ECS Celebrates Its Diamond Jubilee

As we celebrate ECS's 60th anniversary in 2025, we are offering a series of #ThrowbackThursday posts.

To kick off this celebration, it is appropriate to spotlight our founders. We are so thankful for the heritage ECS enjoys today, thanks to these godly men who had the vision and courage to establish a distinctly Christian school that uniquely partners with the home and the church to disciple the next generation in Christ. While many things in our culture have changed in the past six decades, we are so thankful that our mission has remained the same:

The mission of Evangelical Christian School is to provide the Christian family a Christ-centered, biblically directed education that challenges students to know the Lord Jesus Christ and to develop the vision and practice of excellence in academics, character, leadership and service to others.

Pictured L to R: Jim Hartman, Dr. Chester Lloyd, Dr. Ken Avis, Larry Harrod, Dr. Charles Neal, Eli Morris, and Dr. T. Stanley Soltau

Thank you, Lord, for inspiring these founders to follow Your calling on their lives to establish Evangelical Christian School 60 years ago!

In celebration of recent Hadestown opening, we are throwing it back quite a few years to ECS's Theatre Department's presentation of The Sound of Music. Can you name the thespians pictured here?

We thank our fine arts alumni for all they did to set the stage for the current award-winning Theatre Department we enjoy today!

Because it is basketball season, we are throwing it back quite a few years to one of ECS's early basketball teams. We thank our alumni for all they did to establish our current championship athletics program we enjoy today! Can you name the players pictured here?

Who remembers when Dog Day started?

Next up in our series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary ...

Who recognizes this building?

Earlier graduates will recall this as the Pool House on the Macon (Shelby Farms) campus while others remember this as a classroom or a senior lounge over the years.

Today's ECS students know it as SIPS Tea & Coffee Shop, which serves as a hub on campus, offering up specialty coffees, protein shakes and loaded teas, providing paid employment to students before, after school and during study halls, all while fostering community among our students, faculty and staff throughout the school day.

In honor of the upcoming Presidents' Day holiday, and part of our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we remember our great tradition of the MARCH OF THE PRESIDENTS program!

Every Presidential inaugural year, lower school students dressed like Presidents and First Ladies from history and led a special patriotic program in front of parents, grandparents and friends. Many thanks to longtime ECS teacher, Mr. Gary Worley, for writing this wonderful program filled with historical facts that also celebrated our freedom to worship God in our great country!

ALUMNI, which historical figure were you?

As part of our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we remember ECS' original basketball court - inside THE BUBBLE!

Who remembers the Bubble? Or that time a BASKETBALL game was RAINED OUT?

With our Knowledge Bowl team competing on channel 3 on March 1, and as part of our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we are throwing it back to a Knowledge Bowl contest from the past.

Do you know these members of the Knowledge Bowl team from long ago?

With baseball season starting and as part of our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we are highlighting our rich winning tradition on the diamond.

Did you know that ECS has won SIX BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (1989, 1996, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2017)? That is second only to CBHS for most baseball state titles in the city! We have a proud winning tradition in our baseball program, and that continues today.

With our softball team season upon us, and as part of our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we are highlighting our Eagles softball program.

With March Madness underway and as part of our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we are throwing it back to when current All-American Marquette basketball star Kam Jones '21 helped lead our Eagles to back-to-back appearances in the Tennessee State Division II-A Final Four in 2020 and 2021.

Read how basketball played a role in leading Kam to the Lord and how it also helped forge a lasting friendship with fellow Eagles player Thomas Kizer '21, as this pair continues to encourage one another to live out the faith lessons their coaches and dads imparted to them. READ MORE at ecseagles.com/alumni.

As part of our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we are throwing it back to when The Man in Black himself entertained ECS students on the Shelby Farms (aka Macon) campus in the spring of 1972.

Cash's sister, Louise Garrett, worked at ECS for five years, so she invited her brother, the eleven-time Emmy-Award-winning artist to perform an impromptu concert for students under the trees at school.

