Is Christian Education important? Absolutely! It is perhaps the most important responsibility we have as Christian parents.
What is Christian Education?
Before I talk about why Christian education is important, I want to make sure we are talking about the same thing.
When I say Christian Education, I am not talking about teaching academics through a Christian lens. While important, that is not today’s topic. Rather, I am talking about the education all Christians should go through. An education to learn about God, the Bible, and what God expects from us as Christians.
Now, for some, this may include some formal education. I have a degree in Biblical Studies, and I gained a great deal of Biblical knowledge obtaining this degree. However, we cannot simply stop at formal education.
Christian Education includes intellectual knowledge of the Bible, its stories and concepts. It also includes a practical knowledge of how to live out those concepts.
Ultimately, Christian Education could be labeled discipleship. Discipleship is learning the teachings and beliefs of another in order to help spread those teachings and beliefs. All Christians are called to discipleship, but this has been lost in western culture.
My struggle with Christian Education
When my oldest was born, I struggled with anxiety about her salvation. My thoughts centered around, “How am I going to make sure she becomes a Christian?” and “How am I going to protect her from all the sinfulness in the world?”
It took a while for God to help me realize that I couldn’t protect her from a sinful world AND that my children’s salvation is not my responsibility.
My responsibility is to teach my children about God, to guide them in a godly lifestyle. But I cannot save them. Only God can.
This may sound fundamental to some of you. Yes, I knew this intellectually. But it was really a difficult process for it to actually sink into my thoughts and actions. I had to change my perspective as a mother.
My perspective changed from sheltering and controlling my children to training and guiding them. To be concise, I stopped trying to save my children and started discipling them.
Does discipleship really matter?
When I look at how so many young adults leave the faith they were raised in, I believe discipleship is where we have missed the mark. We have approached parenting the way the world told us to, and we have not discipled our children.
Being a Christian in western culture often just means you attend church. However, there is so much more to being a Christian than showing up to church on Sunday. I do not want my children to grow up thinking Christianity is about giving up your Sunday morning to go to church.
This is why Christian Education is so important. We need to teach our children what it truly means to be a Christian. We need to model godly lifestyles, and allow our children to witness the joy of being a follower of Christ.
So many Christians think this is the church’s job, to teach their children about God. This is a cultural thing. Satan has attacked the family in our culture. He has managed to separate us in our daily lives and make us think that is how we are supposed to do things.
Satan’s attack on the family
Just think about the days of most families. Each family member goes to their own school or job. They only see each other in the evening. We have given the responsibility of educating our children to other people. In the same way, we have handed the spiritual education of our children over to the church. According to the Bible, this is our responsibility.
You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
This verse makes it clear that we are to learn the words of God (the Bible) ourselves. AND we are to teach them to our children. Not one day a week, but everyday ALL day.
Consequences of falling in Satan’s trap
I believe this is what that controversial verse in Psalms is talking about.
Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
I know many people have wondered how this verse applies to kids from “good Christian families” who have grown up and turned away from Christianity. While I believe rebellion is a human condition (even for Christians), I also believe we have not been diligent in doing what the first part of this verse says.
We have not trained our children in the way they should go. We have taken them to church and prayed before our meals, and we call that training our children. As anyone who has trained for any kind of sport will tell you, training takes a lot more time and effort than that. It is time for us to realize that Christian Education is important AND is the responsibility of parents.
We have to dedicate time and effort to teach our children about God’s ways, to “train them in the way they should go.” I know this can feel very daunting. It did to me. However, I want to help you disciple your child.
How do I disciple my child?
Be sure to sign up for my free download “5 Steps to Disciple Your Child.” Discipleship is not a one day event; it takes continual time and effort. In this resource, I walk you through 5 Steps to get yourself ready and start discipling your child now.
I hope this has helped you realize why Christian Education is important. I would love to connect with you and hear your stories of how God has taught you the importance of Christian Education. Leave a comment letting me know how God has been at work in your life and family.
