common denominator with all of our teachers was the fact
that they were passionate about giving children a Christian
education. This, above any other factor, led them to make
the necessary sacrifices to teach in a Christian school.
3. Church or Organization Providing Facilities at
Minimal Cost
In every city and town, there are scores of churches sitting
empty all week long. When presented with the tremendous
opportunity to impact children through the use of their
facilities, many of these churches will open their doors.
This is not to say significant challenges don’t exist. However,
when the vision to impact children’s lives is presented prop-
erly, many churches will catch the vision and even become
partners at some level. Though most Christian schools
start in churches, we have seen others start in parachurch
buildings and even in buildings owned by local business
people. In reality, we don’t see this as a major hurdle in most
cases. Often, the school will need to raise funds to refit and
repurpose the space to accommodate a school. However, if a
school starts fairly small with just a few grades, this cost can
be quite manageable.
4. Willingness to Start Small
I am not a small thinker. With God’s help, I have been
growing organizations my entire adult life. I want to see
every Christian school grow to reach hundreds of students.
However, I have concluded that in most cases, starting a
Christian school that will immediately offer 12-13 grades is
not feasible. Again, there are exceptions, but they are rare.
In the school I started in 2002, we began with K-8th grade
and carried our 8th-graders forward until we had K-12th.
In most cases, even starting K-8th will be too much. Our
recommendation is starting with K-2nd or at the most
K-5th grade. If a church already has a preschool, it is a very
simple transition to start adding kindergarten and other
grades that follow. By starting with just a few grades, you
only need two to three teachers, and one of them can serve
as the lead teacher or administrator. As the school develops
a reputation for excellence, more students will apply which
in turn facilitates finding more teachers and extending to
additional grades.
In starting small, schools can be excellent, but they will not
be ideal in every area. One teacher may teach two grades. It
has been proven this method can work very well, but ideally,
as the school grows, each grade will have a dedicated teacher.
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Starting small will also mean tuition will likely be less than
other schools that are more established and have more
programs to offer. We need to give parents strong incentive
to take a risk on a new school. When tuition is extremely
competitive and affordable, and when the educational expe-
rience and atmosphere is superior, growth happens. As the
school grows in reputation and value, people are willing to
pay what it costs to operate the school.
5. Startup Costs
Startup costs can vary greatly depending on the involvement
of the organization that will be hosting the school and a
number of other factors. If a new school is using a facility that
has tables, chairs, desks, etc., already in place, this reduces
the cost. If a new school is moving into an empty building,
the costs are much greater. We have seen schools start with
as little as $10,000 in upfront costs; however, the estimated
average cost of starting a school with three to four grades
will land somewhere in the $50,000 to $100,000 range. If
there is a strong church involved in the startup, most of this
will be provided by the church and its members. For those
starting a school that is not connected to one church, fund-
ing can come from multiple church partners and individuals
who believe in the new school. We do not view startup funds
as a great obstacle to starting new schools. With a strong,
clear vision, funding sources will be available.
There are many other factors involved in starting a
Christian school. However, they are easily understood
and implemented when the key factors discussed above
are in place.
God wants children to be taught His truth. His heart is
broken every time a child walks away from the faith as a
result of an unbiblical, secular education. Therefore, He
wants churches and communities to invest in starting
schools that will teach children to see all of life through a
biblical lens. With His help and a good plan, we can start
new Christian schools all across America and the world. As
we do this, thousands of new children will fall in love with
Jesus, develop a biblical worldview, and change the world!
Editor’s Note: In areas where tax credits or vouchers are
available to cover tuition or where a large number of guaran-
teed students are available, the model is somewhat different
from the one mentioned above.