{"id":1112,"date":"2025-12-12T15:38:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T15:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/?page_id=1112"},"modified":"2026-02-25T19:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:11:16","slug":"the-vick-familys-legacy-of-faith-filled-education","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/the-vick-familys-legacy-of-faith-filled-education\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vick family\u2019s legacy of faith-filled education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Mike and Kristin Vick have spent decades nurturing a vision rooted in faith, family, and generosity. A dream of providing a solid foundation of Christian education for their own kids expanded to wanting to share it beyond their community. God provided, and a single first step of faith with a few friends grew into a legacy that will last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With two sets of Christian parents, Mike and Kristin grew up with strong examples of faith and generosity. They learned early the importance of tithing to their churches and began understanding the need to expand their giving to Christian ministries too. These early lessons would later shape their approach to family giving and evolve into community impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vision for Christian education<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The couple developed an interest in Christian education as they were preparing for their oldest daughter, Chelsea, to enter kindergarten. After visiting the local public school, they felt something was missing. They knew the teaching wouldn\u2019t be from a biblical worldview, but it was more than that. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t feel God\u2019s presence at all. It felt dark,\u201d Mike says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristin had attended a Christian school in Florida and had a great experience. The couple wanted their children to have a similar education \u2013 one that didn\u2019t sacrifice academic excellence or<\/em> sound theology. And their church in Tucson, Arizona (Catalina Foothills Church) had like-minded families who had the same desire, including their pastor and his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Kristin, along with the other parents, developed a vision for starting an excellent Christian school in their community that better aligned with their values. The families began to dream and work together to make that vision a reality, and just a few years later \u2013 with their church\u2019s support \u2013 Cornerstone Christian Academy was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched as a 1st<\/sup> through 4th<\/sup> grade Christian grammar school, they used a classical learning style, beginning with memorization, moving to critical thinking using logical thought patterns, and then to effective communication and eventually public speaking and debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The approach quickly attracted other families, and the school grew to a K-6 campus on the church\u2019s property. By 2000, with the help of some generous supporters, the church purchased an existing school property in Oro Valley and opened a 6-12 school, which they called Pusch Ridge Christian Academy<\/a> (PRCA).  Eventually, the two schools merged to create a complete K\u201312 system.

\u201cIt was a lot of work, especially in those early years,\u201d Mike admits. He credits his pastor, Mark Roessler, with being instrumental in getting the school started and established. Mark had believed they could do it, even when others didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, the four Vick children have graduated from PRCA, and now Mike and Kristin\u2019s grandchildren are also students there. But thousands more have had the opportunity to receive this kind of Christian education because of God\u2019s work through the Vicks and others along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big gift<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A new opportunity came in 2008. Mike\u2019s parents had told the couple about donor-advised funds and introduced them to the National Christian Foundation (NCF). They had given Mike and his sister a piece of property in North Carolina, and when an opportunity arose to sell it, the parents suggested donating the land, so the net proceeds could be used for supporting their charitable goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy sister and I decided that was a good thing,\u201d Mike recalls. \u201cSo, we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With money in their Giving Fund at NCF, Mike and Kristin could give more generously than before, and it laid the foundation for engaging their own children in family giving for years to come.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding generosity<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, an opportunity arose for the Vicks to help provide kids in another part of town with the same solid education they\u2019d given their own kids. PRCA\u2019s headmaster learned that Christian parents in the Hispanic community in Tucson\u2019s south side shared the concerns the Vicks had when their daughter was starting school. The school district was implementing a program that was contrary to the community\u2019s values, but there was no opt-out option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike was serving on PRCA\u2019s school board at the time. Tucson\u2019s south side was a very underserved part of the community with limited options for Christian education, he says. The PRCA board wanted to help, \u201cbut we didn\u2019t have any money, and we didn\u2019t have a site. We didn\u2019t have anything except vision,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the risks, they moved forward. \u201cThis is the scariest thing I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d their board chair at the time said. \u201cBut it\u2019s also the most exciting thing I\u2019ve ever been a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January of 2021, through what can only be described as providential timing, they found a church property for sale on the south side of Tucson. And in 2022, PRCA\u2019s South Campus opened as the first dual-language Christian classical school in the country, with 41 kindergarten and first-grade students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preparing for the opening of the PRCA\u2019s South Campus was an opportunity for the whole family to serve and get involved.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a scramble and imperfect. But we got it open,\u201d Mike says. Today, the school serves 150 students in grades K-4, with plans underway to expand through eighth grade. \u201cGod has again provided funds to sustain the school,\u201d Mike says. \u201cAnd all along the way, we\u2019ve been amazed at how faithful he\u2019s been.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engaging the next generation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by NCF\u2019s resources on family giving, Mike and Kristin established a family Giving Fund in 2020. They seeded it with their own money and offered to match contributions from their adult children. The first gifts their kids made supported the South Campus, helping build a library and purchase playground equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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South Campus Principal, Jonathon Basurto, on the new playground.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A living legacy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Vicks\u2019 generosity is reflected on PRCA\u2019s three campuses, which serve hundreds of families. Kristin reflects on their journey: \u201cAs our family was growing, God allowed me to be involved in two ministries very close to my heart \u2013 our church and the new school. It\u2019s been a gift to watch God work in these places.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South Campus has become more than just a school. It now serves as a community anchor, where those on campus minister to widows, befriend neighbors, and reach out to local retirement communities. Instruction in the early grades is 90 percent Spanish and 10 percent English, progressing to true bilingual fluency by graduation, helping students maintain their heritage while readying them for whatever is next on their paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In its Mariachi program, led by Se\u00f1ora MonaLisa Amado, students of all levels learn to sing and play instruments. In its Mariachi program, led by Se\u00f1ora MonaLisa Amado, students of all levels learn to sing and play instruments.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike and Kristin have served multiple times on the school board, witnessing firsthand the fruits of their faith and giving. Their grandchildren now run across playgrounds of the schools they helped establish \u2013 a living legacy that extends far beyond their own family and community and will remain for generations to come.
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Article by:
Jill Foley Turner is NCF\u2019s director of editorial and content. She serves the marketing and communications department by leading the team that curates content for NCF\u2019s Saturday 7 newsletter. She loves writing stories from the Bible, stories about generous people, and articles about trends and research into what is happening in the world of giving.ncfgiving.com<\/a>all stories<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mike and Kristin Vick have spent decades nurturing a vision rooted in faith, family, and generosity. A dream of providing a solid foundation of Christian education for their own kids expanded to wanting to share it beyond their community. God provided, and a single first step of faith with a few friends grew into a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":1117,"parent":0,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1112","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1112"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1119,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1112\/revisions\/1119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncfgiving.com\/southwest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}