Call Summary: Christofuture Prep Founding Vision and Structure Alignment

Overview

Gary and Ida align on the founding vision, name, structure, and approach for Christofuture Prep - their flagship Christian school launching Fall 2026 in San Antonio. The call covers nonprofit vs for-profit structure, the 6-hour school day model, guide vetting philosophy, fundraising strategy, and Ida's spiritual awakening to bold Christian identity in education. Both commit to uncompromising Christian design from the foundation up.

Key Topics Discussed

Ida's Morning Dream and Research

• Dream About Churches: Ida woke with a dream about her family's pastor (Brother Abraham, whose father married her parents) and various churches she attended growing up
• Rural Access Research: Researched the political argument that rural areas wouldn't have access to private schools with vouchers
• Rebuttals to Critics: Found recent parent comments criticizing lack of oversight in microschools; Ida's rebuttal: "Public schools are doing the worst job ever known to man... we're 40th in the country"
• STAAR Test Critique: Parents noting STAAR has been "worthless and useless for 25 years" with university reports confirming it doesn't prepare students
• Current School Example: 15 seniors at her school, 10 didn't pass STAAR despite 3 years at private Christian school - "maybe people weren't accountable to the state, but we're accountable to God"

Christofuture Prep Naming and Vision

• Name Decision: Gary proposed "Christofuture Prep" - "preparing kids for the Christofuture"
• Ida's Response: "Yeah. Yeah." - affirmed the name
• Contrast with "Jesus Christ Prep": Gary: "I was kind of making that joke about Jesus Christ Prep. But this is better. It's less corny and gets to the same point"
• Core Mission: "We're not just doing Christian school as usual. We're preparing them for heaven. To go to heaven, but also to lead in an AI transformed world"

6-Hour School Day Model Alignment

• Core Academics (2 hours): Literacy and basic math, can define specifics later
• Spiritual Formation (midday): "Teaching them to be spiritual warriors" - approximately 1-2 hours
• Real-World Skills (afternoon): Ida's curriculum integrating UN sustainability, project-based learning, "Christ aligned impact"
• Ida's Curriculum: Already TEKS-aligned even though private schools don't require it - "to add validity to our school"
• Flexibility: "These things aren't all details. I just wanted to get aligned on the higher level"

Nonprofit vs For-Profit Structure

• Initial Decision: Both agree to start as nonprofit
• Gary's Reasoning: "The word for profit has a negative connotation in education, so why give us a sense of skepticism that we're trying to grift on Christians?"
• Ida's Agreement: "Yes, us too. Yes, Bethany and I, too"
• Future For-Profit Options: Can incubate businesses within nonprofit, create consulting arm later
• Tithing Model: Businesses in ecosystem can tithe percentage of profits back to the nonprofit
• Bethany's Role: Lawyer with 7 years corporate law experience helping with nonprofit formation

Fundraising Strategy

• Multiple Sources: Exploit TEFA funds + raise "at least hundreds of thousands of dollars"
• Crowdfunding Value: Not just for money but "letting people know that we exist... this is just the beginning"
• Budget App: Gary building budgeting app to model: principal salary, church renovation costs, etc.
• Bold Asking: "If we're really trying to make this a really earnest experiment that doesn't fail because of underfunding, we boldly ask for funding"
• Alfonso's Connections: Ida's father has access to "giant foundations"
• Donor Vetting: "First school year feels like a really valuable test of who's in it for the kingdom"

Guide Philosophy and Vetting

• Key Filter: Guides must be able to recruit parents through community trust - "have one speech, and then 10 parents sign up"
• Church Membership: "A guide that's been to the same church for many years is a beloved member, that is one of the best signs"
• Parent Responsibility: "It is also the parents responsibility in addition to our responsibility to help vet these guides"
• Anti-Tech Culture: "So antithetical to the tech culture that treats everybody as replaceable. That's what Joe [Liemandt] does"

Expansion Vision

• Year 1: San Antonio flagship
• Year 2: San Antonio + two other cities
• Year 3: Florida requests help
• Year 10: 15 states
• Ida's Role: "Floating principal" traveling between campuses - "You're gonna be a traveling minister"
• Ida's Reaction: "I am going to love that. I am going to love that"
• AI Scheduling: Gary will create "AI system that auto suggests what day you should spend on what campus"

Dropout Recovery Opportunity

• Scale: 35% of Bexar County high schoolers not attending school
• Voucher Eligibility: Dropouts still qualify for vouchers
• Accelerated Model: Half-day program for 18-year-olds who didn't finish, still Christ-centered
• Historical Context: San Antonio had many "Diploma Mills" for credit recovery - "we wouldn't just be recovery of credit... we're still mentoring them and imparting Christ leadership"

Ida's Spiritual Awakening

• Gary Calling Her Out: "You called my spirit out... something happened to me"
• Identity Reclamation: "I woke up to stand in my identity and my truth. That's the same thing that I call out in other people. You called out in me"
• Previous Compromise: Had been separating Christian identity from therapy practice to attract non-Christians
• New Conviction: "I can't hide. I have to be who God called me to be"
• Comparison to Baptism: "Like maybe when you were baptized... what happened to me"

