Helping Young People Prepare for Higher Education (1)
Originally given as a workshop at the 50th Annual Conference of the Keystone Christian Education Association and as a breakout session at the 82nd Annual Convention of the American Council of Christian Churches. Updated and revised.
Proverbs 22:6 says: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” God entrusts this responsibility primarily to parents, especially fathers, who are commanded to “bring … up [their children] in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). As Deuteronomy 6:7 explains, this training should take place anywhere and everywhere, “when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
Churches are also entrusted with the task of teaching. Pastors are called to “preach the Word[,] … in season [and] out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2). Older, experienced men are admonished to teach the younger men; likewise the older women for the younger women (Titus 2).
When it comes to academic education, some parents and churches pool their resources together and form Christian day schools,1 especially in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to remove public Bible reading and prayer from the state schools. For the same reason, many parents resort to homeschool education, homeschool co-ops, and homeschool umbrellas.
In America, these educational organizations usually include children in kindergarten through 12th grade, roughly ages 4-18. Teachers, whether in the home, church, or classroom, know that they only have these students for a short window of time to train them before they move on to higher education, step directly into the workforce, or keep their own home.
This series of articles then will deal specifically with preparing young people for higher education, as many go on to colleges, universities, Bible institutes, or vo-tech schools, before beginning their lives as independent adults.
Spiritual Preparation
Conversion
The primary goal, especially for parents, is to point children to Christ as their Lord and Savior. As Proverbs 22:15 says, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child.” He or she is born in iniquity (Ps. 51:5). Each child can see God’s “eternal power and Godhead” in Creation “so that they are without excuse”; but left to the world, the flesh, and the devil, their foolish hearts will be darkened even further (Rom. 1:20-21) unless a work of God is wrought in their hearts.
For this to happen, someone must open the Word of God to these young people (Rom. 10:14) and explain the good news of Christ’s atoning work. They must be exhorted to “repent … and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Certainly, children cannot be forced to drink from the “fountain of living waters,” but adults can lead them to the fountain, encourage them to drink from it, and pray earnestly that they will forsake “broken cisterns … that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13).
Christ warns adults that if they do not point little children unto Him (Luke 18:16), “it were better for [them] that a millstone were hanged about [their] necks, and [they] be cast into the sea” (Luke 17:2). This is a weighty task indeed, but one by God’s grace, which may bear forth much fruit.
Spiritual Disciplines
Parents, grandparents, administrators, pastors, and teachers may not see the conversion of each young person under their direct watch-care, or necessarily be able to discern the genuineness of a profession right away, especially if it is at an early age when the child’s faith is not yet tested.2 But adults should always encourage children to “look … unto Jesus [as] the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2).
Mature believers can tell children that if they are truly born again, God will work in them “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Seasoned saints can explain that His good pleasure is that they be conformed into the image of their Savior (Rom. 8:29).
For this to take place, young people must be shown the necessity of growing in grace through the spiritual disciplines God has ordained, such as prayer, Bible reading, Scripture meditation, and corporate worship.
Children will best understand these things if they are appropriately patterned for them (1 Tim 4:12). “The parent,” again, “has the first and all-important opportunity” to model this, while grandparents, teachers, and other adults play a secondary role.3 Mature Christians must recognize that if they do not set the right kind of example for young people, they should not expect these youngsters to be any better.
In his book Save Them from Secularism, David de Bruyn, a South African pastor, wrote these convicting words, which can apply to any Christian leader of young people:
In a family, … love for God is seen in very tangible ways. When in the middle of a health or financial or emotional crisis, Dad says to the family, “We can be very thankful for what God has given us. Let’s turn to Him now in prayer, and ask Him for grace,” that lesson speaks to little hearts in powerful ways. Gratitude and contentment say more than 100 sermons. When Dad says, “We’ve barely got petrol in the tank, but we know God wants us to worship Him. We’ll trust that God will enable what He commands.” And do you know what God loves to do when those little eyes are watching that act of ultimate dependence? Provide. Supply. Protect.
When the child is groaning about sore throat on Monday morning, and Dad says, “Get out of bed, and get ready, you are going to school!” he is teaching the importance of education. But when the child has the same groans about a sore throat on Sunday morning, and Dad says, “Well, just take it easy and rest this morning,” he has taught something else. He has taught that education takes priority over worship. He has taught that our devotion to education ought to exceed our devotion to God.
When Mom will drive from this side of the city for swimming to that side of the city for tennis or ballet, to the other side for extra maths, and back again for soccer and finally home, racking up a good 100 kilometres in the process, the child might learn that Mom and Dad like him to have activities. But when they say, “We can’t go to the Wednesday Evening service, it’s too much driving, and petrol is getting more expensive,” he learns about priorities. Petrol costs and driving time aren’t an issue if it is extra-murals or education, but very high hurdles if it is church. He has just learned how committed one should be to God, and it is not an ultimate commitment.
