Cover story for August 18, 2005
Oak Hill Academy, nestled in Mouth of Wilson, Va., is known nationally for its sensational basketball program. But the Virginia Baptist-affiliated preparatory school has much more going for it, says its president, Michael Groves.
By Michael Groves
Although few Virginia Baptists may be aware, every Sunday morning in tiny Mouth of Wilson, a century-old exercise in multicultural diversity transpires in a nearby Virginia Baptist church.
Over 120 Oak Hill Academy students-from different faith backgrounds and a variety of races, ethnicities and cultural settings gather to worship with the people of Grayson County in Southwest Virginia. Though the school and Young's Chapel Baptist Church are neighbors and have been partnering like this for over 126 years, the scene is fresh, unique and thoroughly trend- bucking.
In an age when denominational affiliations are increasingly based on affinity rather than geography, Young's Chapel Baptist Church and Oak Hill Academy break the mold.
Oak Hill is known nationally for its basketball prowess. It's one of the things it does well and is proud of, but it's not what it does best. The Virginia Baptist academy offers a structured, four-year boarding school for boys and girls who need a change in academic, social and/or familial setting in order to find success. With a student population of over 35 percent African American, and with students coming to the rural campus from various states and countries, Oak Hill emphasizes the “old school” tenets of accountability and hard work-all within the framework of a Christian community.
In many ways, the core of its success with students is found among the ranks of a dedicated faculty and staff. Most teachers live in campus housing, providing additional supervision and adding to the “community feel” of boarding school life. Every teacher is expected to provide additional classroom tutoring, sponsor clubs or coach sports and serve weekend duties. A job at Oak Hill involves commitment and sacrifice. In fact, when potential faculty and staff interview for their positions, they are made two promises: “longer hours and lower pay.” For an Oak Hill Academy employee, working with students is not just another job-it is the response to a calling.
The guiding phrase for Oak Hill's mission is “The Turning Point.” And for many of its students, time spent on “the hill” marks perhaps the most formative period in their lives. Oak Hill alumni make friendships that last a lifetime, and through hard work they earn grades that set them on a better path for college placement and for life.
Yet, interestingly, when graduates return to visit their alma mater, typically they find themselves on a familiar walk across campus toward Young's Chapel Baptist Church. Standing in the vestibule of the old church building, alumni-often with their own families now-tell how this sanctuary served as their introduction to Christianity. To their children, they share the location of where they sat with their friends; smiling, they recall the fellowship dinners in the basement. And always they remember “Senior Sunday,” when the entire congregation stood and recognized them as they marched into the sanctuary on that last Sunday before graduation.
The seeds planted here last a lifetime. Oak Hill students learn the life-changing story of Jesus-and they do so with people from a very different place than their homes. On any given Sunday, an Oak Hill student from the Bronx, N.Y., will be led in a congregational hymn by Lane Phipps, a local dairy farmer. A student from Richmond will pass the offering plate to “Mrs. Mildred,” a deacon, retired seamstress and lifelong resident of Mouth of Wilson. Upon entering the sanctuary, a student from Senegal will receive a bulletin from Donna Niemi, WMU officer, wife of the local dentist and activist for local mission projects.
Life connections are being made on the turf of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Consider the journey of Maddie, age 17, from New England. She will be a senior this fall, the third year on “the hill” for this adopted child of divorced, non-Christian parents. Young's Chapel is her home church, her first church, her only church. Doug Turnmire, who also teaches classes and serves as Oak Hill's chaplain, is her pastor. Maddie told us last year, when she went home for holiday break, “It just didn't seem right to miss church at Christmas.”
Imagine these words from a young lady who, before coming to Oak Hill Academy, had never attended church. What a testimony for this place; what a legacy for this ministry.
Oak Hill Academy and Young's Chapel Baptist Church represent a BGAV tradition-fresh, unique and bucking the trends for 126 years.
From Virginia Missions magazine
Michael Groves is president of Oak Hill Academy.