As our Shelby Farms campus Easter Egg Hunt approaches, we are throwing it back to an ECS Easter Egg Hunt from years ago!

Do you recognize Hudson Stephens '23 and Samuel Wilkins '23 when they were in junior kindergarten?

Alumni and current families with young ones, make plans to join us at the chapel amphitheater on Saturday, April 12 at 10:00 a.m. Head of School Mr. Hauss will share the Easter story, and you can enjoy Gibson's donuts, followed by a fun egg hunt for the children! Sips will be open serving your favorite coffees and teas as well! We can't wait to see you!

In conjunction with our recent Top Scholars Banquet, and as part of our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we are remembering our Top Scholars from the past 22 years.

Do you recognize our current freshman English teacher from the Top Scholars banquet program in 2010? Ms. Hawkins also won the E. Brady Bartusch Scholarship, bestowed upon a deserving Top Scholar. The Top Scholars program began in 2004 as a way to honor the academic achievement of the top 10% of each graduating class.

As a part of Holy Week and our ongoing series of #ThrowbackThursday posts in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, we are remembering our Easter Week re-enactment at the Ridge Lake campus.

Here we see the angel, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary at the empty tomb.

"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just as he said. Come, see the place where he lay." Matthew 28:1-6

He is Risen! Hallelujah!

In celebration of our 19 NOMINATIONS announced this week from the Orpheum's HSMTA for ECS's presentation of Hadestown Teen Edition, and the opening of Seussical Jr, this #ThrowbackThursday in celebration of ECS's 60th anniversary, takes us down the Yellow Brick Road to this early ECS performance of The Wizard of Oz.

Do you recognize these actors?

We agree with Dorothy: "There's no place like home!" Alumni, make plans to return home to ECS and join us for our Diamond Jubilee Homecoming the weekend of September 12!

May means FIELD DAY at ECS, among many other annual festivities!

Check out this pic from Field Day years ago. Do you recognize those pictured? 

Graduation was on May 10. As part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, this week, we are throwing it back to our very first graduation ceremony in 1975!

In celebration of our girls lacrosse team winning the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP for the first time in program history, and as part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, we are throwing it back to the Eagles first girls lacrosse team in 2019!

Do you recognize these players pictured? 

As part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, we thought this photo was appropriate as we bid farewell to a successful school year.

Do you recognize these students pictured? 

As part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, we hope everyone is having this much fun so far this summer!

Do you recognize these students pictured on the ECS playground years ago? 

With summer underway, we are looking back on an ECS Summer Camp just a few years ago. Summer at ECS offers entertaining and educational offerings for every interest - from academics to arts and athletics to STEM, we have you covered! Register today at ecseagles.com.

How about this snapshot of an early Eagles volleyball team from years ago!

Fall sports workouts are already underway this summer as team prepare for action in August!

In honor of our 60th anniversary, we found this photo of an ECS athlete putting in the work in the weight room. Do you recognize Cam Davis ('01)?

Under the leadership of Coach Aubrey Boren, Head of Strength and Conditioning, we are proud to partner with NBS Fitness, owned by ECS alumnus David Allen '04, to ensure our athletes are prepared to compete at the highest level.

With Independence Day celebrations, and in honor of our 60th anniversary, we are feeling as patriotic as this student pictured at a school program years ago! ECS is thankful for our great country, and we are committed to pray for the USA!

With a new school year just around the corner, it's time to stock up on new uniforms! The Soaring Eagle Shop has all of your school uniform needs! After taking a break in June, the Soaring Eagle Shop is back open in July.

As part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, do we have some fun reading for you!

Have you ordered your copy of The Story of Evangelical Christian School: Celebrating 60 Years of Christian Education yet? This hard-bound full-color coffee-table-quality book shares the history of Evangelical Christian School and highlights some of the people who helped make ECS what it is today. Also included are 60 attributes from our past and present that make ECS unique! Photos, quotes and stories will surely provide a walk down memory lane for many while serving as an anchor of our past, providing purpose for today and offering vision for the future.

