Will These Children Become Disciples of Jesus?
Shortly after the second edition of Kingdom Education™ was released, I was asked to speak at a large Christian school administrator & board member conference. This was the first time I was able to present the 8 biblical principles of Kingdom Education™ that I had included in the new edition of the book.
I explained to the delegates that Christian school leaders needed to know, understand and be committed to a biblical philosophy of education. If this were not the case, the school would eventually drift from its God-given mission. The response was extremely encouraging as several came up and shared how good it was to be challenged to stay grounded in these 8 biblical principles.
The coordinator of the event shared with me that the presentation was definitely challenging. However, he went on to say that an author of a book that the organization was promoting would disagree with me on a couple of issues. When I asked for more specifics, one issue that was mentioned caught me off guard.
The issue raised had to do with the third principle of Kingdom Education™. This principle reads,
The education of children and youth must have as its primary goals the salvation of and discipleship of the next generation.
I asked why anyone would have a problem with this principle? It was explained to me that this particular author would say that evangelism and discipleship are responsibilities for the church not Christian schools. I was taken back but quickly responded that it was obvious that this person did not understand what biblical discipleship was all about.
That interaction took place almost 20 years ago. However, I wonder if there are parents, pastors and Christian school educators today who may hold the same belief that this author did. I believe that over the years, discipleship has become a process of going through a series of Bible studies within small groups in a church setting. If this is the thinking of many Christians today, it is no wonder why the church has failed to make disciples that can impact culture.
There is really only one mission for every Christian and that mission is to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). This mission is for every parent, pastor, church member and/or Christian educators. No matter what mission statement a church or a Christian school develops, it should be tied to the Great Commission.
It is time for Christian school leaders to connect their school’s specific mission to Jesus’ call to make disciples of all nations. This will cause some other questions to be discussed and answered.
- What is a disciple of Jesus Christ?
- Can a Christian who is not a disciple make disciples of other people?
- How does the school’s mission support the Great Commission?
- How is this principle of Kingdom Education™ implemented throughout the school’s educational program?
When we see the condition of the world today, it is absolutely critical that the home, church and school form a united front to do everything in their power to make disciples of the next generation. This will require the gospel to be central in all we do so that every student understands his/her need to be born again.
After salvation, the disciple making process must begin immediately and be intentionally implemented throughout the young person’s education at home, church and school. When this happens, we will see young men and women equipped to go out and impact the culture for Jesus Christ.
Evangelism and discipleship as solely the responsibility of ‘the church’? Since when were Christian schools not a part of the church (i.e. the body of Christ)? It seems to me that definition is more true to scripture than the highly prescriptive and limited version of ‘the church’ as only an institution. in my 42 years in Christian school leadership I saw many students and parents come to know the Lord and grow in Him through the influence of the Christian school . And of course Satan was not happy about that reality. It looks like the author to which you refer wouldn’t approve either.