Vibrant
Christian Schools
have a clear and cor
rect vision of whom
their students will
be when they
graduate.
In order to produce a great product one must know
exactly what that product looks like. In Christian schools
and Christian homeschools, our goal should be to
produce young men and women who have a passionate
relationship with Christ, a thoroughly biblical worldview,
and the academic training to be successful at whatever
work God calls them to.
Unfortunately, far too many schools are falling short
in one or more of these areas. A Christian school will not
stay in business long if it’s lacking either strong academics
or the development of a strong Christian worldview in
the hearts and minds of its students. Some schools stay
in business by solely focusing on one or the other but
the magic happens when there is no dichotomy between
academic and biblical worldview development. The
schools that connect these two elements become power-
house Christian schools.
Every Christian school should seek to be accredited
by a legitimate Christian association. The structure and
accountability accreditation provides is critical to
academic success. However, just because a school is
accredited does not guarantee academic success. Look at
the end product not just the process to determine success!
Let me remind you that success must be measured
through more than test scores. Not all children have the
same academic ability or interest, and we need to stop
trying to cram every child into the same mold. I didn’t
blossom academically until a few years after my high
school graduation. I attended college for one semester and
detested every minute I was there. I left college and ran a
business for a few years and then went back to college and
40
graduated Magna Cum Laude. Find the interest
of your students and turn them loose! You will be
shocked at what they can learn when they are work-
ing and studying in their areas of passion. Having said
all of this, if your students are consistently scoring low on
national tests, you must do whatever it takes to remedy
this problem. There is no excuse for academically inferior
Christian schools.
There is an even greater challenge facing Christian
schools. This is the challenge of integrating biblical
worldview. Too many Christian schools are nothing
more than secular schools with a little prayer and Bible
reading thrown in. When the graduates of these schools
go off to secular colleges, they are quickly defeated and
often abandon their faith. When a student has attended
a Christian school for several years, they should have
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they should
know what God’s Word says, and be equipped to defend
their beliefs. They should be well versed in all the major
worldviews and understand how Christianity is superior
to those worldviews.
This kind of deep biblical integration and worldview
training can only happen when it is a major emphasis of
the school. This includes worldview courses throughout
the curriculum and the hiring of teachers who are capable
to teach in this area. It is also helpful to have textbooks
that integrate biblical worldview at all levels.
When we conquer the biblical integration challenge
we will graduate students like the ones Ken Ham has
described. He said, “Imagine if we started raising genera-
tions of children who stood uncompromisingly on the
Word of God, knew how to defend their faith, could
answer the skeptical questions of this age, and had a fervor
to share the gospel from the authority of God’s Word with
whomever they met. This could change the world.”
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 information on booking,
please visit renewanation.org/schedule-a-speaker or call
1-855-TO-RENEW.