When her daughter was born, Christy Monda set out to find a suitable preschool. Unable to find one, she approached her pastor at First Baptist Church of Loganville about the problem. Six years later, Monda helped give rise to Loganville Christian Academy.

Loganville Christian Academy grew out of Bright Beginnings preschool, which began in 1993. Bright Beginnings was the solution to Monda's problem in finding an ideal preschool for her daughter. While the academy is independent of First Baptist and the preschool, Bright Beginnings remains a ministry of First Baptist. Monda is administrator of the academy.

Loganville Christian started with 68 students and supported K5 through sixth grade, with the plan to add a grade each subsequent year. Since adding high school to its capacity, the school has graduated six classes of seniors. The school now boasts 582 students and 82 faculty and staff members. They offer honor and AP courses for students; their partnership with Truett-McConnell and Athens Tech allows students to take joint-enrollment courses.

The school's mission statement is "to prepare students academically, spiritually and socially for God's call on their lives." According to Monda, every decision the school makes as an organization is filtered through that mission statement.

"We have heard from people more than once that they could sense something different about LCA," said Monda. "We do a lot of training with our students when it comes to marriage and respect and etiquette, all the things that seemed to have gotten lost in our culture."

Loganville Christian recently completed an expansion that included a football, baseball and softball field, accommodating the school's expanding sports program. Loganville Christian offers 10 sporting activities, with 26 teams.

"You'll see kids from the elementary classes to high school at a football game on a Friday night," said Monda. "We just love being together here."

The school plans to further support their sports program with plans to add a weight room facility. The addition will also include an aerobics room, a room for cheerleading practice, locker rooms and a concession area.

Loganville Christian's next event is all about giving back to the community. It will play host to a Shoot for the Cure classic on Nov. 19 and 20. The event features a basketball tournament that will raise funds for breast cancer awareness. The revenue generated will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The event will also showcase stories of breast cancer survivors. Monda hopes people in the community will take part and send in stories that will be honored at the fundraiser.

"We want to make sure that our students understand that they are in an environment where they are given a lot, and they are stewards of what they have been given. It's important for them to give back to the community that God has placed them in."

For more information, visit www.lcalions.com or call (770) 554-9888.