It’s fascinating to me to watch the struggle and dance of Christian parents and what to do with their children when it comes to schooling. Before I had children, I was an expect on raising children and could give thoughtful analysis to the advantages of Christian, public and home schooling.
My best friend from college and his wife home school their 9 children. Yikes! Most of them are turning out pretty darned good, too. Other good friends here in the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, area are sold on Judah Christian School right here in Champaign and shown in the picture here.
Some of the pastors I respect the most in Champaign-Urbana feel very strongly that if we don’t keep our kids in public schools, we won’t be the salt and light we need to be in the world. (Their one caveat is that parents must stay involved, which they have been. These pastors had all their children in public schools through high school.)
The Southern Baptists, especially in the South where they are strong, have literally started hundreds of new Christian schools in the past 10 years. This on top of the hundreds of Christian schools they already have. Check out this story.
I’m not nearly as positive about this trend as are the Southern Baptists. Fear is a great motivator, as you well know. But so is love, and it lasts longer. So what is it that is motivating the starting of these hundreds of new Christian schools? Fear? Love? Educational excellence? Confusion?
I was the PTA president at Thomas Paine Elementary School in Urbana when my children attended there during elementary school. Each week for years I went to the children’s classrooms and volunteered to help in the writing classes. I coached basketball when my son attended Judah School during Junior High School. When my daughter attended Urbana Middle School, I volunteered in the English class once a week, mostly helping with writing. One year I mentored a young man each week. My son attended Urbana High School for four years, and my daughter is now a Sophomore at Urbana High. We never home schooled but we thought about it years ago.
One of my friends says, "Raising kids is easy. Just do whatever they say." I laughed, too, when he said that. I’ll tell you. It ain’t easy… God bless anyone trying to do right by their children’s education.
Lord, may our children come to know you and love you more every day. These children are yours and only on loan to us. May the Holy Spirit powerfully descend upon the schools where our children are attending.
donfollis.com 
Thanks for your comments on this topic. Our daughter attends a Christian school and we are finding more and more parents are taking them out of the Christian school and sending them to public school. You may ask why? Well, they are continuing to raise tuition some 9% per year, and at this pace many parents are just plain unable to send their kids there any longer. The other reason, actually more sad, is that they are noticing that there is becoming less and less difference between the Christian School and the Public school in regards to behavior of children, etc. It's as if the "christian" schools are becoming just as worldly as the "public" ones, therefore the "salt" of the "Christian" school has lost its flavor. We are wondering whether we should keep our daughter there or send her to public schools ourselves. It's not a money factor in our case, but when you said in your comments: "if we don't keep our kids in public schools, we won't be the salt and light we need to be in the world" – well, that hit home! We, especially my wife, are very involved in the Christian School, so it would be no problem to do so in the public school. Bottom Line, you've given me some more things to mull over in regards to this issue. Thanks…
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