2 What Is Christian Education?

Jill hadn’t realized just how sound, familiar, caring, and reassuring Christian school could be, until she and her husband enrolled their first child in kindergarten there. Jill hadn’t attended Christian schools growing up. From the outside, she had assumed that Christian school would be at least somewhat unfamiliar and uncomfortable, perhaps even alien, at least at first, until she and her family adjusted to it. But the opposite had been true. From the first moment that Jill, her husband, and their little kindergartener had set foot in the school, the school had felt like an extension of their own warm and secure family. Jill knew from her personal experience growing up the generally cool, governmental or institutional, systems-based feeling of public schools, which she understood to be necessary and that she generally accepted as appropriate. But that contrast made the warm family feeling of Christian school all the more pronounced. Jill looked forward to raising her children through a Christian school that felt more like one big family than an impersonal institution. 

Definition

The prior chapter offered a brief history of Christian schools. It also introduced the question of why have Christian education, integrating religious forms with classical academics, when church attendance and Sunday school classes might do just as well for religious instruction. Before we answer that question directly, though, consider more closely just what Christian education is. A clearer view of Christian education should make obvious that Christian schools have a foundational role in forming Christian character. In short, Christian education integrates a scriptural worldview into traditional academic subjects, showing students how an intimate spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ lends meaning and purpose to their lives. Christian education also gives a holistic, deep, sound, reliable, and true account for all creation. Christian education thus places students solidly within the still-unfolding grand narrative of both the material and spiritual realms, as those realms unite within the soul and spirit of every human individual. 

Christ

Christian education is principally about the person, life, and teaching of Jesus Christ. As its name clearly asserts, Christian education centers on the fully divine and fully human person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sharing Jesus, as the divine Creator, Son of God, and crucified and resurrected Savior of the world, is the primary ground and fundamental reason for Christian education. Yet Christian education does more than embrace and communicate the world’s unifying, justifying, purposive, and glorious grand narrative for human aspiration and all existence. Christian education combines that religious and spiritual instruction in the person and purpose of Jesus Christ with instruction in traditional academic subjects, seen through their proper organizing lens in that same person and purpose. All creation glorifies the King of kings and Lord of lords. Christian education teaches traditional academic subjects with an excellence and commitment that their proper personal, moral, spiritual, and eternal perspective in Christ warrant. The teachings, character, person, sacrifice, and love of Jesus Christ make Christian education what it is. Without Jesus, education isn’t Christian and may not be education at all. 

Scripture

Christian education grounds its religious and spiritual instruction in the scriptures. Christian education includes Bible reading, study, and application, with scripture forming the basis for how we know Jesus Christ. Christian education regards the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament and the New Testament as verifiable, reliable, and true, in the deepest sense of truth as the revelation of Jesus Christ. Christian educators regard the Bible not merely as by far the all-time best-selling, most-read, literary gem and historical miracle that it is, with billions of copies sold, but also as the holy word of God. Christian education treats the scriptures as eternal, inspired, and unbounded in depth and profundity, revealing the rock of Christ on whom one builds a sound and eternal life. Christian education seeks to instill in its students the ambition to know Jesus Christ through his eternal word, received and understood from the depths of holy scripture. 

Christianity

As Christian education inculcates its sound, holistic, and humane Christ-centered perspective on traditional academic subjects, it simultaneously develops students morally, socially, emotionally, and relationally according to Christian morals, principles, values, and commitments. Those commitments undergird not only American society but also Western civilization in its best expression. Christians represent nearly one third of the world’s total population. Christian principles form the bedrock not only of the human soul and psyche but also of the family structure, social relations, and government forms. Christian education teaches students these principles while demonstrating them in action, so that students develop in their whole person. Christianity is not simply a religion. Christianity is also a way of life, indeed the way of life, insofar as Jesus is the way, truth, and life. Christian education thus doesn’t seek simply to instruct in religious doctrine. Christian education further seeks to shape students’ hearts and minds after the desires and in the identity and will of Jesus Christ. 

Family

As the story at the beginning of this chapter illustrates, Christian schools typically take on the character not so much of an educational institution but more so of a family, much as Christ adopts his followers into his own family. Christian schools expressly recognize and fully respect the parental role in raising and educating children. Christian schools do not presume to know better than parents how to educate their children. Christian schools instead treat the education of their students as a partnership with parents, where parents have the right and responsibility to know how their child is doing and what their child is learning in school, to participate in their child’s instruction. Christian school teachers and administrators deliberately stand in loco parentis toward students, meaning in formal legal terms as if in the role of a parent, with a parental regard for the student’s safety, security, morality, and development. In their programs, services, norms, customs, and culture, Christian schools treat students not as customers, clients, or bugs in the system but instead as Christ treats his children, as members of the larger faith family. 

Church

Christian education also values churches, church membership, and church attendance. The church is not merely an organization or institution but also the body of Christ. Church members are extensions and representatives of Christ in his world, whether his hands or feet in service, his comforting and healing touch in compassion, or his voice of justice and reason. Christian schools thus partner with local and area churches, valuing a church’s role in religious instruction, prayer, and worship, while churches likewise value the school’s role in spiritual instruction, prayer, and celebration of Christ’s victory. Churches may provide financial support for their local Christian school and may share facilities, activities, and volunteer or missionary service with Christian school staff and students. Local church pastors often visit their area Christian school to participate in special events and teach or preach at assemblies. Sponsoring and supporting churches can surround a Christian school with love, prayer, and care, powerfully enriching the school’s programs, services, and culture. While some Christian schools have a single church sponsor, other Christian schools serve families from a dozen or more different churches at once, while respecting and valuing all Christian faith traditions. 

