New Evangelistic Opportunities in Christian Education

 

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20

We never planned on opening a Christian School when my wife and I plunged into church planting years ago. There was a good church and a Christian School within reasonable driving distance. But things changed, the church went a different direction and the school closed. Homeschooling was our remaining option and we were fine with that. My wife was an education major and she excelled as a homeschool mom/teacher.

We opened a homeschool co-op and became one of those “homeschool churches.” About 20 years ago, homeschoolers tended to clump together in churches with other homeschoolers. The inevitable problems started to occur. We got requests for a “family” Sunday School class as more “home school only” families showed up. I am a fan of homeschooling, but it is not the only biblical option—I can make a case from the Bible that it is not the only biblical option, but that discussion is for another article.

So we opened a Christian School. It started small and has grown steadily over the years. It is not a “members only” school but it is also not open to anyone—its purpose is more discipleship than evangelism.

As the Christian School movement dwindled across the nation, we survived and grew at a moderate rate. The same has occurred for other schools. It is too bad that so many Christian Schools closed in the last decade because now things have changed.

Then came Covid.

Covid, the racism of the woke movement, and transgender indoctrination in public schools have sent reasonable parents—believing and unbelieving alike—clamoring for more traditional educational alternatives. They are desperate. They fear for their children and we do not have room to accommodate them all. In our school, we have a fairly long waiting list and we get calls from distraught parents every day.

We require a testimony of salvation for all new enrollees in our school in grade 7 and above.  We also require parents to attend our church or a church of similar faith.  We have a waiting list for most grades.  God has burdened me lately about sharing the gospel with the many on our waiting list and with those who enquire.  This ministry is proving fruitful. Two precious souls were saved this week whose first contact with our church was because they were looking for educational alternatives to the corruption of the public schools.

The moral decline of our culture has descended into the nonsense that reasonable unbelieving people now see. The colloquial term for it is that they have been “red-pilled”. They come from all backgrounds–young and old, rich and poor, educated and the working class–looking for answers. We are on the brink of a harvest of souls if we will rise to the task.

The debate between advocates of covenant and missional philosophies of education continues, but the situation on the ground has changed. Covid was the catalyst for such a change. We must take advantage of it. I am not trying to convince you to change your Christian School philosophy. I just want to urge you to see the evangelistic opportunity at hand and find a way to share Christ with these hurting people.

Rather than simply dismissing the many that ask to enroll their children as “not the right fit” we might do better to recognize them as sinners reaching out for help in the sinful storm that surrounds them. We need to stop thinking like gatekeepers and start thinking like evangelists. It’s not about increasing enrollment at any cost.  That is a formula for disaster.  But we must find a way to share the gospel with people who are seeking refuge from the insanity of this present culture.

In spite of the spiritual decline around us, God is at work and He is using the Christian School as one of the remarkable ways of opening up doors to speak to the lost. We must open our eyes to discern how to join Him in the work He is doing.