Part Three in a Series
Characteristics
of a Vibrant
Christian School
By Jeff Keaton - Founder & CEO of Renewanation
T
HROUGHOUT MY LIFETIME, I’ve had the privilege of being around and
benefiting from many Christian schools. As a child going into the third grade,
I attended my first Christian school in New Albany, Indiana. My father started
Clearfork Christian Academy as a response to his conviction that his nine children should
receive a Christian worldview education. I am deeply grateful for my father’s insight at a
time when very few children were receiving weekday Christian education. I went on to
attend several other Christian schools as my dad moved from one ministry assignment to
another. In 2002, I was privileged to lead the charge to start Parkway Christian Academy
in Roanoke, Virginia. Watching PCA grow to nearly 400 students in seven years was both
exhilarating and exhausting as we tried to meet the ever increasing demands of a growing
student body. In 2007, God gave me the vision of Renewanation. Over the last few years, I
have become much better acquainted with the Christian school movement in the United
States. I have met with numbers of school boards and administrative teams and have
spoken to many groups of parents.
As I have traveled the country connecting with schools, I’ve formed some opinions
concerning what a healthy or vibrant Christian school looks like. All of the schools I have
visited are passionate about giving children a Christian worldview and have great people
sacrificing immensely in order to accomplish their noble mission. However, from my
perspective, the Christian school movement is facing serious challenges in part because
there are not enough vibrant Christian schools. Too many Christian schools are just
barely existing, and too many are closing their doors every year.
At Renewanation, we believe God has called us to be a part of creating a new Christian
education movement. This movement includes Christian schools, homeschools, and
ministries reaching students in non-Christian schools. We plan to help start many new
schools as well as see many existing schools revitalized.
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