Mars Hill Bible School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mars Hill Bible School[1]
Established 1947 (1871)
Type Private
Headmaster Dr. Kenny Barfield
Faculty 46
Students 623
Grades PreK-12
Location Florence, AL, USA
Accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, National Christian School Association
Campus 80 acres
Colors Blue and White
Mascot Panthers
Website http://www.mhbs.org

Mars Hill Bible School is a nominally non-sectarian preparatory day school for boys and girls located in Florence, Alabama. The school begins at pre-kindergarten and continues through the twelfth grade.

Contents

[edit] History

Mars Hill Academy was first opened by T.B. Larimore on January 1, 1871. He later changed the name to Mars Hill College. The school ran for 16 years teaching hundreds of young men and was closed in 1888 in order for Larimore to spend more time preaching.

Mars Hill Bible School was opened in 1947 through a collaboration among local churches of Christ. While Mars Hill Bible School affiliates itself with the churches of Christ and although next to the campus is Mars Hill Church of Christ the school is completely independent from all Churches and is a fully autonomous entity.

[edit] Academics

  • In 2006, 50 out of 50 graduates went to college. [2]
  • Median composite ACT score for 2006 graduates was 25, with 42% scoring over 26.[3]
  • Bible is a daily class for all students and passing this class is required for graduation.
  • Chapel attendance is required daily for all students.

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Administration

  • Milton Sewell served as President of Mars Hill Bible School from 1983-1990. He is currently the chancellor at Freed Hardeman University. [4]
  • David Vester served as President of Mars Hill Bible School from 1994-2000. He is a National Christian School Association board member[5] who has since served as President at Dallas Christian School and later at Nashville Christian School.
  • Dr. Kenny Barfield has served as President since 2000. He is the author of The Prophet Motive[6] and Why The Bible is Number One[7] .
  • Dewayne Key, the former Lawrence County, Alabama Superintendent of Education,[8] who "who led a court fight to provide better funding for Alabama's poor school districts" is an acclaimed Physics and Chemistry teacher at Mars Hill.[9][10]

[edit] Notable Alum

[edit] Benefit Dinner

Every year Mars Hill Bible School hosts a large Benefit Dinner, featuring celebrity speakers, to raise money for the school's General Fund.[11] Past keynote speakers include:

[edit] Trivia

  • Charlton Heston was supposed to speak at the annual Benefit Dinner at Mars Hill in 1996 until he appeared in a Super Bowl ad for Bud Light in which he used the catch phrase "I love you, ma-a-a-n!"[12]. The appearance was canceled by the school because drinking alcohol is condemned by the school and often by the churches of Christ. Heston was understanding about the incident.[13][14]
  • Mars Hill basketball games are broadcast on AM 1240 WBCF in North Alabama. Mars Hill teacher and baseball coach Ronnie Pannell has broadcast more than 850 games and seen Mars Hill teams claim 15 Area championships, 4 State championships and 3 Runner-up finishes.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Private Secondary Schools 2007-2008 (English). Peterson's. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  2. ^ Private Secondary Schools 2007-2008 (English). Peterson's. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  3. ^ Private Secondary Schools 2007-2008 (English). Peterson's. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  4. ^ Sewell to be chancellor at Freed-Hardeman (English). Times Daily (2007-03-09). Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  5. ^ NCSA Official Website (English). NCSA (2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
  6. ^ Book Review: The Prophet Motive (English). Does God Exist? (1996). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
  7. ^ Amazon.com: Why The Bible is Number One (English). Amazon.com (1988). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
  8. ^ AP, Former superintendent wants old job back, The Associated Press, 1999-11-24.
  9. ^ AP, Former superintendent wants old job back, The Associated Press, 1999-11-24.
  10. ^ MHBS Panther Notes Summer 2007 (English). Panther Notes (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
  11. ^ Mars Hill Bible School (English). MHBS Website (2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  12. ^ I love you, man!@Everything2 (English) (2001). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
  13. ^ , PEOPLE, International Herald Tribune, 1996-02-17.
  14. ^ AP, People in the news, The Associated Press, 1996-02-15.
  15. ^ Voice of the Panthers (English) (2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.

[edit] External links