“Where will the light be if all the godly kids are pulled out of public schools?”
That question seemed to settle the argument. An old friend from college had responded to a comment I made that it is unwise to place children in an environment that teaches a humanist, anti-biblical worldview for 30 hours a week.
She seemed to agree that the public school system today is a rather ungodly one, but then asked the loaded question above.
It is one that many Christians have wrestled with over the past several years, as American schools continue to deteriorate both in morals and academics. In 2002 the Southern Baptist Convention, even armed with the research saying that 70-75% of Christian youth leave the church after high school, couldn’t put the question to rest.
But perhaps we are trying to settle the wrong question.
Instead of asking, “where will the light be if all the godly kids are pulled out of public schools?”, we should be more concerned with where the light inside of godly kids will go if they are not.
Matthew 5:13-16 does not say go be salt and light. It says we are salt and light. Jesus warned that we must be careful not to lose our saltiness and therefore become useless. In order to maintain a witness, Christians must also be set apart and distinct like a light on a hill.
Children by their very nature are extremely vulnerable to influence, both from their peers and from adults. Considering the toxic nature of the public school, their light and “saltiness” are threatened with being extinguished and ruined.
Immersed in an environment that trains children in a secular humanist worldview for 14,000 hours over 12 years, it is highly likely they will be converted the other way. Secular Humanists understand correctly that the culture war will be won through education: “Education is the most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American public school is a school of Humanism”, wrote Charles Potter, the author of Humanism: A New Religion.
1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “do not be deceived: bad company corrupts good morals”. If fully mature believers are in danger of being corrupted by others’ bad influence, how can we expect highly impressionable children to escape the same outcome?
Kids aren’t small adults. They can’t filter out hyperbole and half-truths like grownups can. They are not capable of rejecting anti-biblical notions on their own, because they haven’t developed critical thinking skills yet.
The Old Testament is filled with case studies of what happens when God’s people surround themselves with a pagan culture. Over and over again, they are corrupted by the culture’s idol worshipping practices. How is it that we expect something different for kids whose faith, not to mention brains, are still developing?
Now while it is certainly true that the Spirit acts as our children’s protector, this protection is not an excuse to be foolish and irresponsible. In the desert Satan tempted Jesus with throwing Himself down off the pinnacle of the temple, because “He will command His angels concerning you’; and ‘on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
Did Jesus do what the devil said? Of course not! He answered him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.’ ” (Matthew 4:7, NASB)Â We focus so much on the fact that Jesus is our Shepherd that we forget He is also the Lord whom we must submit to.
The public school isn’t the only place where our children will run into the lost. They can still shine the light of Jesus out in their communities at the store, in restaurants, at the playground, and during extracurricular activities.
Families can be salt & light to others together, instead of being separated from one another for most of their waking hours during the week.
If you want missionary opportunities for your children, volunteer at a hospital. Take meals to your elderly neighbor. Organize a clothing drive. Serve at a soup kitchen.
The Book of Acts gives us example upon example of houses converted to Christianity. The parents, usually the father, became disciples first and then led the rest of their household to Christ. In not one instance is the child proselytized against the wishes of the parent, and children are never the focus of a conversion campaign.
I get that reaching kids with ideas while they are separated from the authority of their parents is a way in which Christians attempt to redeem compulsory education, but doing so is a direct affront to the institution of the family that God designed. What many fail to realize is, humanists are taking the same advantage of this absence of parents- and getting much better results!
Claiming to serve the Lord and then sending our kids off to schools where He is not plainly, fully, and publicly honored is a disaster waiting to happen.
There is a big difference in sending fully trained disciples into enemy territory and sending recruits to our enemy’s training camp. If we do the latter, we should not be at all surprised when they come home waving the enemy’s flag.
For more information on the topic of Christians in the public schools, check out Bucking The System: Reclaiming Our Children’s Minds For Christ. Â 
Marisa, thanks for this post. It is hard-hitting and insightful. I agree with you about the inconsistencies in the arguments for sending children out to public schools to be light. I will never forget a seasoned homeschool mom I know sharing a scripture from Exodus about God leading the Isrealites the long way around an area because leading them through that area would have meant battle against an enemy nation God said they were not ready to face yet. I think of our young children in the same way. Yes, homeschooling can be demanding and inconvenient (the long way around) but I know my children need time to be nurtured, discipled, and matured before fighting battles against the darkness in the world all day, every day. Blessings!
