Why It’s Important To Keep The Christian Identity…

And He took them [the children] up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them. (Mark 10:16) .

We’ve just started a new school year at Pathway Christian Academy, and we are absolutely thrilled with how well things are going. We have a remarkable group of students and they are a joy to be around!

As far as being a Private School goes, there are various places we can direct our focus not only during the school year but also week to week. We make it a high priority to make sure our academics are on point and serving your child in the best way possible. We’re also constantly looking around, searching for ways to teach your child better! But, believe it or not, this is still not our #1 goal at Pathway…

Leading Your Child To A Saving Knowledge Of Jesus Christ Is Pathway Christian Academy’s #1 Mission Every Day Of The School Year!

“What then is your #1 goal?” someone may ask. Well, we’re glad you did.

We make it our highest priority each day to teach your child about Jesus. We want your kid to know as they leave school every day that Christ loves them and wants to be the Lord of their lives, just as we’ve made Him Lord of ours.

You see, there has been a redefining of sorts of the word “Christian.” Unfortunately, there’s even confusion within Christian circles as to what this essential word means.

If you were to ask strangers on the street what it means to be a Christian, we’re quite sure you would get almost just as many answers as there are people.

Why is this? Part of the reason is that Biblical literacy in America, unfortunately, is at an all-time low. This fact is mentioned not to complain, but rather to state a fact.

Another reason there are so many differing opinions on what exactly being a Christian means is this: currently we are seeing, as the Bible foretells, a great departing from the essential teachings of the Christian faith. The all-important doctrines on which Christianity has hinged upon for 2,000 years are being forsaken today and exchanged for whatever we choose to believe instead.

For the most part in American culture, God’s Word has been superseded by what we want it to say instead. If what His Word teaches about sin, selfishness, and rebellion isn’t what we want to hear, these days we just convince ourselves the preacher is wrong and go listen to someone else who teaches what we want it to say instead.

This actually sounds very familiar to what God’s Word said would happen…

The reason we’re mentioning all of this is plain and simple: We want you to know the staff at Pathway Christian Academy will teach your child Biblical principles, the foundational truths of the Christian Faith, and of course, the greatest story ever heard… Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, has come and died for the sins of the world.

Because we view your child as precious and consider where they spend eternity to be the most important decision they will ever make, we are going to share Christ with them. They will be asked if they would like to be saved several times a week, likely even every day.

To Pathway Christian Academy, the middle part of our name is more than a title…

It is the most precious message and critical mission in the world.

Why Should I Enroll My Child In A Christian School?

This blog post is meant to engage Christian parents from a spirit of kindness, a desire for understanding and to be understood, and an absolute absence of judgment. Please know before reading another line of this post, if you cannot view this post through the lens of the aforementioned standpoint, you will probably misunderstand everything that’s about to be said and I would kindly ask that you not read any further.

Good. Now that’s out of the way. Let’s keep going. If there’s one touchy subject I see in and around churches of our area, it’s the subject of Private Christian Schools. There was a time (I know, back in the olden days) when many pastors yearned, prayed, and gently nudged for their churches to start a Christian School. I can say this confidently because through the years of private interviews and gleaning of wisdom from elder pastors, they either did start a Christian school or always had that Godly desire to begin one.

I call this subject “touchy” because its seems those days of this particular Pastoral desire have diminished greatly. Along with the Pastor’s diminishing desire for a private Christian education for their flock, in unison right beside them has the parents’ desire waned in recent years. Again, none of this is across the board generalizations. I mean after all, Goldsboro has at least three or four predominate Christian schools in our area so there must be plenty of parents who want their kids to attend them. I’m not talking about the outliers here. There’s obviously more “Christian” kids in public school than private. With that thought, I wish to address the parents who may have never considered placing their kids in a Christian school, or have considered it and felt it wasn’t necessary.

I want to say this right off the bat: when a person (such as myself) is passionate about having as many kids attend a private, Christian school as possible, they are automatically seen as a public school snob. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m not anti-public school. I attended public school from kindergarten to twelfth grade. I am a graduate of public school (though I’m not sure they’ll claim me).

