“We follow a discipleship model of Christian education at our school.” As I (Ron) heard these words from a senior pastor on a recent school visit, I was interested in observing and listening over the next two days to understand how they achieved this stated mission. What we found was far from the targeted level of discipleship promoted by the school. While the parents we interviewed rated the school’s intentionality in spiritual development as a strength, over half of the teachers struggled to vocalize what it meant to teach biblically. Students and teachers estimated the percentage of students in the upper school who knew Jesus Christ as their Savior to be less than two-thirds, with less than one-third genuinely focused on developing their relationship with Christ.

This challenge is not uncommon. With an estimated 2.7 million students leaving the public school system over the past few years,1 families simply fleeing Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ+ ideologies have become a significantly higher percentage in our Christian schools. Escaping from public education triggers a far different mindset than families proactively committing to partner with a Christian school. Some studies expect this mass exodus from the public school system to accelerate through 2030, reaching as many as 16 million students and dropping the percentage of students in public education from over 85% to 50%.2 Christian school leadership and their teams must recognize that their challenge is not easing but actually intensifying, as they will be faced with fighting for the very soul of their Christian schools.

When the word “discipleship” is used in Christian education, it often sparks thoughts of teaching students about Christ and His Word in Bible class, weekly chapels, and spiritual emphasis weeks. This mirrors the typical responses we hear when parents are asked what they mean by having their children develop a biblical worldview. However, the opportunity to disciple students in Christian education programs is so much more.

Fundamentally, Christian education must be seen as an integrative approach to capturing our students’ hearts, minds, souls, and strength. This can only be achieved through a comprehensive strategy that approaches every lesson, assignment, interaction, and experience through the lens of Scripture. Unless Christian education is seen this way, we will fail to achieve our Deuteronomy 6 mandate of training our children and our Matthew 28:19 commissioning of making disciples of our students.

The power and potential of the family to fulfill its God-given responsibility to train their children in the Lord’s commandments can never be trumped by any other institution. Unfortunately, most parents have decided to outsource this responsibility and focus most of their time and energy on funding their lifestyles and ambitions. This handoff puts an extraordinary responsibility on the shoulders of the Christian school faculty and staff. With less than 13% of professed “born-again Christian” adults possessing a biblical worldview,3 we must approach our task as disciple-makers as a complete construction activity instead of a minor renovation or a cosmetic enhancement.

As we consider what an intentional and practical approach should look like for Christian education, Jesus models a few key strategies throughout the Gospels for making believers, disciples, and, finally, disciple-makers.

Relationship

Jesus shared a true passion for building relationships through loving people. He experienced daily life with His disciples, walking with them through their victories, trials, and struggles. This foundation allowed Him the opportunity to pour into His disciples deeply. Living out our daily journey with our students allows us the privilege of speaking life into them during even the mundane moments.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

Teaching

In every circumstance, Jesus was seeking to teach. Working with His disciples, He explored their assumptions with questions, shared stories to illustrate biblical precepts, and even engaged in constructive and purposeful debate to strengthen their understanding. As Christian educators, we have this same opportunity through each lesson we teach, every hallway discussion we have, and any brief note we write. This discipleship is not restricted to Bible class or a chapel service. It should shape our math lessons, science projects, and literature reviews, as well as those personal chats of encouragement or admonition when explaining how to deal with a difficult classmate or receiving a poor exam score.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Communication

Many of us grew up using a common phrase that “sticks and stones may break our bones, but words could never hurt us.” While we would use this comeback to refute those tossing insults at us, the reality is that words have power. More accurately, Solomon tells us in Proverbs 18 that “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Once again, Jesus modeled consistent communication techniques exemplified by control, compassion, clarity, crispness, and confidence, resulting in a lasting impact on those He connected with. As Christian educators, we can reflect this model of communication in how we speak with students, how we connect with colleagues, and how we partner with parents. Our communication can build up and encourage, or tear down and destroy. Don’t ignore the model you set as a Christian educator through your words.

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20).

Service

Throughout Christ’s ministry on earth, He repeatedly redirected His disciples and His focus to serving others: children, women, the poor, the sick, and the disabled. Christian education should model faith in action through serving others in their faith community, partnering with other non-profit groups to meet the needs of the elderly and sick, engaging in local community service projects, and conducting mission trips.

“Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27).

Christian education should be synonymous with discipleship. Unfortunately, many fail to create an intentional or practical plan. A comprehensive strategy will include several core items:

• Developing the portrait of a model graduate
• Faculty and staff training on leading students to Christ
• Training athletic coaches on discipling student-athletes
• Designing a connected and purposeful chapel program
• Developing a student-led, small-group discipleship program
• Instilling a prayer-based culture in your Christian school
• Fostering effective collaboration with fellow students
• Infusing an understanding of the Theology of Work into students
• Leveraging our God-given talents and abilities for Kingdom callings
• Communicating effectively with teachers and leaders
• Responding biblically to constructive feedback or praise

We have a choice in shaping the character of our students. We can allow them to continue pursuing the earthly passions of today’s culture or point them to an eternal purpose far beyond themselves in every situation. As C.S. Lewis shared in The Great Divorce, “Earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself.” Let’s help launch our children down an eternal path that honors God and brings everlasting joy.

ENDNOTES

1. Mark Lieberman, “What’s Going on With Public School Enrollment? All the Big Questions, Answered,” Education Week, June 27, 2024, https://edweek.org/leadership/whats-going-on-with-public-school-enrollment-all-the-big-questions-answered/2024/06.

2. “The Future of K12 Education, so you can Prepare for it: Public Education is Set to Lose 16 Million Enrollments by 2030,” The Learning Counsel, July 29, 2024, https://thelearningcounsel.com/articles/the-future-of-k12-education-so-you-can-prepare-for-it-public-education-is-set-to-lose-16-million-enrollments-by-2030.

3. George Barna, Raising Spiritual Champions: Nurturing Your Child’s Heart, Mind and Soul, (Arizona: Arizona Christian University Press, 2023), 102.

*This article originally appeared in The Renewanation Review® magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted here by permission of RenewaNation. For more information regarding RenewaNation, visit renewanation.org.