Briarcrest Christian School

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On September 8, 1971, a committee was appointed by East Park Baptist Church to study the possibility of establishing a church-sponsored private school. The purpose was to form a school that would provide academic excellence within a Christian environment for students of all races. East Park was a small Baptist church with 200+ members located at Park Avenue and White Station Road in Memphis, TN. The pastor was Rev. Wayne Allen, and it was his vision that led to the founding of Briarcrest Christian School. After much discussion and searching, suitable land was located on Sweetbriar Road in east Memphis. A special church business session was called to consider the purchase of 14.2 acres of land as the site of the new school and relocation of East Park Baptist Church. After much prayer, the church voted to make a bid of $426,500 for the property. The sealed bids later revealed that East Park Baptist Church had outbid all other competitors by only $400. On January 3, 1973, the Education Survey Committee recommended the establishment of a private, church-sponsored school. The property that was purchased was previously named Briarpatch Estate by its owners. Mrs. Maxine Ford, a member of the church, suggested the school name as Briarcrest by using the word “briar” from the original name and “crest” because the founders fully expected to have the top school in the area. The school colors were selected by Pastor Allen because his alma mater, Central High School, had the colors green and gold. The mascot, a St. Bernard dog, was adopted; and the student body was known as the Briarcrest “Saints.” The Committee was instructed to find: satellite school locations, an administrator for the system and principals for the grade (1-8) schools. A School System Establishment Committee was formed with Pat Allen as the chairperson. Miss Allen was a Memphis City School system teacher and sister of Pastor Allen. Members of East Park Church elected the Trustees for the school system on January 13, 1973. There were 16 members on the board, and all board members were required to be members of the founding church. On February 7, 1973, the church wrote into the by-laws that the pastor would serve as board chairman on a permanent basis. At this meeting, the church authorized the trustees to borrow approximately $4,000,000 for the building of the school/church. Gene Strong was selected as the architect, and a bid was awarded to contractor V. A. Lucchesi for $3,930,000. The eventual cost of the completed church/school building was $6,000,000. The church met opposition to the new construction, and a lawsuit was filed by a local resident on July 4, 1973, to halt construction of the building at 842 Sweetbriar Road. The lawsuit went all the way to the Tennessee State Supreme Court, and the court ruled in favor of Briarcrest. In September, 1973, work began; and funds were raised through a pledge campaign entitled, “With God Nothing Is Impossible.” This scripture from Matthew 19:26 remains on the front of the original building.In the fall of 1973, Briarcrest Baptist School System opened with 12 schools, all 1st-8th grade schools. Space was leased from participating churches in the east Memphis area. The schools were located in Audubon Park Baptist, Bartlett Baptist, Beverly Hills Baptist, Broadmoor Baptist, Cherokee Baptist, Colonial Baptist, Cottonwood Baptist, Crestview Baptist, East Park Baptist, Leawood Baptist, Ridgeway Baptist, and Trafalgar Baptist churches. There were “circuit-riding” principals with each principal supervising two or three schools. Some principals had as many as 750 students on campuses as far as 12 miles apart. The first year, there were more than 2000 students enrolled. For the initial year, a clergyman, Dr. Marvin Kilman served as the system