Don’t immediately judge a Christian school zealot as being a snob because we are not. We simply feel that for a Christian, the best place to learn is in a Christian environment. Does this mean nothing bad happens at a Christian school? I wish that were the case but we all know that statement isn’t true. But it does mean they’ll begin each day with devotion and prayer, they’ll be surrounded by teachers who not only love them, but will pray for them and actually tell them they are – or – even break bad and lead them in prayer right there on the spot! They will learn from text books that teach them the three R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic – obviously spelling isn’t in that abbreviation) and how much God loves them. The message of Christ is tantamount to each subject in every class. Your kid will not be ridiculed for mentioning God but rather encouraged to do it all the more. Let’s just suffice it to say the passion exhibited by proponents and leaders of private Christian schools is fueled by a Godly concern for the spiritual strengthening and well-being of your child.

Pathway Christian Academy Wants Each Child To Grow Into A Champion For Christ!

Some parents would say at this point “My child attends an awesome public school with a Christian teacher. I don’t need them to go to a private Christian school.” First of all, if you are so blessed as to have your kid placed in that environment, I’m both happy for you and envious at the same time. But let’s all consider this: in a public school environment, should your kid’s teacher tell them they are praying for them or even attempt to do so in a classroom environment, they would be doing so in violation of public school rules.

I’m not ignorant enough to think a champion for Christ teaching in public school is going to let a rule stop them from ministering to your child, but the rule is the rule. I know several wonderful men and women who are currently teaching in public school for the ministry’s sake. I think that’s great. It feels a lot like a mission field for sure. But even they will tell you (because they’ve told me) their hands are tied in many ways when it comes to sharing the Gospel and openly ministering to these kids. Gone are the days of prayer and scripture reading in public schools. This we know of a certainty.

And speaking of the rules in public schools, whether you will admit it or not, the government run schools are more and more proclaiming with their rules that Christianity is not welcome here. You can say one thing but the rules are saying it louder than ever before. I never remember creation even being touched on as a viable alternative to the “time plus slime equals you” THEORY of evolution when I was a student. Some would say, “Well of course not, it’s not a Christian school.” and therein is the rub. I’m not asking Satan to preach the gospel here but some objectivity would at least be nice.

Never are kids taught evolution is an unverifiable theory. Never are they taught the thin-as-straw arguments for it’s reality. In public school, evolution is the gospel and everyone must get in line, Christians and unbelievers alike. If you don’t believe that, tell little Johnny or Susie in 8th grade biology that they are more than welcome to answer “God created the Heavens and the Earth” on their test and see how it turns out. We all know what would happen. Time (and room) did not permit me to share an awesome poem discussing a group of monkeys’ disgust at being labelled what we humans came from, but the last two lines of it are priceless…

Christian parents, I want to level with you as a parent myself. I’m praying for my boys to become mighty champions for Christ. I want to invest in them and give them every possible advantage in achieving that goal. I’m hoping they accomplish exponentially more for the kingdom than even their parents or grandparents. I firmly believe protecting them (yes I said protecting them) in a Christian environment during their formative, younger years is going to tremendously assist them and build them into what I envision they will become for our Lord and Savior.

I am not a snob. I’m not someone who looks down on those who allow their kids to be educated in a public school environment. I understand to put your child in a Christian school means you would have paid for their education twice; once in taxes and again in tuition fees. I understand this to the nth degree. There is a greater cost associated with placing your child in a Christian school. But from one Christian to another, I urge you to not so much look at the cost but rather look at the investment.

If you are a likeminded parent and feel the position I’ve taken concerning Christian schools is a great point, please feel free to contact us here at the Academy and we would be thrilled to have your child become a “Pathway Kid” for the 2017-2018 school year. If you have been challenged to at least reconsider your position on the whole “public school – private school” debate, I’m honored to have a part to play in that. We would also love to talk with you because you wouldn’t believe how affordable Pathway Christian Academy’s tuition rates are! If you totally disagree with me, first of all pray for me, then remember at the beginning I stated I wanted to understand and to be understood. Maybe we can chat further about your disagreements at another time.

Ultimately, we (like you) want what’s best for your kids. With a little godly passion and jealousy for Him, I want your kids to be with us. I hope you understand.

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