In March of 1994, The Layman’s Foundation purchased more than 1,100 acres on Clarkrange Highway near Monterey, Tennessee, and Heritage Academy was organized and incorporated. The school is a self-supporting coeducational boarding academy placed amid rolling farmland to meet the educational needs of young people seeking to hasten the Lord’s return. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in April 1994. The succeeding four months of construction enabled the school to open its doors to the first students in August 1994.
Heritage Academy seeks, through a variety of ministries, to educate young people for the purpose of serving Him. The Lord has opened doors for them to add a number of ministry training opportunities to their already strong academic core. In addition to a college preparatory education, students have the opportunity to train for disaster response, medical aviation, media ministry, outdoor education, and vocational skills. Partnering with local emergency management agencies, as well as ACTS World Relief, students gain hands on experience aiding and ministering to those in desperate need of assistance during times of tragedy and loss.
Young people also come face-to-face with ministry opportunities in other countries through medical missionary and aviation training. Heritage students within this program are qualified, upon graduation, to serve in the mission field. Two to four weeks of job shadowing in a foreign country adds to this program by providing real-world experience. Students in the media ministry track gain experience by producing spiritual programming and short promotional videos. Working as a team, students are involved in the project from start to finish, experiencing each aspect of production so that they leave with a strong foundation for future work in video ministry.
Outdoor classrooms, nature trails, and an amphitheater and deck work together to provide a reflection of the “Eden school.” And students have opportunities to work outside in the gardens and greenhouses, as well as in various departments of the school. This practical training teaches young people to have a strong work ethic while developing the time management skills and attentiveness to detail that are required in all areas of life.Through each of these ministries, Heritage seeks to instill the mind and heart of Christ into each young person. Above all else, encouraging the students to develop a living, thriving relationship with Him is their goal, and the Lord continues to provide all that is needed to that end.