Bold Christian Design Philosophy

• No Trade-offs: "We're going to raise more money, be more impactful, have less problems with parents... we're going to be able to say things like Holy Spirit told us to do that"
• Authority Source: "Our only boss is God" - no more delegating authority to superintendents or state departments
• Contrast with Atheists: "Atheists have had boldness... You're going to be okay with cutting corners, lying on sales calls. Christians don't even know who they are"
• Leverage: "Leverage comes from the fact that they don't have many other good options"
• Great Commission Connection: "Our job is the Great Commission and create heaven on earth. But where does that start? It starts in the schools"

Tamara Concern

• Unknown Stance: Ida uncertain about Tamara's position on LGBTQ issues - "I'm wondering what her stance is... if we're gonna meet resistance with her on certain things"
• Gary's Advice: "You can just literally ask"
• Secular Connections: Tamara knows secular investors - "doesn't mean that God won't use secular people to do what we need to do"

Ron Roberts Conversation Needed

• Background: Gary's friend (lukewarm Christian, Gen Z) asked him to consult on non-Christian microschools
• Gary's Response: "I need to be very honest about how much conviction I'm developing... I have more conviction that God wants me to do this with you"
• Potential Offense: If Ron is offended by Gary's Christian focus, that's revealing

Ida's Ministry Ecosystem

• Red Jay Counseling: Already incorporated as LLC
• Potential Pivot: Could direct percentage of profits to Christofuture Prep nonprofit
• Gary's Reframe: "I see this as your church, essentially. That you're the head pastor of"
• Tithing Structure: People can tithe to Ida directly AND to the education ministry separately

Finding "Other Garys"

• Mentor Directive: Gary's male mentors told him to "find other Garys"
• Gender Question: Considering whether it should be a men's group specifically
• Ida's Request: "Can I be your first partner? Can I be your first member?"
• Gary's Confirmation: "That's what's happening. Literally"

Key Quotes

• Gary on Christofuture Prep: "Preparing kids for the Christofuture"

• Ida on Current Schools: "Public schools are doing the worst job ever known to man... we're 40th in the country"

• Gary on Nonprofit Choice: "The word for profit has a negative connotation in education, so why give us a sense of skepticism that we're trying to grift on Christians?"

• Ida on Scale: "I've just got this overwhelming feeling that we're not going to have enough space... it's going to be like wildfire for these pods"

• Gary on Guide Vetting: "We want guides that can go to their church and have one speech, and then 10 parents sign up. That's the kind of credibility we're looking for"

• Gary on Bold Christianity: "Christians don't even know who they are. Most Christians don't even know that they're meant to be in war"

• Ida on Spiritual Awakening: "I woke up to stand in my identity and my truth. That's the same thing that I call out in other people. You called out in me"

• Gary on Great Commission: "Our job is the Great Commission and create heaven on earth. But where does that start? It starts in the schools"

• Ida on Zeal: "I've never felt like this about anything"

• Gary on Obviousness: "It's going to be the most obvious thing in 10 years. People look back like, oh, wow, it's so interesting that Ida and Gary and their team were seen as pioneers when it was so obvious"

Action Items / Takeaways

1. Gary: Update one-pager for internal alignment, create version for group chat
2. Gary: Build budgeting app for school financial modeling
3. Ida: Keep creating list of potential churches
4. Ida: Continue curriculum development (TEKS-aligned, UN SDG integrated)
5. Bethany: Working on nonprofit formation documents - call with Gary in evening
6. Gary: Write letter to Ron Roberts about focusing on Christian schools exclusively
7. Hold: Don't reach out to pastors until materials explicitly for pastors are ready
8. Ida: Ask Tamara directly about her stance on key values questions

Organizational Structure Emerging

Nonprofit: Christofuture Prep

• 501(c)(3) for the school network
• Receives donations and TEFA voucher funds
• Can incubate for-profit ventures

Future For-Profit Consulting Arm

• Ida and Gary consult on copycat schools
• Tithing model: X% of profits back to nonprofit
• Only after proving expertise in Year 1

Ida's Existing LLC: Red Jay Counseling

• Could direct percentage to Christofuture Prep
• Separate tithing structure for personal ministry vs education ministry

Spiritual Framework

Gary's Reframe of Ida's Ministry:

• "I see this as your church, essentially. That you're the head pastor of"
• Education is her mission field, her battlefield
• Red Jay Counseling + Christofuture Prep = complete ministry ecosystem

Authority Structure:

• "Our only boss is God"
• No delegating authority to state, superintendent, or secular institutions
• Spirit-led decision making explicitly stated to parents

Parent Agreement:

• If you have a problem with prayer, spiritual warfare, Holy Spirit leading - "this is not a good fit for you"
• Transparency builds trust
• Leverage from lack of good alternatives