A Model for Christian Education That Works

Christian schools in the United States have experienced some hard times over the past 25 years.  As conservative, Evangelical churches and denominations, which are the largest single constituency for independent Christian schools, have experienced steep declines in attendance and membership, especially among younger families with school-aged children, Christian schools feel the pinch in smaller enrollments, tighter budgets and in many cases, schools have been unable to continue operations, and have closed.  At one point, prior to the pandemic, ACSI reported more than 300 schools across the country closed each year.  

MCA has been around since 1956.  It was founded during a time when the congregation at Midwest Bible Church was very involved in a youth outreach, with a pastor who was one of the founders of Youth for Christ, and just a few years after they had established the Phantom Ranch Bible Camp.  The school has survived during the ebb and flow of demographic change in the neighborhood, adjusting it's vision for the future to meet the needs of families and students while maintaining a strong mission and purpose.  

At one point, the vision led to opening and operating a high school, ninth through twelfth grade, which operated for more than a dozen years in the 70's and 80's.  We've heard from many graduates who were here during that time about what MCA was like during those years.  Changes in the needs of families led to the school going back to its grade school format, with Pre-kindergarten becoming an option, so a three's and four's "junior kindergarten," still part of the school, was added. 

The school has also gone through times when possible closure was considered, due to declines in enrollment and a very tight operating budget.  The most recent valley that the school experienced had the potential to cause its closure, had things not turned around in a reasonable amount of time.  Adding to some of the difficulties was the viral pandemic that sent us online to close out the 2020 school year.  But God clearly intended for the school to continue its ministry and he kept the vision for providing it alive in the school community and in the church,  

What a Church-School Relationship Should Look Like 

The vision for Christian school ministry has always been a part of Midwest Bible Church, even though the congregation, too, has experienced change over the years, due to the demographics of the surrounding neighborhood.  Many Christian schools have been started by churches, and many others lease the facilities of churches to provide the necessary classroom space.  But considering a Christian school as a discipleship ministry of the church to young people is not as common as one might think. 

In this church-school relationship, which goes back to 1956, the one constant has been the connection between the school and church as a ministry.  And that model involves more than just tenancy in the building and a financial arrangement.  It involves a mutually supportive relationship, the primary part of that being dependence on the leadership of the Holy Spirit to provide unity in vision, mission and purpose.  

It is, in fact, consistent with the Biblical function of a Christian church to operate a school ministry, provided the school is actually a ministry of the church.  Churches have specific ministry functions in their mission, including worship, education and discipleship, evangelism and missions, ministry and fellowship.  Establishing a school is primarily a discipleship ministry, because of the Bible teaching opportunities that a school provides.  But there is also the possibility of extending the ministry of the church to school families and of course, there is also evangelism ministry that can take place, too.. 

Factors in MCA's Recent Recovery 

Of course, discerning and following the will of God is the key to revival of any kind of ministry.  There are, however, several key factors in the relationship between MCA and MBC that assured its recovery from a deep valley, rather than becoming yet another statistic in the closure of Christian schools saga. 

The church provided prayer and spiritual support, and also contributed the financial support necessary to sustain the school's expenses when money became scarce.  They had already invested over $350,000 in the renovation of two of the buildings on the property, and in addition to this, they provided funds when the school's budget receipts fell short of expenses.  We use the facility lease-free, which is a huge contribution of support to our families in the lower tuition rate that it produces.  Members of the church are consistent donors, and the church's alignment with the school's ministry vision has allowed for projects like the playground and gym renovation, which involve changes to facilities owned by the church.  Their response has always been, "What's best for the school?" not "what's best for us."  

Most of our parents probably couldn't tell you anything about school accreditation.  But MCA's recognition as a school of quality is part of that process.  During the past five years, we have established the credibility of our academic excellence with a developed set of curriculum standards that inspire and encourage achievement well beyond grade level expectations and state standards.  Our achievement test scores are evidence of the excellence of the academics in our classrooms.  We have stabilized our staff, with a very low turnover rate, and we have achieved an enrollment return rate of over 90%.  Trust has been restored in the school and its leadership, and as improvements can be made, they are made.  

We are financially stable, and had the resources to give our teachers a much deserved raise this year, for the first time in a while.  We've had people express confidence in the school by giving money which we have used to renovate our gym, install a much-needed playground and we have equipped our classrooms with useful technology and our students with laptops and tablets for classroom use.  

The relationship between the church and the school as a ministry is what Christian school education should be all about.  We are a ministry that assists the church by performing one of its assigned biblical functions and in teaching our students, one of our purposes is to support and undergird the work of their local church.  One of our expected student outcomes is to lead students to see their active engagement in the ministry of a local church, whether they are called to serve as pastoral staff, or whether they are laypersons.  

Hope for the Future

I wish more churches and church leaders had an understanding of the value of Christian schools to their ministry and their continued existence.  Not only are Christian schools a primary source of future church leaders, who will be thoroughly trained in the scripture, and understand the importance of the church as a body of believers, but we help students understand all of the functions of the church, their spiritual gifts and how they will fit into the ministry of a local body of Christ.  Our ministries go hand in hand.  It would be wonderful to see more churches decide that one of the best uses they could find for their facilities is to have a Christian school using them rather than sitting empty all week.