Since 1918, Adventist Christian secondary education in the Idaho Conference has been all about our youth. At a special constituency session on May 21, 328 delegates from around the conference met at Gem State Adventist Academy (GSAA) to consider ways to strengthen the academy, to keep it viable until the day Christ returns.
Stephen McPherson, Idaho Conference president, presented a devotional on the prophet Samuel and his contribution to education in the formation of the Schools of the Prophets. Following a vote to accept Boise East Adventist Church into the sisterhood of churches, the GSAA Land Use Committee presented a possible plan of action, developed over the course of a year and refined and affirmed by members throughout the conference at town hall meetings.
The present opportunities for strengthening the school grew out of actions of two lay leaders and businessmen, C.M. Munsey and Dean Dennis, in the 1950s. They were inspired to work at moving the academy from its location at the corner of Linden and Indiana in Caldwell. The ultimate result was a 385-acre campus and farm located south of town on Montana Avenue. The recent rapid growth of the Caldwell/Nampa area has brought a dramatic increase in land values and a higher demand for housing and related services. The farm, for many reasons, is no longer suitable or profitable for agriculture.
The constituents took four groundbreaking actions. The first was to change the land asset into a cash endowment for GSAA. The remaining three established a GSAA Visioning Committee and a GSAA Operating Endowment Management Committee and enlarged the Land Use Committee. These committees are at work and will bring reports back to the regular session in May 2007.
God had a plan for GSAA a long time ago. Those who have passed through its doors have felt His guidance. He is still guiding today as we work together to continue the legacy of quality Adventist Christian education in the Idaho Conference—for our children—for His children.
Teens like these are the reason Idaho Conference constituents want to keep GSAA strong.
