Champions in Christian Education

My school is facing a challenge. The parents who choose to send their children here have been changing for some time now.

Half a century ago our school was a tight-knit community of Dutch immigrant families who were dedicated to the ideal of Christian Education. The fact that they stepped out in faith and built the foundation upon which our schools are laid is incredibly admirable. I look back on my parents and grandparents willingness to sacrifice with amazement. At the same time that tight-knit closeness had some unhealthy undertones as we looked down on outsiders and those Christians would not or could not send their children to our schools.

Our community is changing, much of it for the better. We now see so many different types of believers who come through our doors. This expansion of our Christian community is a joy to behold. 

At the same time it comes with a concern. How do we ensure that the deep Christian nature of our schools created by those founding fathers and mothers is not diluted or lost? Consider the example of the YMCA or places like Harvard, which all started as distinctly Christian institutions but now are not.

In order to address this issue, our school has chosen to keep attendance and membership in the governing body of the school separate. 

Attendance

All Christians are welcome to have their children attend our school, in fact we even have non-believers attending. Although those non-believers have to sign on to allowing us to indoctrinate their children in the faith. (Many of them don't quite realize how deeply our faith is woven into every corner of our school!) We have a chance to "Leak Christ" into many of these lives. These families are also a blessing to us bringing so much more diversity and opportunity into our school!

Membership

However, membership in our governing body is intended to be for those who are "Champions of Christian Education". We want to see those who are believers in Christian Education to be the decision makers and guardians of what God has given us.

In my mind there are two components that help identify these believers in Christian Education:

1. They are Christians in word and in deed. They are not perfect, as none of us is this side of glory, but they strive to live as Christ has called us to.
2. They are passionate about the cause of Christian Education. These are the people who meet night after night throughout the year on committees, who volunteer on Saturdays at school events, for whom  this endeavour is a calling. Not all Christians are called to this mission, nor should they be.

As we work through these governance issues it is my hope and prayer that the changes we have made will ensure that 50 years from now my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to attend, work at, and volunteer in Christian schools like this one which are dedicated to the glory of God.