Only $25. Books available fall 2025. Pre-order your copy here today! https://www.ecseagles.com/ecs-life/ecs-60th-anniversary

With football season around the corner and as part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, shout-out to our amazing cheerleaders who have cheered on the Eagles and promoted our great school spirit through the years!

Do you recognize anyone in this photo from the 90s?

Always eager to greet returning students for the new school year is our eagle mascot, Champ! He has grown up a bit over his 60 years. Check out this old photo of our favorite feathered friend as part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary.

Lower school students saw Champ as he greeted them as we kicked off the 2025-2026 school year!

As part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, we are celebrating our great heritage as a praying school community.

From the mothers and grandmothers who prayed for the creation of a Christian school more than 60 years ago, to teachers stopping class periodically to pray that the Lord would provide the means to sustain the school during the financial crisis of 1975, ECS continues the practice of prayer today by starting every day in prayer with First Five. This week as school began, parents, alumni and faculty prayed around the clock for guidance, protection and a year of God's blessings. ECS understands the power of prayer and the importance of lifting all of our praises and concerns to the Throne of Grace.

Because it's #ElvisWeek and as part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, we are remembering our fun CELEBRATE MEMPHIS event we hosted in 2019.

From a performance by the Memphis Grizzlies Drumline to an appearance from Elvis himself, it was a fun day capped off with a school-wide yummy barbecue picnic!

Because football season is now here and as part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of our 60th anniversary, we are celebrating our football team's tradition of singing "Victory in Jesus" following every game.

On January 8, 1974, football was officially introduced as a varsity sport, with the inaugural season set for the fall of that year. From those early days, the program became about more than just wins and losses - it became a symbol of character, community and faith. One of the most cherished traditions continues to this day: At the end of every game, regardless of the outcome, the team gathers, faces the stands and joins their voices with the crowd to sing "Victory in Jesus." This tradition began in a post-game huddle as the team and coaches sang after a 1993 win over Briarcrest for the regional championship. It's a powerful reminder that their identity and purpose reach far beyond the scoreboard.

Read about these and many more cherished traditions by pre-ordering your copy of the book The Story of Evangelical Christian School: Celebrating 60 Years of Christian Education at https://www.ecseagles.com/ecs-life/ecs-60th-anniversary. Books available by Homecoming, September 12.

60 YEARS OF FIRST DAYS! With the 60th anniversary of the very first day of school approaching on Monday, and as part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of this milestone, we are looking back on the early days at ECS.

On September 1, 1965, Evangelical Christian School first opened its doors to 66 students in kindergarten through fourth grades on the campus of First Evangelical Church at their former location on Union Avenue for the purpose of offering a distinctively Christian discipleship education to Memphis area families. Now, 60 years later, ECS continues to be the school choice for families who value a Christ-centered, biblically directed education that partners with parents to build students for life.

Read more about the history of ECS by pre-ordering your copy of the book, The Story of Evangelical Christian School: Celebrating 60 Years of Christian Education at https://www.ecseagles.com/ecs-life/ecs-60th-anniversary. Books available by Homecoming, September 12.

As part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday in celebration our school's 60th anniversary, check out this photo of the contemporary band playing at the chapel amphitheater! Do you recognize these musicians?

The next performer on that stage will be ECS alum DREW HOLCOMB of famed Americana band Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, performing just for the ECS community in celebration of our anniversary on Thursday, October 30. Join us immediately after the football game for a fun, family-friendly, acoustic concert with fireworks to follow!

Reserved tickets sold out fast, but we still have room for a limited number of attendees. You must register at this link if you plan to be there! https://gofan.co/event/4101879?schoolId=TN8750 Those seated in general admission should bring their own chair or blanket for seating on the lawn behind the amphitheater.

At ECS, we have a long history of participating in See You at the Pole. Here is a throwback to a See You at the Pole years ago, a tradition that continues today as our students participated in this nationwide prayer time on September 24.

