is teachable, knowable, and essential for a meaningful and purposeful life that pleases the Lord and fulfills the human spirit.

“Treasure” is a verb – an active verb – calling Christians into active embrace of, witness to, proclamation of, and teaching based on the Truth of God’s Word. Our theme, “Treasure the Truth” brings together God’s Truth and our Treasure (children are our greatest treasure), resulting in a next generation of citizen-disciples and servant-saints who are equipped to impact and influence the community and world for Christ!

Please join us as we together “Treasure the Truth”!

Crean Lutheran High School is approved for "matching funds" through Thrivent! Your tax deductible gift will be matched $1 for every $2 up to your gift of $600/yr. for EACH member of your family age 16 or older if you are a Thrivent member. Hence, a $600 gift becomes $900, a husband and wife gift of $1200 ($600 each) becomes $1800, and a husband-wife-child (16 yr. or older) gift of $1800 becomes $2700!

To make a donation, simply click on "Giving Plus Gift Form", print and complete the form (NOTE! Crean Lutheran's Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Organization ID is 514108956), and then mail the gift AND the form to our office at 4947 Alton Parkway, Irvine, CA 92604. THANK YOU!

Prayer for Faithful Giving to the Lord:
Dear Lord, Your Word commands us to "bring up our children in the training and instruction of the Lord." Dear Jesus, we desire to do this… we commit to do this… we ask Your help in doing this. O Lord, this task seems so great, and our ability so small in comparison to the need. Yet, You are a God of wonders and miracles. You have never called Your people to a ministry for which You will not open doors and provide means. Therefore, we commence this inaugural capital funding campaign for LHS-OC seeking Your blessing. We acknowledge that this ministry is Your ministry. It is Your ministry because we are Yours – You bought us at a price. Your Word tells us how great Your love is for us – that we should be called "children of God" – and indeed we are! We pray for our children, that they too will become "children of God" who are brought up in the training and instruction of Your Word and who know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. We pray that Crean Lutheran… ... would glorify Christ from beginning to end, ... would pursue and promote excellence worthy of Jesus Christ and His Word, ... would unite congregations and church bodies, ... would make a bold and inviting witness to the community, ... and would bring thousands to a saving relationship with Christ! Amen! Let it be so to the praise of Your glory!