In the Fall of 2017, the Oregon Department of Transportation informed Central Valley Christian School they would be placing a concrete barrier down the median of the highway, right in front of the school driveway. It would block over 75% of the students from turning into the school.
With an already struggling enrollment, this was a big challenge for such a small school. But, as has been the trend in this community, a group of volunteers banded together to brainstorm solutions.
Would the farmer's, whose field surrounds the school on three sides, be willing to trade some land to give the school access to a nearby side street? It was worth the ask.
To make a long story short, the neighbor agreed to a land-swap and the school community rallied together to voice their support at what can only be assumed as the best attended city council meeting ever.
With more than 30 school supporters showing up, along with Ralph Stathem, a super-volunteer who spent thousands of hours working through the paperwork for wet-land studies, land surveys and more to build a new driveway and access point, the school had a brand new, 1,000 foot paved-driveway by the fall of 2021.
When you put your faith in a God who can handle the future, big things happen. Since the driveway project, the school has seen a 30% growth in enrollment. Is it solely because of the safer driveway entrance? No one knows, for sure. But as one supporter says, "God doesn’t build driveways to nowhere. He builds driveways to His schools." If you’re ever in the area, perhaps driving from I-5 towards Corvallis, look amidst the grass fields for the little school with the long driveway — God’s driveway.
