An Opportune Moment We Can’t Miss
Spreading remarkable God-centered education in the city
Dear Friends,
We God has orchestrated an opportune time – or in Greek – a “kairos” moment. An intersection of significant conditions has emerged in this day, and we believe the Lord is readying Spreading Hope for an exciting next chapter.
In this newsletter, you’ll get an update on preparations for the future as well as various Fall & Winter happenings. We’ll also point you to upcoming Discovery Events for those discerning a call to found a school – we invite you to share with anyone who should join us.
In Christ,
Michael Bolland, Managing Director
A Kairos Moment
In October, we convened a national stakeholder summit to help shape the next chapter of our mission. One of the main questions we posed at the summit was, “Why grow the network now?” and Russ presented a response keynote unpacking three ingredients that indicate we’re living in an opportune moment. They include first, an extraordinary need – second, an extravagant provision – and third, an exceptional opportunity.
Above you’ll see the third video in a series of video content from the summit, emphasizing the third ingredient – exceptional opportunity. Below are links to the first two videos as well as a link to see a summary of the event.
- We’re Going to Need Hundreds of These Schools! #extraordinaryneed
- People are Hungry for This #extravagantprovision
If the first question we responded to at the summit was “Why now?” then the second question was “Why this?” To clarify, nobody unpacked any pre-determined plans or conclusions, however, we did share two main things. Firstly, we shared some early stage thinking and hypotheses (see summary pdf mentioned above). Secondly, we announced a partnership with Arcadia Education to develop a new 5-year business plan that will be completed in the coming weeks.
Together, with the guidance of Arcadia, we’ve taken a hard and hopeful look at who we are and where God is inviting us to go as a movement. We’ve studied the national opportunity before us, learned from peer networks across the country, and sharpened the distinct value Spreading Hope Network brings to leaders launching Christian schools in underserved communities. In short: we have greater clarity about our calling & greater confidence about the path ahead.
Now we are shaping what the next five years can become. We are designing a resourcing model that better equips courageous founders, building a sustainable financial engine to fuel growth, and aligning our structure and team for greater impact. This work is laying the groundwork for disciplined, Spirit-led expansion – so that more leaders are strengthened, more schools are launched, and more students flourish in communities that need them most.
We don’t want to build this next chapter alone.
If you have perspective, questions, or simply want to better understand where this is heading, we’d love to hear from you.
Schedule a 20-Minute Vision Conversation
Fall & Winter Happenings
Over 2 Discovery Events in September & October, we had 20 visitors from around the country who all walked away with a deeper understanding of the Hope Academy model as well as clarity, courage, and community to consider their next steps in either starting or growing a remarkable, God-centered school in the city
In November, right before the largest school choice program was launched in Texas, we co-hosted a “Hope in the City Rally” alongside Justina Jenkins and Rivertree Academy in Fort Worth, TX. We felt it was a resounding success, and we accomplished our goal of “generating awareness & galvanizing action related to the urban education crisis by empowering & equipping many different types of leaders to get involved in solutions.”
Be praying for Kelly Hancock (Comptroller of Texas) & his team as they respond to the growing demands from families in Texas & also be praying for a growing supply of urban, classical, Christian schools in the state.
We have 3 Founder Schools preparing to launch in 2026.
The Willows Academy (South Bend, IN)
The Mountclef School (Thousand Oaks, CA)
The Agape School (Newport News, VA)
They’re all laser-focused on finding funders, families, and faculty. One tool we use to help our schools drive toward launch with discipline is a framework called the Entrepreneurial Operating System. On a weekly basis, we encourage, equip, resource, train, problem-solve, pray together, and hold our start-up leaders accountable to their priorities. Please join us in praying for the Lord’s sustaining grace through the start-up journey as well as His abundant provision for these schools!
On a quarterly basis, we co-host free professional development sessions alongside ACSI. We call this series “Flourishing in the City,” and just a couple weeks ago our own Debbie Harris collaborated and presented with Justina Jenkins on a session that helped leaders and teachers think through how to contextualize a given education model in the sorts of contexts that SHN-type schools serve in. You can click the following link to experience the session yourself.
Russ had the pleasure of joining another podcast, this time with ACSI’s Chief Ministry Officer, Jerry Nelson. They discussed the “transformative power of gospel-centered education in the city.” To listen to the episode, again you can click the following link.
Discover What It Takes
Starting a school can feel daunting, but inspiration begins with seeing what’s possible. A Discovery Event is an immersive, on-site experience at Hope Academy—our flagship urban classical Christian school in Minneapolis. Witness the power of God-centered education in action, meet the leaders, and take your first step toward launching a school in your own city.
165 leaders from over 102 cities around the US have come to visit.
Do you know someone who should be the next to visit us?
Upcoming Discovery Events
April 16-17th
June 23-24th
September 24-25th