The Big Picture

As a child, I remember spying my mom’s black-and-white 8th grade class photo in the hallway of my Catholic elementary school. It was a bit surreal. By then, the photo was decades old, and the school had become, well, a “kinder, gentler place.”

Not all her stories were bathed in luminosity; those nuns really laid down the law, it seemed.

Even so, I knew she wouldn’t trade those years for the world. It felt nice to know she’d been there, learned what I’d learned, kept her faith well into adulthood, and passed it along to all seven of her kids. As a family, we attended the church which founded the school until we moved when I was 17. Even today, in her 60’s, she continues to put her faith into practice by operating the preschool at our church here in Arizona.

I always remember that sighting in the hallway when the topic of Christian schools arises.

Today, more than 4 million students — about one child in 12 — attend religious schools, most of them Christian. While that might not seem like a lot, research shows the children who are blessed enough to attend these schools benefit in key ways.

“There’s plenty of research and a growing literature on the benefits of Evangelical and Fundamentalist schools,” writes Charles L. Glenn, professor and chairman of educational administration and policy at Boston University.

When compared with public schools, he says, graduates of Catholic and Evangelical schools are more tolerant and academically ahead of graduates of comparable public schools.

Christian Schools Intl., an organization of Reformed Christian schools around the globe, cites the most amazing reason of all to support Christian education. Aside from the typical reasons parents choose Christian schools — Bible study, protection from bad influences, a circle of Christian friends, good discipline and more – in Christian schools, students learn to see the world through the lens of the Word.

“All parents have big dreams for the next generation,” the organization’s website states. “Christian schools … teach your children to see and do — to see the world through the lens of the Bible and to do God’s work in His world.”

For all these reasons and more, it brings me great joy to see new Christian schools opening up here in Phoenix, and it’s happening all the time. My family is a classic example of how meeting a family’s life needs – especially education – can create lifelong, loyal and (most importantly) faithful members.

Blessed to Be a Blessing

If you’re considering starting your own Christian school, I’d encourage you to start your research by downloading a free copy of our latest eBook, Your Christian School: An Essential Guide to Financial Stability & Future Growth, presented by RSI and Church Business. You’ll find it at www.churchbusiness.com/rsi. It’s an incredible resource for navigating capital campaigns, planning studies, board and donor relations, grant proposals and more.

RaeAnn Slaybaugh
Editor
rslaybaugh@vpico.com