Christian Schooling
Christian schooling is weighed with care, considering its opportunities, challenges, and place among the difficult education choices families face.
Read Time: 7 minutes
In recent issues of Tidings, we have explored both the blessings and the challenges of homeschooling and public education. While homeschooling can be a wonderful option for many families, it is not always practical. For families where both parents work outside the home or for families facing other circumstances, homeschooling may simply not be possible. In those situations, parents are often choosing between a public school and a Christian school. In addition, some homeschoolers may find themselves making use of private Christian schools for co-op opportunities or specific subjects.
This article considers the opportunities and challenges of Christian schooling. As with any educational choice, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Every family and every child is different, and careful thought and prayer are needed to determine the best environment for nurturing both academic growth and spiritual development.
Many years ago, my husband and I faced this very decision with our oldest daughter. We had two options where we lived: the local public school or the Catholic school. The public school required her to cross a very busy four-lane road each day, while the Catholic school was just one block from our home. After much discussion and prayer, we decided that her safety had to come first. We agreed to enroll her in the Catholic school for one year and then reassess the situation.
That one-year trial became eight years of elementary school, followed by four years at a Catholic high school. Throughout those years we learned many valuable lessons about raising children in a Christian school while remaining firmly grounded in the Truth.
Advantages
Mainstream Christian values are woven throughout the school environment. Teachers and staff generally encourage qualities such as honesty, kindness, respect, compassion, forgiveness, and service to others. While these values are not unique to Christian schools, they are often intentionally connected to Biblical principles, creating an atmosphere where faith is openly discussed rather than avoided.
Christian schools tend to have smaller class sizes. This often allows teachers to know their students more personally and provide more individual attention. Children can benefit academically as teachers recognize their strengths, identify areas where they need additional support, and encourage them to develop their God-given abilities.
Christian schools put an emphasis on community. Many Christian schools encourage students to participate in service projects, charitable activities, and opportunities to help those in need. These experiences can foster empathy, humility, responsibility, and a desire to serve others—qualities that reflect the spirit of Christ and that we certainly want to nurture in our children.
Drawbacks
False beliefs may be taught. For us, there were many occasions when the religion curriculum presented doctrines that differed from Scripture as we understand it. Lessons on heaven and hell, the devil as a supernatural being, and the Trinity were common throughout her years at school. These lessons often became the starting point for family Bible studies. Rather than criticizing the teacher or the school, we would open the Scriptures together and examine what God actually says. We found that this approach helped our daughter understand not only what we believed, but why we believed it.
Interestingly, many of the school’s lessons contained very little direct Bible teaching. The doctrines were often presented as accepted church teaching rather than being developed from Scripture itself. This actually made our discussions at home easier, because we could simply compare the teaching with what the Bible says and encourage her to draw her own conclusions.
Children may be put in uncomfortable situations. During our daughter’s years in Catholic school, there were several occasions when her beliefs were tested. While these situations were sometimes difficult, they also became valuable opportunities to strengthen her understanding of Scripture and teach her to stand respectfully for what she believed.
One such occasion occurred during a school Mass. As students entered the church, they were expected to genuflect (or bend one knee as a bow) before taking their seats. Our daughter quietly chose not to do so because she understood that this practice conflicted with what we believed about the worship of God. The principal approached her and encouraged her to participate, but she respectfully declined. Later, we were contacted by the school and asked to meet with the principal regarding her refusal. During our discussion, we explained that, because of our beliefs concerning the Trinity and forms of worship, we supported our daughter’s decision. After a respectful conversation, the school agreed that she would be excused from participating in that practice in the future.
What could have become a negative experience actually produced something positive. Her classmates noticed that she was different and naturally asked why she had not genuflected. This gave her an opportunity to explain, in simple biblical terms, what she believed. It became one of her first experiences of quietly witnessing to the Truth.
Questions to Ask Before You Begin
Have I prayerfully considered all my options? Some areas of North America, Canada, Australia—to name a few—also have Christadelphian Schools that we may be able to send our children to. If they are close by then I can only suggest that it would have been a big priority for us. To have our children surrounded on a daily basis in a school with our core beliefs and their friends from perhaps more than one meeting, would have been our first choice. We did not have that option, sadly. We just worked with our choice and prayed daily for our Father’s help to guide and mold her.
