Urban Christian Academy loses most of its support after leaders abruptly push LGBT agenda

When a Christian school in Kansas City announced it would close due to backlash against its sudden LGBT-inclusivity, the media had a field day while failing to even question the about-face.

“LGBTQ-Affirming School Closes After Antigay Churches Stop Funding,” read one headline. “Donors ditching Kansas City school over LGBTQ rights isn’t Christian,” stated another.

Urban Christian Academy (UCA) claims it always had “inclusive” theology, but decided to update its mission statement and website early last year to highlight LGBT rights.

The school’s new mission, plastered on its homepage, reads: “We are an affirming school. We stand with the LGBTQIA+ community and believe in their holiness.”

UCA’s supporters, who are mostly evangelicals, predictably stopped giving to the school which now explicitly contradicted the values they once shared. As a tuition-free school serving low-income students, UCA relied on donations to operate.

By the end of last year, funding was down 80%, according to the school, forcing it to cut some classes immediately with plans to fully close in May 2023.

Some families also withdrew their children, and two teachers resigned, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports.

Even as most remaining students will soon be forced to enroll in local, struggling public schools, UCA has expressed no remorse over its decision to put the progressive policy in place. 

“We have zero regrets in putting that stake in the ground,” the school wrote in a newsletter sent out Feb. 2. “However, we are heartbroken and devastated that so many donors choose to withdraw their funding from the UCA scholars in response to this message.”  

Heartbroken but surely not surprised. 

At the same time the school announced its affirmation of the LGBT community, its co-founder Kalie George revealed she would be marrying another woman and changing her name to Callaway-George, according to the Gazette.  

Her wife, Meredith Callaway-George, is a co-founder of and kindergarten teacher at UCA, according to her social media profile.  

Was the school really LGBT-affirming all along, or did its leaders declare it so in order to justify their personal beliefs and lifestyle? 

If it’s the former, it’s a shame for the kids. By all accounts, UCA did good work, but ostensibly Christian schools shouldn’t count on church donations when their leaders openly defy long-held tenets of the Christian faith. 

If it’s the latter, it’s still a shame for the kids – kids who lost their school because adults prioritized their personal beliefs and desire for public affirmation more than the needs of their students.