Our Philosophy is to Offer Life Transformation

The missional work of life transformation at Columbus Girls Academy occurs in stages of development and spiritual growth.  For many of the students enrolled in the CGA program, developmental stages have been disrupted due to crisis or unmet needs.  When developmental needs are disrupted and societal pressures overwhelm, teens who struggle to find belonging begin to cope in unhealthy ways.  At CGA a safe environment for growth, and opportunities to resolve unmet needs are provided so that students may experience life transformation and return to a healthy stage of development. Every stage is important and provides the building blocks for long term growth.

Physiological and Safety Needs

Foundational needs for every student are met by satisfying basic physiological and safety needs.  CGA meets these needs through well rounded nutritional meals, hydration, comfortable and safe living arrangements, structure, and adequate opportunities for rest and exercise.   CGA eliminates the barriers that may have interfered with the safety and physiological needs of its students prior to enrollment.  Students feel safe in the well-defined boundaries and structure of CGA.  Through meeting student’s basic needs in an excellent manner, CGA hopes to demonstrate to students that they are valued and loved.

Love and Attachment

Love and attachment represent the next stage of needs that must be met for every CGA student. Many teens have been hurt in relationships prior to enrollment at CGA and it is in a relationship with God and others that a students’ psychological needs for love, belonging, and esteem will be met.  Students will learn about their God-given worth and identity through a curriculum that is individualized by each student’s assigned leader.  This therapeutic, Bible-based curriculum helps to identify a student’s spiritual and therapeutic needs and guides the student through growth.  

Through individual, group, and family counseling, important work is achieved to reconcile broken family relationships so that the student might find belonging and value in more intimate family relationships. There is also a community that is formed in the student body where students feel that they belong. Many activities are provided that promote a unified and team-oriented peer culture.  CGA staff members also play a vital role in offering a constant source of support and nurture for students in the program.

Significance and Purpose

Teens are on a search for significance and purpose.  CGA students have incredible God-given potential, talents, and skills which are discovered, developed and deployed through the specially designed activities of the program.  Students are provided with a quality individualized educational program through which students have the opportunity to recover and improve academically.  This helps to lay the foundation for successful future plans.   Through regular service projects, students improve socialization skills, grow in emotional maturity and attain a sense of purpose in their contributions to society.  Through the challenging and rewarding work of change, students discover that their lives are significant and they begin to contemplate how they might make a difference in their world.