What exactly does the school teach and expect? Every school is different. Some are closely tied to a particular denomination, while others are interdenominational or more broadly evangelical. Some welcome students from many faith backgrounds, while others expect students to participate fully in their religious practices. Christian schools—whether Protestant or Catholic—typically include religious instruction as part of their curriculum. Some have weekly religion classes, while others integrate faith into subjects such as history, literature, and science. Many also require students to attend chapel services or Mass. Before making a decision, it is wise to understand the school’s beliefs and compare them with biblical principles.
Am I prepared to discuss what my children are learning? No Christian denomination aligns completely with the Truth as we understand it from Scripture, so parents should expect that some teachings will differ from what is taught at home and in the ecclesia. Rather than avoiding those differences, parents can use them as opportunities for Bible-based discussion, as noted above. When children encounter teachings that differ from Scripture, they can learn to examine God’s Word for themselves and develop the habit of testing every doctrine against the Bible.
Tips for Families New to Christian Schools
Find out when religion classes take place so you are prepared to discuss them afterward. Ask your child what was taught, how they understood the lesson, and whether they have any questions. These conversations do not need to be lengthy, but they can become valuable teaching moments. Together, open the Scriptures and examine what God says about the topic, whether it concerns heaven, the nature of God, the devil, or any other subject.
Involve your ecclesia. The ecclesia can help reinforce these discussions. Sunday School, CYC, Bible classes, midweek meetings, Bible schools, and youth activities all help strengthen a child’s understanding of Scripture and provide a solid biblical foundation alongside what they are learning at school.
Pay attention to your child’s friendships. While we expected our daughter to develop friendships at school—and she certainly did—we believed it was essential that her closest friendships be within the ecclesia. We intentionally made Christadelphian activities a priority. CYC, youth Bible weekends, Bible schools, and ecclesial events always came before school dances, social activities, or weekends spent with classmates. We encouraged our children to invite their Christadelphian friends to our home for sleepovers and visits, and we were thankful when they were invited in return. Was our approach perfect? Certainly not. But looking back, we believe those friendships played a significant role in helping our children develop a love for God’s Word and an appreciation for the fellowship found within the Truth.
Have a dedicated family Bible reading time. Family Bible reading became one of our greatest resources. Whenever questions arose from religion class, we would sit down together, open the Scriptures, and search for God’s answers rather than simply accepting the teacher’s explanation. One passage that became especially meaningful to us is Acts 17:11: “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (BSV) This verse teaches an important principle for our children. Every teaching—even one given by a respected teacher—should be measured against the Scriptures. If a doctrine cannot be supported from God’s Word, then it should be carefully questioned.
I would like to conclude with one experience that left a lasting impression on all of us.
When she was in Grade 8, our daughter came home visibly upset after a religion lesson in which the teacher had shown a vivid painting depicting the devil casting people into the flames of hell. The image of Dante’s Inferno disturbed her deeply, and for the first time she wondered whether perhaps these frightening ideas could be true.
That evening we spent a long time talking together, reading the relevant passages of Scripture, and reassuring her of God’s loving purpose. My husband and I also met with the teacher to express our concern about presenting such frightening images to young students. The teacher explained that she was simply following the curriculum required by the church.
There was little we could do to change what was taught in the classroom. Our responsibility, however, was not to control the curriculum but to guide our daughter through it with patience and Scripture. Each challenge became another opportunity to reinforce the principle that our authority is God’s Word, not human tradition.
When parents remain engaged and use the school’s teaching as a starting point for biblical discussion, Christian schooling can become not only an educational experience but also an opportunity to help children develop discernment, strengthen their faith, and learn to lovingly defend what they believe from the Scriptures. Which brings me to this Bible verse: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 NKJV).
Looking back, we can see that those conversations in our home were some of the most valuable lessons of all. They encouraged our daughter to search the Scriptures for herself and to build convictions based on God’s Word rather than simply accepting what others taught. To this day, she remains an enthusiastic student of the Bible.
It may be that your decision would be similar to ours. We will try it for a year and see what the outcome is. Perhaps you will continue with a Christian school on a yearly basis or you will pull your child and send them to a public school where you may not have to “deal” with doctrinal issues. But, those schools have their challenges too. Prayer and asking for God’s guidance is key in all things. “Cast all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NASB).
Linda Beckerson,
Ann Arbor Ecclesia, MI