Christian Covenant Academy Testimony

My path to founding Christian Covenant Academy is one that has been guided by God every step of the way. I grew up in a turbulent home environment, moving constantly. By the time I graduated from high school, I had attended 14 different schools. Amidst this instability, I found solace in the few teachers who truly saw potential in me and helped pull me forward. They planted the seeds of my passion for education and my belief that every child deserves the opportunity to be seen and understood.

After high school, I followed God’s leading to pursue a career in education. I started at Texas Lutheran University and later transferred to Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State), a renowned institution for teacher training. My experience there ignited my passion for instruction and gave me the tools I wish I had received as a child. It became clear that God was aligning me with a purpose.

For eight years, I worked as a teacher in public education, teaching elementary school students, focusing on literacy intervention, and later working with high school students in reading intervention. I loved my work, but it always felt like something was missing.

In public education, I had to leave my faith at the door. Though small-town schools in Texas still celebrated Christian holidays and prayed at events, I wasn’t able to fully integrate my faith with my role as an educator. As much as I loved teaching, this tension between my faith and my career was something I carried with me.

I moved up in my career, becoming an assistant principal, a high school principal, an elementary principal, and even a special education coordinator. God blessed my efforts, and I was able to help schools achieve turnaround in both culture and performance. But despite all the success, I kept hitting a wall when trying to move further into central office positions. No matter how hard I worked, there seemed to be an invisible barrier.

Then, God intervened in a way I could never have anticipated.

After a particularly challenging experience in one of my school districts, I was ready to walk away from education altogether. But instead, God led me to a Christian school, where my passion for education and my faith could finally intersect. It was a beautiful collision. Within six months of joining as the principal, I was promoted to CEO of the school system. In the public sector, I had been striving for years to climb the ladder. But in this Christian school, God accelerated my path overnight.

This experience reinforced a powerful truth: we don’t need to strive when we are walking in God’s will. It was a lesson I would continue to lean on, especially when Christian Covenant Academy began as a startup—a leap of faith that would require perseverance and prayer at every turn.

While working at the Christian school, God began speaking to me about multiplying Christian schools. He was preparing me for something bigger. After a life-changing mission trip to Ethiopia, where I received profound healing, I discovered I was pregnant at 47 years old. It was a miracle that reaffirmed God’s calling for me. Soon after, I knew it was time to return to Texas and seek out what God had next for me.

I began working on my superintendent’s certificate, believing God was calling me to take a stand for conservative values in public education. But God had a different plan. Through a series of divine encounters, I met Charcie Russell, who shared a vision for affordable, sustainable Christian schools across the United States. At that moment, it became clear that the “Last Stand” God had called me to was not in public education—it was in Christian education.

Charcie challenged me to think beyond the boundaries of public education and consider what God wanted for Christian schools. She and I shared the same vision for multiplying Christian schools that were accessible and rooted in faith. It wasn’t long before God confirmed this calling, and I felt an undeniable sense of purpose. For three straight days, I couldn’t sleep as God downloaded strategies, blueprints, and visions for the future of Christian Covenant Academy.

Despite the clear calling, we faced practical challenges—funding was nonexistent, and we had no major backers. But God continued to open doors in miraculous ways. As we prepared to move back to Texas, Charcie and I began pitching the vision to potential donors. It wasn’t easy, but we remained faithful. Then, out of nowhere, an anonymous donor from Colorado stepped forward and asked, “Where are you on your startup?”

That conversation changed everything.

The donor committed to funding the curriculum development—an essential part of the vision God had given me. I knew that God wanted to use all of my experience in public education to create something extraordinary for His children: a curriculum that tied the best educational practices to a biblical worldview. But the blessings didn’t stop there. After the curriculum funding was secured, the donor called me again to ask if my salary was included in the budget. When I told them it wasn’t, they offered to personally cover my salary each month, saying they felt convicted to pray over the check and send it by mail.

This was God’s provision in action. Months earlier, the Lord had told me, “The check is in the mail,” and now it was happening exactly as He had promised.

Today, Christian Covenant Academy stands as a testimony to God’s faithfulness. What began as a vision has blossomed into a movement—one rooted in faith, dedicated to bringing Christ-centered education to children across the country. We are committed to multiplying affordable, sustainable Christian schools, ensuring that the next generation is equipped not only with academic knowledge but with the truth of God’s Word.

My journey has been one of surrender, obedience, and unwavering faith. God has been with me every step of the way, and I am in awe of what He is doing through Christian Covenant Academy. I look forward to seeing how He will continue to guide us as we expand this mission to touch the lives of countless children.

Michelle Davis

President & CEO