We are throwing it back to our annual senior kindergarten study of Johnny Appleseed. Do you recognize these now ECS alumni dressed like this pioneer and missionary?

This tradition continues today as students learn about the faith of John Chapman, a.k.a. "Johnny Appleseed" and his commitment to spreading apple seeds and the gospel to frontier families.

We are thankful for all of our teachers and administrators whose commitment to the mission of ECS helped lay the foundation we enjoy today. One of those administrators for whom we are grateful is former ECS Headmaster/President Mickey Bowdon who served at ECS from 1972-1992.

ICYMI - Listen as Mr. Bowdon joins the podcast to share how he witnessed God move in mighty ways to sustain ECS in our early years. In addition to the history lesson, he also provides insight on the origins of Christian education and why it’s more important than ever, right now. Tune into this entire Equip episode at https://www.ecseagles.com/discipleship/equip - or wherever you listen to podcasts.

As our girls soccer team is entering the state playoffs, and as part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday posts, here is a look back at the state campaign of our 2017 team, featuring current ECS biology teacher and former high school soccer phenom Alden Rooker '19, now an assistant coach for the Eagles!

As part of our #ThrowbackThursday posts in honor of ECS's 60th anniversary, we are throwing it back to our first "Cop Stop" our first graders hosted in 2018. We were pleased to carry on this tradition of serving our area's first responders as a tangible way to thank them for their service to our community.

We are throwing it back to a Fall Fest a few years ago. with this year's event having happened on Nov. 6. Who do you recognize from this Fall Fest photo? Read more about the tradition of Fall Fest and its origins dating back to 1991 in this article by beloved teacher, Mrs. Kathy Kallaher: https://www.ecseagles.com/ecs-life/ecs-60th-anniversary This article is also found in our new book, The Story of Evangelical Christian School: Celebrating 60 Years of God’s Faithfulness, on sale now in the Soaring Eagle Shop: https://soaringeagleshop.square.site/s/shop

In this Throwback Thursday, we are remembering when we built the Lower School campus building at the corner of Wolf River Boulevard and Forest Hill-Irene Road. This campus opened its doors to elementary students in August 2000, and it has been a beacon of light teaching God's Word to young children in Germantown for the past 25 years, now educating a second generation of ECS students.

If those walls could talk, we would see countless lightbulb moments as students understood new academic concepts, hundreds of chapel performances as students sang and spoke scriptural Truth, thousands of Bible lessons as students learned more about having a personal relationship with Jesus, and many celebrations of our incredible school community!

Lower School teachers and alumni, what are your favorite memories in this building?

As part of our ongoing #ThrowbackThursday, we are celebrating our ongoing annual tradition of the ECS Christmas Shoppe!

Christmas Shoppe is a long-held tradition at ECS Lower School and now Upper Elementary. Faithful parent volunteers of the PTF transform an elementary classroom into a glistening Chrismtas boutique filled with treasures from which students pick the perfect Christmas gifts for Mom, Dad, sister and brother.

Alumni, what were your favorite finds in the ECS Christmas Shoppe? Parents, what were your favorite gifts your child picked out for you? 

In this post in honor of our 60th anniversary, we are looking back on our annual Christmas Concert in which students in our choir and band celebrate the Advent season through their gift of music.

Who do you recognize in this photo from a past Christmas Concert?

We are celebrating our student-run newspaper. The Eagle's Eye newspaper, initially called The ECS Uniform Press, has a long history at ECS and is now in its 39th year of publication.

In our final #ThrowbackThursday post celebrating ECS's 60th anniversary, we remember the many Christmas programs and plays that our students have participated in over the past six decades which have emphasized the true meaning of the season.

Do you recognize any of these kindergarten students (now alumni) from Mrs. Peggy Selph's class performing in this nativity play in 2010?

What fun this has been to open the vault of our school's rich history and share such wonderful memories with you through these Throwback Thursday posts over the past year!