Children know what we love. They see it when our eyes sparkle when we talk about what delights us. They see how we anticipate the things we really love. They see how we reminisce over the things we love. And they see how we connect those things to God, if we do. They see what our attitude is towards the things of God.4
Character Qualities
Adults should not only teach children about the spiritual disciplines, but they should also seek to instill certain character qualities. In a brief series like this, one cannot cover everything, but only offer a small handful of virtues.
Children should be taught to “outdo one another in showing honour” (Rom. 12:10, ESV) to those whom it is due (Rom. 13:7). They should learn how to show respect for authority, whether it be their teachers, parents, pastors, government leaders, or their forbearers (civilly, occupationally, and spiritually). Educators particularly should uphold the use of titles in the classroom (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr., etc.) and polite expressions (yes ma’am, yes sir, thank you, please, may I? etc.). Manners also can be taught, such as holding the door for others, taking off one’s hat in a building, placing one’s hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance or National Anthem, not talking without permission or with one’s mouth full, sitting up straight at one’s desk, looking authority in the eye, and dressing appropriately for various occasions. Along with this, teachers should impart a desire to learn from the masters, especially those whose work has stood the test of time.5
Educators should also seek to develop delayed gratification in their students. Projects and assignments that take multiple days can be beneficial in advancing this virtue. Students can also learn how to develop schedules and stay on task to complete the project in the allotted time. Christian educators should also teach their students how to take initiative in the classroom. Some students may fear failure, so educators will want to explain that it is good to undergo trial and error, as experience is often the greatest teacher. Christian teachers should cultivate a classroom where students willingly confess and learn from their mistakes.
Academic Preparation
In addition to these spiritual qualities, adults should also teach children specific academic subjects from a biblical worldview. Christian teachers ought to consider, as one theologian put it, that “[e]ducation is the nurture and development of the whole man for his proper end.”6 Reading, writing, and arithmetic all have their proper end in the glory of God, likewise history, science, music, art, and speech. Children need to see that the “heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Ps. 19:1). They must also come to recognize that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are [his] works” (Ps. 139:14). Furthermore, they must be taught that whatever their “hand findeth to do, do it with all might” (Ecc. 9:10).
If they are ever to mature and become independent learners, students must also be taught how to read, listen, study, research, and comprehend well. Teachers may find good practical advice in Mortimer Adler’s works on How to Read a Book and How to Speak, How to Listen, Tony Reinke’s Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books, Christopher Ash’s Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons, and Richard Steele’s A Remedy for Wandering Thoughts in Worship.
It would be advantageous to teach truth from error, especially while children are still in grade school. Society is full of aberrant philosophies and practices, and Christian leaders must recognize that young people will be exposed to them someday. Why not now, one may say, in the wholesome environment of a Christian school, church, or home?
Ron Horton recommends that adults use a process of inoculation when teaching objectionable elements. In the medical world, doctors have often given their patients controlled dosages of an infectious disease to develop immunity to it. The dosages are customized to the strength of the patients and potency of the disease. Educators likewise need to know their students well, to see how ready they are to receive certain information.7 At age-appropriate levels, teachers and preachers can then detail the errors of evolution, postmodernism, Marxism, feminism, homosexuality, critical theory, cancel culture, theological liberalism, false ecumenism, etc. This will better fortify young people against error before they hear it from their peers, television celebrities, or secular college professors.
Jonathan Peters serves as an administrative assistant at Reformation Bible Church and Harford Christian School (Darlington, MD).
Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash
- Ronald Horton, ed., Christian Education: Its Mandate and Mission (Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992), 5. [↩]
- Dennis Gunderson, Your Child’s Profession of Faith (Sand Springs, OK: Grace & Truth Books, 2010), 19. [↩]
- Robert Dabney, “Parental Responsibilities,” in Discussions, Volume I: Theological and Evangelical, ed. C. R. Vaughan (1890; repr., Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 1982), 687-688. [↩]
- de Bruyn, 154-170, Kindle. [↩]
- de Bruyn., 426-494, Kindle. Also see Joshua Gibbs, Love What Lasts: How to Save Your Soul from Mediocrity (Concord, NC: CiRCE Institute, 2023), 44-46. See also John Witherspoon, “Sermon XXXI: On the Religious Education of Children,” “Sermon XLI: Seasonable Advice to Young Persons,” and “An Address to the Students of the Senior Class,” in The Works of the Rev. John Witherspoon, Second Edition, Revised and Corrected., Vol. 1-4 (Philadelphia, PA: William W. Woodward, 1802). [↩]
- Dabney, “Secularized Education,” in Discussions, Volume IV: Secular, ed. C. R. Vaughan (1897; repr., Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 1994), 230. [↩]
- “Christian Educational Censorship,” in Christian Education: Its Mandate and Mission, 45-70. [↩]