History

Very shortly after their 2022 wedding on the shores of Lake Michigan in the “Living Water Prayer Chapel,” Jason and Lisa Grover knew that the Lord had called them to continue to raise and educate their own blended family of five children and to help build a local Christian school.

A very brief background on this couple is as follows:

• Both taught school immediately after completing college. Lisa taught 5th and 6th graders at her own alma mater, Covenant Life Academy. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Central Michigan University and taught K – 10 at a private school near Detroit, Michigan.
• In 2000, Lisa graduated from Dublin City University after the successful defense of her doctoral dissertation in the field of communication and human behavior.
• In addition to teaching at BIOLA University and North Central Michigan College, most of her professional career was spent in the valiant attempt to fix the American healthcare system.
• In 2006, Jason began a career in IT with Columbian Logistics.
• In 2018, Lisa resigned from UnitedHealth Group and homeschooled her three children for a season of time.

In the summer of 2024, the couple knew it was time to begin working with others to put action to aspiration. Justina Hautamaki, long-term resident of Marquette county with a Master’s in Education with an emphasis on teaching students how to read, immediately agreed to partner with Lisa as the Vice Principal of the school. It appeared that the green light to kick things off was brilliantly shining!

With a couple families and students, the school commenced in September. The Board of Directors got to work quickly and began the affiliation process with Turning Point Academy. The first year functioned completely as homeschools with resource partners as assistants while school leadership continued to build the framework for a school, including officially incorporating as Living Water Christian Academy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity.

In January 2025, a large group of local pastors and leaders gathered at CrossBridge Church in Ishpeming to plan for the annual evangelistic event called City-Fest. Dr. Lisa Grover was given the privilege of addressing this audience for just a short time. She explained the vision we are casting for this school, provided a quick lesson on classical education, and asked for help! All Christian schools require prayer and practical support from their local communities in order to be successful.

The second year of classes intends to function as an approved non-public Michigan school. Our goal is for at least 40 students in the 2024-2025 academic year and then 60-100 for each year following.