“The meaning of life is to discover your gift; the purpose of life is to give it away.”

MPCS senior band student and percussionist Josh Arrants shared this thought during his talk at the 2015 MPCS band banquet, and while it was a statement aimed to honor his musical mentor, band director Billy Flood, the statement also goes to the heart of the mission-driven approach to arts education at Mount Paran Christian School.

Students throughout the world may participate in band, chorus, drama, orchestra, musical theatre, visual arts, as well as other unique arts programs such as dance, digital arts, technical theatre, and audio engineering — all of which are offered at MPCS to students in various grades, PK-12. Some schools still see the importance of these various arts programs because of documented evidence that reveals the benefits of arts education in the lives of all children and how it forms their academic, social, emotional, and maturational development. This is also a truism for MPCS. But it is more important to note that involvement in MPCS arts plays an added critical role in the life of our school as it applies to the school’s mission of creating servant-leaders. In a pop-culture world that is rife with ever-increasing moral decay, MPCS is developing visual, fine, and performing artists to change the world of the arts for Christ through behavior modeling and servant-leadership.