"High spiritual morale comes as a result of intentional action."
the adults in charge of these events will pray, plan, and make
the investment necessary to produce two or three good
spiritual emphasis events each school year, amazing things
can and will happen.
Who leads your small group ministries?
It is critical that discipleship is taking place in small groups
during the school day. If it takes place during school, it
indicates to the students that it is extremely valuable to the
school leadership. This can happen during chapel times on
occasion or at other times that are regularly scheduled. Small
group discipleship provides a great opportunity for teachers
and administrators to develop much stronger bonds with
their students. When juniors and seniors are prepared well
to lead a small group, they can have a tremendous influence
on younger students.
2. ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO BE
INVOLVED IN FAITH BUILDING
ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL
At our school in Virginia, we would cancel school for a day
or two each fall in order to send our kids to a youth retreat
in the mountains. On occasion, we didn’t cancel school but
we excused every student who agreed to attend the retreat.
Students who did not attend church on a regular basis would
go to the retreat and get saved. Many of them had their lives
forever transformed through this event.
We did our best to support and encourage youth minis-
tries in our city. We wanted all of our middle and high
school students to be plugged in every week to one of these
ministries. Many of these youth groups would meet on
Wednesday nights, so we decided not to give our students
homework on Wednesday nights. High spiritual morale
comes as a result of intentional action. As a result of these
youth ministries, most of our students would attend great
Christian camps during the summer.
We encouraged all of our high school students to go on
mission trips. We knew the impact these trips had on our
students and so we promoted them at a high level. I have
seen numbers of young people receive a call to full-time
Christian service as a result of a mission trip.
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3. HAVE STRONG STUDENT LEADERSHIP
When a strong core of juniors and seniors are devoted
Christians, the younger students will follow their lead.
Without their leadership, high spiritual morale is impos-
sible. Retreats designed to prepare your upper classmen and
women for spiritual leadership are a wise investment of time
and energy.
A majority of your most respected and admired students
must be serious about their relationship with Christ if you
will achieve a high level of spiritual morale. Kids follow
other kids!
4. HAVE A CAMPUS PASTOR TO LEAD
THE SPIRITUAL MORALE EFFORTS
I am aware that most Christian schools are stretched to the
limits financially. However, many youth pastors would be
willing to give 15-20 hours per week for a small salary. At
our school and church in Virginia, I allowed our student
ministry pastors to have full access to the students. If a
student needed to step out of class to meet with a youth
pastor, they were given permission to do so. A good campus
pastor will carry the spiritual morale load and will bring a
strong level of intentionality to the spiritual development
program of the school.
Vibrant Christian schools are a powerful tool to transform
young people’s lives. At Renewanation, we are committed to
revitalizing Christian schools so they can fulfill their mission
of training the next generation of Christian leaders.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of a continuing series that
will appear in future issues and is based on a speech Jeff gives
at Christian Educator Conferences and to school leadership
teams. For info on booking, please visit renewanation.org/
schedule-a-speaker or call 1-855-TO-RENEW.
Jeff Keaton is the founder and CEO of Renewanation. A success-
ful pastor, church and school planter, and a ministry entrepreneur,
Jeff has invested his adult life into helping people grow spiritually.
He speaks across America challenging the church to reach the
world for Christ and to get involved in the great cause of giving
children a Christian worldview education. He is the author of The
Life of Radical Faith. Visit his website at jeffkeaton.net.