It is estimated that until about the 1880s, more than half of America’s secondary schools were private academies. Many of those were boarding schools. After the turn of the last century, the numbers began to decline as more public schools were available. Today, only a handful of the boarding academies still survive. Some would conclude that private Christian boarding schools have outlived their usefulness and can quietly go the way of the dinosaur.

As one who has benefited from the advantages of attending a Baptist boarding school and has spent more than half of his adult life serving in one, I would strongly disagree. If one were to research the reasons most boarding academies closed their doors, you would discover that it was not because there was no longer a need for them, but rather a lack of funding.

One of Kentucky Baptists’ boarding schools closed its doors the year before I enrolled at Oneida Baptist Institute in 1961. Some would argue that the Magoffin Baptist Institute in Breathitt County had simply outlived its usefulness. The administration would argue that the need was still there but the financial support was not.

Certainly our ministry has had its share of financial challenges. Just after World War I and before and after the Great Depression, our school was brought to its knees with financial debt. Salaries could not be paid and bills were months in arrears, to the point that Oneida could no longer charge anything, including food to feed the students. Nearly all of our suppliers were demanding cash for purchases. In 1921, Oneida’s debt load was so significant that students were sent home and the doors were closed for four months. Only two students graduated in 1921 and we had no graduates in 1922.

Even during the past 50 years, this ministry has faced many financial crises. I believe that if you could talk to the 3,400 students who have graduated from OBI since 1921—as well as countless others who attended but did not graduate—most would tell you that Oneida played a very important part in their lives. If this ministry had prematurely closed its doors in 1921 it would not have been because the need was not there for generations yet to come, but rather the funds to support us were not provided.

Do we really need Christian boarding schools any more? I would encourage anyone seriously thinking about that to talk to the teachers, administration, support staff and students of those ministries before concluding they are no longer necessary. Let them tell you of the many life-changing experiences they have seen in the lives of young people.

One of the unique opportunities we have at Oneida is being able to provide a living environment free of drugs, alcohol, physical and family conflicts, and many other life-degrading influences our young people often lived in before coming to OBI. I was one of those young people who desperately needed the advantages provided by this ministry. My home environment was a nightmare. As a new Christian, I not only needed the advantages of a Christian boarding school, but I desperately needed to be out of my environment. Like so many of our students, however, I did not have the $1 per day room and board paid by full-paying students in the 1950s and early ’60s.

I don’t believe a day goes by that I do not think of the generosity of Kentucky Baptists and the many friends who make it possible for so many low-income students—just like me—to live in an environment that is radically different from the one I left in Ohio. Those wonderful friends made it financially possible for me and countless others to attend, even though I did not have the modest fees requested.

God has indeed blessed this ministry with a wonderful, loving and generous family of friends. After 25 years, I can say from firsthand experience that it will not be because of a lack of need that we may have to close our doors some day, but rather from a lack of financial support.

W.F. Underwood is president of Oneida Baptist Institute