Christian Education

Did God assign the state or the parents to educate children? In the Old Testament, God placed the responsibility of child rearing and development on the parents in Deuteronomy 6. In the New Testament, God reiterates how important the role of the parent is in Ephesians 6. Not once does the Bible speak of the state’s involvement in the education of a child.

The biggest influence you will have as a missionary is the preachers you have trained. There are countless illustrations we could use such as C.T. Studd and Bob Hughes. When they died, their ministry lived on because they had trained men of God.

There are five major influences on our students: home, school, church, TV, and peers. When you consider the time that a child spends with each of these throughout his lifetime, the school and the home definitely have the potential to be the most powerful. Thus, these two institutions must talk to each other, must work together, and must coordinate efforts.

Starting a Bible college reproduces and multiplies your ministry. It is a practical way to train men as Paul instructed in 1 Timothy 2:2. I believe Bible colleges are vital. The word college is defined as “an institution of higher learning.” A Bible college is a college in the truest sense because students learn about the highest principles from the highest source.

As a principal, there are several traits I look for in teachers, and I would like to share seven of them with you:

You have heard the saying, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” There are no teachers or administrators who want to fail, but we must take time to plan out our year, our months, our days, and our school hours or we will fail. Learn to get in the routine of planning and making sure the “big rocks” get scheduled so everyone succeeds!

Parents are counting on us as teachers to support them in the training of their children, God’s gifts to them. Anything we can do to improve our communication efforts with them will encourage them to communicate with us. The overall result—students will succeed in your classroom!

Slow learners are not non-learners! They must be taught and they so want to learn and succeed! A few adjustments in their learning process can make a big difference!

While families that homeschool their children can be a great blessing to a church and pastor (as I have experienced firsthand), many preachers find it difficult to assimilate them into their church. This is due to a variety of reasons, and even some misconceptions on the part of many pastors.

Have you ever heard a teacher make a statement like, “I don’t teach math, I teach students.” This is an interesting statement and this manner of thinking should impact each of us who are teachers. Regardless of what we are teaching, we must keep in mind that our focus ought to be the students, not the subject matter.

You will never have a great teacher who does not have passion. The personality of individual teachers may be different and their passion may come out differently, but you have never been taught by a great teacher that did not have a passion for what he was teaching.

Last year I was given the opportunity to assume the position of administrator at Pleasant Valley Baptist School. I enjoyed my first year and learned a lot.

Who was your favorite teacher in school? Most likely, if you are a teacher now, you may find yourself teaching like your favorite teacher. You may be a disciplinarian, or you may be one that allows the students in your classroom more freedom.

Do you know what your third grade teacher is teaching this week? What bulletin boards are on the walls of your seventh grade homeroom? How has the rowdy student in tenth grade been behaving lately?