“…I tell you, open your eyes and look on the fields! They are ripe for the harvest.” (John
The vision to establish Grace Christian Ministries was birthed at a New Year’s Eve
worship service on the island of Guam in 1984. By the end of the year, it was clear to the
church leadership that the doors of opportunities to share the love of Christ on the island
of Saipan were opening up.
On January 7, 1985 in response to an invitation to start a church, Rev. Raymond Kinsella
moved to Saipan to set up a Youth Center called Teen Challenge. However, within six
months, instead of a Teen Challenge Center, the first Assemblies of God church (Saipan
First Assembly) was established in the Northern Marianas.
Before the end of the year, we felt the Lord leading us to establish a Christian school.
Plans were set in motion to establish a Christian school in China Town. But in February
(1986), Dr. David McClure, then President of Grace Christian Academy, invited us to
assume the administration of the school. Through a miraculous set of circumstances, the
Lord provided the finances to assume the administration by June 1986. It was clear that
Christian education would be one of the primary vehicles to carry the message of God’s
love to the people of the Northern Mariana Islands.
We started our first school year in 1986 with sixty-five students on our Saipan campus with
a team of nine staff. Today there are Grace Christian Academy campuses on the three
main islands (Rota, Tinian and Saipan) of the Northern Marianas. Over the last twenty
years, over a thousand students have attended Grace Christian Academy schools.
Today, it is considered one of the premier educational institutions in the Northern
Marianas and our students have consistently done very well in interscholastic competitions
and on several occasions taken home the top prize. Most of our students have gone on
to college after graduation and many have excelled in universities in Hawaii, U.S.
Mainland, Philippines, South Korea, and throughout Asia. We are very proud of our
On October 2000, Grace Christian Academy became fully accredited with the Association
of Christian Schools International and 20 years laters we became fully accredited with the Western Association of Colleges and Schools. It has expanded its facilities to include a high school
building, science and computer labs, a cafeteria, a campus library, and better access
roads, as well as improved parking and playground areas.
We continue to strive for excellence!