God drew my attention to the challenges facing education when I addressed the Assembly at Plettenberg Bay Christian School recently. Christian education is desperately lacking in SA.
Despite Christian schools providing excellent Bible-based education, many of them are struggling to survive. Apparently, Christian parents prefer to place their children in secular schools because they offer superior extra-curricular facilities. I view this as nothing short of a tragedy!
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Research by the Barna group and others indicate that millions of Christian children abandon their faith when they enter tertiary educational institutions. Contemporary universities are temples of secular humanism where students are indoctrinated with the godless ideology of paganism.
A concerned Christian parent sent me an email shocked to discover that the literature given to kids in schools are riddled with crude, blasphemous and sexual explicit scenes. Homosexual activists are also active in schools, working to indoctrinate students with their wicked agenda.
An article entitled, “Christians squirm over Noah novel” Die Arkvaarders (In The Shadow of the Ark), written by Belgian novelist Anne Provoost, portrays Noah and his sons as murderers and rapists, and is part of the high school syllabus in the Netherlands.
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According to Protea Boekhuis, the publisher of the Afrikaans version, it is possible that the book will be prescribed reading in South African high schools.
The focussed attacks on children even at primary school level are well documented. Students are increasingly becoming targets of traffickers, sexual predators and other evil agendas at school.
The Church must break out of its lethargy and urgently formulate a strategy to take back our schools from the enemy. Christian parents are ultimately responsible for their children’s education especially the Biblical value system that ensures their moral grounding and future success.
However, Christian parents have a critical role to play in the governing of our schools. Serving on school governing bodies are the most strategic forums to influence the way schools are run.
School governing bodies (SGBs) determine the admission, language and religious policy of the school. They also adopt a school Code of Conduct, Constitution and administer the schools property and budget; together with determining the schools’ annual fees. 2012 Elections have begun.
“After the national elections, SGB elections are the most important voting process in this country” said Education Minister Angie Motshekga. I agree. Many anti-family groups will submit candidates to serve on SGB’s with the express purpose of advancing their godless agenda in schools.
Christian parents must make themselves available to serve on school governing bodies and churches must work to mobilise Christian parents to vote for the Biblical Christian candidates.
The Body of Christ must intensify its focus on education in the country. Millions of children are indoctrinated with liberal and humanistic values in the schooling system to their detriment.
Pastors please urgently encourage your congregations to submit candidates for SGB’s in your region and devise a strategy to mobilise Christian parents to vote for the Christian candidates.
Hi,just wanted to add that as a christian mommy I object to the comment regarding the reason why christian parents do not send their children to christian schools. The main reason is that they are unaffordable to the general public. Their monthly fees are twice as much that of a public school. Granted, the education and morals are most definitely of a higher standard, but the fees are out of reach of most parents these days. Most of us have to approach the school board and ask for assistance with the normal school fees. How then can we afford to send our children to christian schools, nomatter how much we desire to send them there? My children attend one of the best public schools in PE and the Headmaster and most of his staff are christian. They endeavour to spread christian values and morals to every child in that school. And the love shows. So thank you to this school for outstanding christian teaching in this day and age.
Praise God for public schools with a Christian ethos. But don’t take them for granted! The school governing body elections which are taking place now are an opportunity to safeguard that ethos. More on this topic here, as well as an account of how Muslims have hijacked SGBs when Christian parents were “napping”.
Research also shows that the influence of parents who are committed to raising their children as followers of Jesus, and who consciously draw them into a family which lives out the faith have about five time more influence over their future walk of faith than does any school.
Some Christian schools are more expensive because there are not as many children in them as in the government schools. (Few bulk discounts on supplies)Its a matter of numbers as well as superior facilities. I would live a very simplistic lifestyle just to have my children in one of those schools and I thank God that I am able to put them into El Shaddai Christian School. As a teacher myself, I have not come across any government school that compares to what my children get here (and I have had dealings with a vast number of them). I consider it a worthwhile investment. On the other side, our numbers are under attack as satan wants the children out from Christian influence as much as possible. I agree – wherever you are, you need to get INVOLVED and stand up for what you believe.