Program

Christian K-12 education refers to a full school program, meeting all state requirements for mandatory education. Christian education typically occurs on the same Monday through Friday daytime schedule as the public schools follow, with the same or similar school hours. Christian education programs typically run for approximately 180 days of the year, consistent with state requirements for public school education. Christian schools also generally follow similar starting, stopping, and vacation times as the area public schools, supporting families who have children in both public and private school programs at different levels. Christian education thus doesn’t depart significantly from typical parental expectations for the structure of traditional K-12 education. A Christian school’s distinctions are instead in the spiritual content and scriptural emphases of the curriculum, not in the basic program structure or schedule. A Christian school may look a lot like a public school, even though the Christian content makes its overarching purpose fundamentally distinct from public education. Think also of the greater impact of approximately thirty-five hours of Christian education each week, compared to the hour or two of scriptural instruction in church on Sundays. Christian schools do a profound job of developing Christian character and commitments in their students. 

Curriculum

The tone and tenor of the Christian school curriculum, and its overtly religious and spiritual content, is indeed what distinguishes Christian education from public school education. A later chapter addresses a typical Christian school curriculum in greater detail. The curriculum, though, of a Christian school generally saturates the student’s school day in scripture readings, studies, and references, and in prayer and worship, even while attending responsibly to traditional academic matters. In public school, one would not see a chapel worship service, hear a praise song, observe teacher-led prayers, or see students reading Bibles in classrooms, as part of the formal curriculum. Those activities would all be not just present but also emphasized and featured in a Christian school setting. Scripture verses and student faith statements would adorn classroom walls. Young children would learn to read from Bible stories. Art projects might depict biblical accounts, figures, and events. Theater productions might be of biblical narratives, while choirs might sing hymns and bands play praise songs, even as students also weave standard and traditional secular forms into their dramatic and artistic productions. 

Co-Curriculars

Christian education typically offers co-curricular opportunities like those found in many public schools, although often with a distinguishing twist. Christian schools may, for instance, have football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, track-and-field, and swimming teams, in rich athletics programs much like those offered in public schools. Christian school sports teams may in some regions, though, compete only in Christian school leagues, not against public school teams. Christian schools are as likely as a public school to have a gymnasium for physical education and auditorium for play, choir, band, and orchestra productions, although the auditorium and gymnasium may also serve as a chapel for worship assemblies. Christian schools are also likely to have in-school or after-school clubs and activities of many kinds, including science olympiads, debate, newspaper, yearbook, and student government. But Christian schools may add to their co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings local and foreign mission trips, community service projects, and choir or ensemble visits to hospitals and nursing homes. A class visit to Washington, D.C., for another example, wouldn’t just visit Capitol Hill and the Smithsonian but also the Museum of the Bible. 

Culture

Christian education also pursues distinctly Christian norms and customs, fostering a distinct school culture. Christ teaches humility, not pride and arrogance. Christ also teaches generosity, not greed and selfishness. Christ also teaches sacrifice in service of others and responsibility not only for oneself but also for others. Christ also teaches forgiveness and mercy over judgment and punishment. These and other Christian commitments shape Christian school culture. Christian schools expect students to exhibit Christian character not only in the classroom and its academic studies but in the hallways, cafeteria, gymnasium, and playing fields. Christian schools may follow traditional ways of shaping school behavior, with student conduct codes, school rules, and discipline procedures. But they also teach and emphasize Christian character. The method is not so much to enforce conformity to rules but more so to shape students’ hearts to reflect the rules’ spirit in their Christ-like identity and behaviors. 

Goals

The above features of Christian education pursue general goals. A later chapter further explores and details the several goals of Christian education. Here, for introduction, suffice it to say that Christian education seeks above all to foster its students’ personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Christian schools help students learn and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. Christian education seeks to cultivate strong, sound, and stable Christian character, emphasizing love, responsibility, generosity, honesty, integrity, kindness, and gentleness. Christian education seeks to prepare students for a life of service to God and others, to lead after the servant way of Christ, and to point others to Christ as their own Savior. Christian schools seek to foster a love of and ambition for lifelong learning, not just about God’s creation in all its special designs and beauty but also of the nature and character of God himself, exhibited in the life of his Son Jesus Christ and revealed in the scriptures. Christian education pursues the kingdom of heaven on earth. 

Reflection

Recognizing that everyone holds some perspective or worldview, whether defined or undefined, what worldview would you say that you hold? Can you distinguish the Christian perspective from a secular materialist perspective? What, for instance, is the source of your hope and purpose in the world? How highly do you value your children’s Christian salvation and personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you prefer that your child grow to adulthood exhibiting Christian morals and values? Do you expect, even demand, that your child’s school treat you as a full partner in the education of your child? Would you expect your child’s school to be transparent regarding the content of your child’s instruction? Would you want your child’s school to support your child’s church attendance and relationships? Would you like to see your child enjoy a special school community service activity or mission trip, as a way to build good character and a generosity of spirit toward others? Do you highly value the safety, security, and morality of your child’s school environment?

Key Points

• Christian education teaches academics through a Christian worldview.

• Christian education fosters student relationships with Jesus Christ.

• Christian education teaches scripture as the revelation of Jesus Christ.

• Christian education seeks to instill Christian morals and values. 

• Christian schools partner with parents in the instruction of children.

• Christian schools value church relationships, partnership, and support.

• Christian schools follow a traditional school structure and schedule.

• The Christian school curriculum integrates faith forms into academics.

• Christian schools offer co-curricular activity with Christian emphasis.

• Christian schools strive to maintain a moral, safe, and secure culture.

• Christian education develops Christian commitment and character.

Read Chapter 3.