Building facilities are only a means to accomplish our real mission of building young people’s lives. The campus mission statement enforces the purpose behind the administration’s plans for a new building.

For 19 years Fresno Christian students and teachers have been sharing the Peoples Church’s facilities for daily campus education.

Dr. Phil Hinton, chairman of the campus Foundation and former eight-year CEO of Fresno Community Medical Centers, decided to begin fund raising for the project.

The new building plan will consolidate campuses and accommodate 300 more students, doubling the current student population. Plans include 22 classrooms, two science labs, a computer and video lab, a large multi purpose room, library and media center with tutorial rooms and offices and teacher workrooms for both junior high and high school use.

The building will be a three-story structure located just east of the new gym on the portable library current location. The proposed cost will reach approximately six million dollars.

It will be wonderful when the quality of our facilities can meet the quality of our staff, Superintendent Tim Wilkins said. With the new building we will raise the bar in every area of education with new science labs, a bigger media center, and more resource areas adding more tools to prepare students for college.

Current excellence will also be taken to a higher level upon ground breaking.

Students from others schools come to FC often cannot receive the courses they need because all the classes are full, Wilkins said. With a bigger building there will be more classrooms and more opportunities for students.

The Foundation believes the new design will benefit teachers, students and administration.

It will bring the campus up to speed with more modern technology, Hinton said. As well as an enrollment increase by 250-300 students.

The Hinton family history assisted in the decision process to support the project.

Hinton’s two sons, Sam, ’92, and Steven, ’01, are both campus graduates. Sam later went on to Fresno Pacific, studied in medical school and is now a surgeon at Eye Q Medical Center. His wife, Dawn, is also a campus graduate.

Steven studied at UCLA and is now a Medical student in Dallas, Texas.

You have to look at the product which is the students, Hinton said. If the product is good then you know the school is doing its job. My sons are a living example of the first class education they received.

The administration predicts the project will take approximately four years to finish once ground is broken.

Our goal is to first identify the people who have benefited from FC, Hinton said. Then we will show them what will happen with the money that they give. People who give will make an eternal difference in the community- and impact to support God’s plan.

Gary Schultz, principal of Fresno Christian since 1979, believes the school makes a definite impact in the Fresno community.

We prepare our students to become spiritually strong and better citizens, Schultz said. And we know that because our graduates have made the community a better place. Some come back and want to teach for FC, which shows that they had a meaningful high school experience.

Schultz went on to describe the importance of a family mentality on campus.

With a smaller school, students do not feel like they are just a number, Schultz said. Our desire is to provide more opportunities for students who may not be recognized at other schools.

For further information on the new building project, call the main office at 299-1695 ex. 5.