There are many benefits to a Christian education. In addition to the opportunity to learn from teachers who share a godly worldview, and a deep respect for the Bible and the Lord’s church, there are the benefits of associating with fellow Christian students, and the chance to make friendships which will last into eternity. There is an atmosphere of caring and mutual support which can better prepare students for the challenges of life, and which is only found among followers of Jesus Christ.
Young people from the lowest through the highest grade levels need a place to grow and learn how to pursue a career, “how to live and how to make a living.” That career may include a secular job, a profession in one of the medical fields, or in education, communication, politics, or any number of other fields. It may involve becoming a homemaker or the wife of a gospel preacher, elder or Bible teacher in the Lord’s church. Whatever your future holds, it will be richer and brighter if it is undertaken with Christian preparation and education.
Parents are concerned about the spiritual welfare, not only the material welfare of their children. They want them to grow and flourish in a Christian environment, a setting where their peers are interested in biblical principles and godly lives. They do not want to send them for an education where their faith will be questioned, ridiculed and undermined. They want to give them opportunities to form lasting friendships of the highest value, and a place where the Bible teaching they have provided since infancy will be respected and furthered.
Grandparents are often in a position to assist financially, and provide the encouragement and moral support necessary to pursue Christian education. They have lived long enough to see its value, and to develop strategies for helping others to participate. They remember that our Lord “increased in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and with man,” (Lk. 2:52). This is the path to success, and an opportunity to reduce the chances of falling away from the faith.
Church leaders are often attuned to the benefits of supporting Christian schools, or of beginning a Christian school at their home congregation. Many schools have started out as a daycare center, pre-school or kindergarten in the church building. From small beginnings, great schools have emerged to touch the lives of thousands of people. They know these efforts are costly, but they grasp the eternal value of such endeavors. Is a Christian school in your future? As America continues its trend toward secularization, and away from the Christian principles which made her great, it may become unmistakably clear that such a direction makes sense for us all. [For further reading along this line, check out Considering a Christian College?, available at lifelinepublications.com.]
-by Robert C. Veil, Jr.
