Revitalizing
Christian Schools
By Jeff Keaton - Founder & CEO of Renewanation
I
WAS READING A BOOK the other day that was written
in 1979. In an opening remark, the author mentioned
the phenomenal growth of the Christian school movement.
He quoted a national magazine’s statement that more than
700 new Christian schools were being started every year in
America. Those were the days!
I’m not sure where the decline started happening but
at some point since 1979 the Christian school movement
began to decline. I don’t have hard and fast numbers, but
I have plenty of anecdotal evidence to believe that we are
not starting 700 new Christian schools each year, and we see
many Christian schools close each year.
Thankfully, in the last 20 years God has raised up the
homeschool movement to offset the decline in the Christian
school movement. Unlike some who believe the answer to
giving children a Christian worldview education lies in one
movement or the other, I am an all-of-the-above proponent
when it comes to Christian education. I’m not primarily
concerned with how a child receives a Christian worldview
education. I just want to make sure children are being taught
God’s truth through any and all means.
Having said that, I’m still a strong believer in the power
of a Christian school to impact a child’s life for Christ. As
I have gotten more deeply involved in the Christian school
world over the last few years, I have been greatly alarmed.
I’ve concluded that the organic movement that started in
the 60’s and 70’s is largely non-existent. There are still great
Christian schools, and there are pockets of awakening, but
by and large the movement has stopped growing and conse-
44
quently is declin-
ing. If we do not
honestly assess the
status of our schools and
the movement at large we are
in danger of becoming extinct in the next few decades.
With all that bad news, there is some very good news!
There has never been a greater need for Christian schools
than there is today, and there has never been more oppor-
tunity to attract students and donors than there is today. I
meet people all over America who are waking up to the need
to give our children a biblical worldview education. People
are taking a look at the state of our nation and our nation’s
children, and they are starting to re-engage on the issue of
education.
Reigniting the Christian School Movement
If we are going to see God reignite the Christian school
movement, we must start many new schools and revitalize
existing schools. At Renewanation, we are heavily invested
in building world-class school startup programs and revital-
ization programs for existing schools. In this article, I want
to highlight our efforts at building a revitalization program
for existing schools.
Over the last several months, God has provided the lead-
ership and finances necessary to build out our revitalization
program. Ron Gordon has joined our team after more
than 20 years of leadership in the corporate world. Ron is a
highly educated and experienced leader with a track record