What’s So Special About Christian Education?

What’s So Special About Christian Education? 

Discipleship. Lifelong discipleship. This week I attended the memorial service for my junior high math and English teacher, Mrs. Marilyn (Sundquist) Snyder. She is the one who introduced me to the fascinating and logical (yes, really!) world of English grammar. In addition, as some of the poems and prose she wrote were shared, I realized that she was probably the teacher who planted the seed of appreciation for poetry and good writing in me. More than Mrs. Snyder’s English skills, what captured me was her commitment to her faith all the way to the end of her 97 years. Her family shared that during the last weeks of her life, she was concerned that her grandchildren and great grandchildren knew Jesus, and she attended church as often as she could even in recent months. I thought, "If I live to be 97, I want the stories about me to reflect that faithfulness she exhibited.” Mrs. Snyder’s steady desire to grow as a disciple of Jesus through all her years discipled me as I sat listening to stories about her life.  

Some of my current and future students were also in attendance at the memorial service. On one hand, these children are indirectly recipients of the legacy Mrs. Snyder left. On the other hand, I realized the overwhelming responsibility that I have to be faithful to the faith they know I claim. Any one of them may be sitting in a memorial service for me someday. Will the things that they hear then match the person that they perceive their teacher to be today? Will the legacy that I leave to them be one of faithfully following Christ? Of course, I attempt to teach them to appreciate English, but will my life’s story inspire them to serve God? 

What’s so special about Christian education? Christian school teachers have the opportunity to do so much more than equipping students to write or recite. We are building relationships of love and trust that provide opportunities for discipleship now. We are also connecting with students, some of whom, as fellow members of the body of Christ, will be part of our lives well into their futures. This opportunity transcends the classroom and allows for lifelong relationships. Christian school teachers disciple today and tomorrow.