In many aspects, it appears that what was once considered the great hope for spiritual stability has been brushed aside, compartmentalized, and rendered lifeless by many graduates of our Christian schools. Is Christian education losing its vitality? Are we on life-support? We need an honest diagnosis to remedy what appears to be a trend to abandon the Christian faith after graduation.

First, let me be clear. I am a passionate proponent of Christian education.  My wife and I have been actively ministering in Christian schools for over four decades. We have served in seven Christian schools in NC, AZ, FL, VA, NJ, and currently in WV. Both of our children are graduates of Christian schools. I have spoken in various churches and educator conventions regarding the Biblical necessity for Christian education to combat Satan's strategy to demoralize our nation.  My wife comes from a family of Christian educators. Her Father spent all his life teaching and administering in Christian schools nationwide. We believe Christian schools can be a powerful force for spiritual transformation.

However, the current trajectory indicates a decline in the continuation of living for Christ by graduates of Christian schools. A few years ago, George Barna conducted a study revealing that "65 percent of high school students stop attending church after graduation." Some more current studies have indicated that the percentages are higher. 

The reasons given included:  

New worldviews: After high school graduation, students are exposed to new ideas in college classes and from other students that conflict with their faith.

Life changes: Students may move away to college or start a career, developing independence from their former sheltered lifestyle.

Church environment: Students may feel disconnected from their church or find it too judgmental.

Political or social issues: Students may disagree with the church's stance on social or political issues.

Intellectual skepticism: Students may question their faith due to convincing ideas taught in college.

After talking to many Christian school students and graduates, we wonder if our current model fails to capture our students' hearts for Christ. The grandiose ideal of Christian education is to convince the next generation that living for Christ is crucial. We hope to train believers who will continue the local church's ministry. Is that goal being realized?

Many Christian school students seem to have developed a deep spiritual cynicism rooted in their hearts. Some graduates and former students have denounced their faith entirely.

This disturbing reality can be reversed. Have we reached the tipping point in Christian education? To turn the tide, we need to be brutally honest in our evaluations. Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This will require definitive action from Christian school leaders and families.

As we face the truth about the current state of Christian education, we can do one of two things: we can continue to bury our heads in the proverbial sand, convincing ourselves that everything is copacetic. Or if we are going to change the world, we need to take an honest evaluation and face reality to make some significant changes. Author William Baldwin wrote in the New York Times (1962), "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." Our desire to change must be greater than our desire to stay the same.

We need to do more limping!

Genesis 32:24-31

"And Jacob was left alone. Moreover, a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.  When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.  Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."  And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."  Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."  Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him.  So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."  The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.  

We have the most incredible power at our disposal: God's creation and resurrection power through prayer.

If we do not believe this with ALL our being, ---nothing else will matter---nothing else will be as effective in the lives of our students as prayer and Biblical integration. We have failed to tap into the most significant source for the potential to change lives. In essence, our Christian schools have degraded into religious institutions that have a form of godliness but deny the available power that comes through prayer and the Word of God (1 Tim. 3:5). In a sense, we have attempted to humanize God and deify man.

We have been competitively convinced that if we can build the most up-to-date facilities, hire the most qualified staff, mandate the highest levels of rigor, offer the most comprehensive academic schedule, and provide students with various opportunities, they will be ready to conquer the world. Author CS Lewis summarizes that education, apart from the virtues of prayer and biblical application, “seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” What's missing?

Christian education, severed from the power of prayer, reminds me of a humorous story about a vacuum cleaner salesman who went to the rural mountains of West Virginia. He went to this very disheveled home, thinking this would be an easy sale because it was obvious that they needed a cleaning machine.  He knocked on the door. An elderly lady answered. He asked if he could come in and show her something that would make her life easier. She invited him into the living room. He quickly unpacked all the gadgets and attachments.

She interrupted him several times and said, "It won't work." He did not break stride. He would share the details of a particular function from his memorized sales pitch. She would listen and then say, "It won't work." He was undeterred. As he neared the end of his script, he attached one of the power wands to the vacuum cleaner, held up the power cord, and asked, "Ok, mam, where do I plug it in?" She said, "Sonny, that's what I've been saying. It won't work; got no 'lectricity (power source)." All our platitudes and efforts are in vain without the power of prayer.

We need more wrestlers.

Colossians 4:12 details a man named Epaphras. It says he labored or wrestled in prayer for the Colossian believers. His prayer grappling focused on the believer's ability to stand firm in God's will, mature in God's Word, and be assured in God's ways. Is not this the desire we long to have in the lives of our Christian teenagers? It will require consistent and intense prayer and biblical application.

What if Christian school teachers wrestled with God daily in prayer for each student to become fully surrendered followers of Jesus? Some do, but what if all did?

What change would occur if we were determined not to let go of God until He blessed us? The power of God is at our disposal if we are willing to wrestle on behalf of our students. Greg Steir, founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries, emphasizes that apart from the power of persistent prayer and Bible application, the best Christian educators are “hollow caves, echoing biblical truth” that soon dissipate into oblivion. He added, “Nothing has more significant potential for change than when an average teacher, fervent in prayer, becomes a catalyst for lasting change in students' lives.”

The butterfly effect proposes that a tiny occurrence can influence a more extensive, complex system. It is named after the idea that a tiny butterfly flapping its wings creates an undetectable breeze in one part of the world, which, through a series of chain reactions, could hypothetically cause a typhoon somewhere else. Change does not have to begin with a spectacular, massive event; it can occur based on one person's decision.

One of the most inspiring commencement speeches was given by former Navy Seal Admiral William H. McRaven of U.S. Special Operations Command to the 2014 graduating class of the University of Texas. He based his address on the University's motto, "What Starts Here Changes the World.”

Admiral McRaven gave the following illustration to the commencement at the University of Texas (2014). He wanted to make the point that one decision can create a ripple effect in the lives of others.

“…If you think it's too hard to change lives forever — you're wrong. I saw it happen every day in Iraq and Afghanistan: A young Army officer makes a decision to go left instead of right down a road in Baghdad, and the 10 soldiers in his squad are saved from close-in ambush. In Kandahar province, Afghanistan, a non-commissioned officer senses something isn't right and directs the infantry platoon away from a 500-pound IED, saving the lives of a dozen soldiers. But, if you think about it, not only were these soldiers saved by the decision of one person, but their children, yet unborn, were also saved. And their children's children were saved. One decision, by one person saved generations.”

Edward Everett Hale gave a stirring speech regarding the individual’s potential responsibility to initiate change. He said, "I am only one, but I am one; I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."  As a Christian, effective change starts with each of us deciding, as the hymn writer, Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh, penned, "to follow Jesus, though none go with me, no turning back."

How do I know this is true?

Mrs. Kirby, my second-grade teacher at Kenworth Elementary, was an avid prayer warrior. As an 8-year-old, I remember standing at the window watching her before school. She would walk down each row, touching the desks and praying for us. Occasionally, she would pause and spend a little extra time at a student's desk, perhaps for a special need or situation. I did not wholly grasp what she did back then, but I do now. She taught our class to memorize Psalm 23, which I still remember. Did she make a difference? Yes she did. From that class, several Pastors emerged. It resulted from her consistent prayers for a group of rambunctious kids. I am thankful for Mrs. Kirby’s wrestling and limping for me.

Despite being only one, we can still make a difference. To borrow the thought from the University of Texas’ motto: What Starts Here Changes Eternity.