Educating for Eternity

In Christian school education,
faculty, staff, and administration have the
awesome responsibility and privilege to make a
difference in the lives of students in light
of eternity. The student’s walk with God is
of utmost importance as we go about our
day in the halls of the Christian school.
Don’t get me wrong, the academics are
extremely important. We are to prepare
students academically for the ministry,
the job, the college, the life for which God
has called them. The extra-curricular, the
fine arts, the athletics, and the social—all
of these help to shape the individual
student. But, the spiritual—the eternal—
is what matters most.

Our theme for the 2016–17 school year is “Walk with God.”
Our Scripture for the theme is Jeremiah 29:13;
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search
for me with all your heart.” Throughout
our day as Christian school educators, we
are helping to lead students to be more
like Christ, to grow closer to Him, to be
conformed to His image, and to continue
their personal “walk with God.”

It is wonderful to have students in the Christian school
who have grown up in a Christian home and the church, but
it is also an area that needs to be watched carefully. For many
students, the “Christian life” is all that they have known. It is
necessary that students understand that salvation is personal.
It is the students’ personal relationship with Christ, not their
parents. They must have their own personally owned faith.

Bruce Wilkinson, in his book, First Hand Faith, asks parents
these questions which can be applied to Christian school
educators: Did we help our children understand the Lord? Did
we tell them the stories of God? Did we set a godly example
before them, so that they know what a mature Christian is?
Students need to experience “first hand faith” by getting
involved in ministry opportunities such as the bus ministry,
assisting in Sunday school and nursery, choir, orchestra,
etc. They need to serve in outreach like soulwinning and
community projects such as mowing lawns, washing cars, or
painting houses. Traveling on a missions trip could be a very
significant spiritual tool that God could use to make their
walk with God, their walk with God.

Academics, athletics, fine arts, social skills…all are
important aspects of the educational process. But, the
spiritual—the eternal—the students’ eternity—is what
matters most. 3 John 1:4 is a great verse for parents and
Christian school educators: “I have no greater joy than to hear
that my children walk in truth.”