Parkview Christian lower grade campus principal leaving Friday

YORKVILLE – The principal for the lower grades campus of Parkview Christian Academy announced he will be leaving the position and will be moving south.

Craig Rapinchuk, principal for the Christian school's lower grades campus, wrote in a letter sent to school families July 31 that the past three years have been the best ones of his life, citing the biblical excerpt Proverbs 3:5-6 that he said helped lead him to Parkview: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall make your paths straight.”

"Now I feel as though God is using Proverbs 3:5-6 to lead me to serve as the Lower School Principal at Westminster Christian Academy in Louisiana," Rapinchuk wrote.

Rapinchuk wrote that he loves Parkview and that it has been an honor to help fulfill the school's mission in providing a high-quality, Christ-centered education to help train leaders who have identified God-given gifts and excel in their chosen path. He wrote he would still highly recommend Parkview "to any student, any parent, any teacher or any leader."

Rapinchuk wrote that he accepted the position in Louisiana because he feels as though he is obeying the Lord’s command and order, citing Numbers 9:22-23: “Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the Lord’s command, they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order.”

Rapinchuk wrote another reason in considering the relocation was for his wife's health. Over the past few years, he wrote, his wife was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that is debilitating during the cold, dark months in Illinois.

"This past winter was the worst, taking us to the emergency room," Rapinchuk wrote.

Rapinchuk wrote he will be working with school officials and supporters in the upcoming days to ensure a smooth transition for the next leader of the organization. He wrote the transition will take place on Friday, Aug. 7.

"Please be in prayer for our family as we transition to Louisiana over the next few weeks," Rapinchuck wrote. "This has been three years of unimaginable blessings for my family and for me. I cannot find words that adequately express the privilege it has been to serve with so many to challenge students to develop their individual, God-given gifts for a life of service in God’s kingdom."