Our History
 

We serve a great God who takes ordinary individuals and allows them to do the extraordinary. This was the case for Ronny and Joan Dabbs. God led this couple to Gardendale, Alabama to begin a church, along with a core group of committed Christians. In December of 1971, Gardendale Baptist Tabernacle was birthed, and Pastor Dabbs, along with a supportive congregation, began to impact the community of Gardendale.

Seeing a real need for Christian education, by faith the members of GBT stepped out and opened the doors of Tabernacle Christian School in the fall of 1974. We praise God decades later that the Dabbs’ followed God’s leading and began a school ministry for the sole purpose of sharing the gospel and training children to serve God.

Through the years, many students have come to accept Christ as their personal Savior and to take real steps of spiritual maturity in their walk with God. We can only give God the praise and the glory because we recognize it was nothing “man” did, but it was by the hand of God, and by the amazing grace of God, that souls have been impacted for eternity!

Our Mission & Vision
 

As a ministry of Gardendale Baptist Tabernacle, we feel a great responsibility in using the time God has given us in the lives of students. We are humbled that God would allow us to influence young hearts and minds for His glory. To keep us accountable and focused, our mission is what drives us to serve God and be effective.

Partner | Provide | Prepare

Our mission at Tabernacle Christian is to partner with parents to provide an excellent education, through academic rigor that establishes a Biblical worldview, to prepare students for God’s purpose in their lives.

 
Unity | Growth | Purpose
From our mission statement, we see themes that can be organized into the following core values: Unity, Growth, and Purpose:
1) Unity: partnering with parents in nurturing students academically and spiritually.
2) Growth: nurturing each student to be a well-rounded and compassionate individual who positively impacts society for Christ.
3) Purpose: providing a complete education that integrates faith and academics to help each student find the unique purpose
    and calling God has for his/her life.
 
Teaching and training students from a Christian perspective 5 days a week, 7 hours a day, in each subject is a remarkable avenue to point students to Christ. These students are our future. They will be our pastors, teachers, statesmen, and bankers. We are committed to our parents to assist in raising up a generation that will do incredible things for God. We are committed to our students to use the time wisely in preparing them spiritually, socially, and intellectually. Above all, we are committed to our God in fulfilling His perfect will in our lives so that, in turn, we’ll be the proper role models for our students.
Our Beliefs
 

As a ministry of Gardendale Baptist Tabernacle, we stand strong on the Word of God. In fact, the Bible is our foundation. From God’s Word we find our purpose and our mission, not only in Christian education, but also in our personal lives. Our desire is to pass on to the next generation a love and passion for God’s Word, a desire to memorize the Scriptures, and an ability to share it with a world that needs God.

· We believe that the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is the verbally inspired Word of God; the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. It is inerrant and is our only rule in matters of faith and practice.

· We believe in the Creation account, not evolution; that man was created by the direct act of God and in the image of God.

· We believe that Adam and Eve, in yielding to the temptation of Satan, became fallen beings, and that all men are born in sin and in need of a Savior.

· We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless, perfect life, His substitutionary and atoning death on the cross by the shedding of His blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal, future return.

· We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture; that He arose from the dead in His glorified body, ascended into heaven, and that, as our great Advocate, He ever lives to make intercession for us. All who believe on His name are justified on the basis of grace through faith in Him, plus nothing and minus nothing. The believer is therefore eternally secure, kept by the power of God through the atoning blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our Affiliations
 
Tabernacle Christian School counts it a privilege to be a member of the Alabama Christian Education Association (ACEA) . Through the years, the ACEA has been an influential advocate for its member schools. We enjoy quality teacher conventions and conferences for Pastors and Administrators. These professional conferences are both an encouragement and an opportunity to continue learning and growing. As a part of the association, our students participate in academic, Bible, athletic, and fine arts competitions on an annual basis.
 
Our school is also a member of the American Association of Christian Schools (AACS). This national conference affords us many opportunities in regards to fine arts and academic competitions, honor society, and teacher conventions.