That is a wonderful illustration, Yvette! Our children’s hearts need to be greenhoused, so to speak, before they’re uprooted and sent out into the world. You are absolutely right that homeschooling is the “long way around”, but it is so worth it! 🙂
I appreciate your points – we educated our children at home, after much prayer and searching, so I’m in agreement.
When we first started homeschooling, nobody in our circle of friends were doing this. Most of our contemporaries and church family hadn’t even heard of homeschooling. I had to do a lot of educating along the way. It felt like an uphill battle everytime we were at a store’s checkout counter during the week and the kids were asked why they weren’t in school!
Each of our children attend grade 9 because they wanted to “try out” the school system. It didn’t harm them (all thanks and glory to God) and both chose to return to home education to finish high school. They did go to college and complete their degrees, so their opportunity to live their Christian beliefs happened later in their teens. (They started college courses at 16 & 17.) They’re adults now and one is a parent – they’re continuing to serve the Lord and I’m so thankful. Did my decision to teach them at home have a part in that? Maybe. Or perhaps it was following what God wanted for our children that makes all the difference….
Every parent needs to ask the Lord what HE wants for the children given to us. As much as I agree with every point you’ve made, we need to seek His counsel first, before moving forward. And we need to affirm the parents who, after seeking God’s will, take one direction or the other.
I don’t have an opinion regarding homeschooling, for or against. My decision to put my children in public school has only to do with the fact that I wouldn’t make a great home-schooling mom. I’m not wired to spend hours a day with my kids. I need a lot of alone time to calm my anxieties and get rebooted to spend time with people, especially talkative little ones. Some days after school – helping my kids with homework, chores, instruments – are better and more fruitful, more engaged than others. I call out a lot to God for his grace to cover over my imperfections.
I don’t, on the flip-side, reason that they are lights in a dark place at school. That’s so much of a burden for them to bear. Although they are – a light. After the shooting at Bataclan, my 7-year old shared with his class (encouraged, or at least allowed by his teacher) that we need not be afraid because there is heaven, and that’s where Jesus is. In this secular country, many of the kids didn’t even know who Jesus was and my son had to explain.
Our instructions on faith blanket their school experience. It’s constant. It’s in our prayers before meals, mom and dad’s prayers each night before we go to sleep where the kids know to give us space, prayers with our kids to manage particular worries, teaching them to have quiet times, our family devotionals (not as regular as we would like). It’s in our Friday night Bible discussions (where school mates sometimes attend with their parents), and Sunday church. It’s in their kids class ministries and church pre-teen camps. Their interactions at school are set against the backdrop of scripture and we examine together how they can react in a way that’s like Jesus.
All that to say that God’s grace covers over our efforts to love and raise our children in the ultimate hope and desire they will become disciples of Christ. Those whose conviction and strengths allow them to homeschool will do so with God’s blessing, I believe, but he is also present for those of us who choose to send our kids to public school – and still fully hope and aim to raise children who will love God more than the world. Our church has a high conversion rate for children becoming disciples. It’s not perfect, obviously, but it’s high. And it doesn’t have a high rate of home-schoolers, especially in the big city churches I attend. I think the success is due to good biblical teaching, and also kids seeing parents and other friends who are putting the Bible into practice. This is a wordy response, I know, but I want to put forth the idea that “sending kids to a public school as a recipe for disaster” in such black and white terms is also putting God in a box.
Thank you for your thoughtful response, Jennie! I loved reading about your son’s testimony in his classroom. Many of my friends either have children in the public school or teach there, and I know there are positive outcomes.
I believe, however, that God has given us clear instructions for how to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Giving them a completely secularized education that teaches exactly the opposite would contradict this command and our responsibility as parents.
He has also not given us children without equipping us for every good work, including education. I don’t homeschool because I’m super mom, or love spending every single minute of every day with my kids. I’ve learned to depend on God for strength, patience, and grace as I live out my life in front of them. Seriously, if I can homeschool anybody can! 🙂
This is good information and I agree with a lot of it but some people, including myself, due to circumstances cannot afford private schools or homeschooling. I’m a single mom with four kids and I have no other choice but to put my kids in public school. I’m trying to do the best that I can with my situation. My kids are good kids who are strong in their faith. They recently all made the decision to get baptized at our church. They have been telling their friends and now some of their friends want to come to church with us. I pray that God provides me with the heart, skills, and knowledge to raise godly children who turn into godly adults. I pray for my amazing kids daily. I just wanted to share my story so that other parents out there who have to put their children in public schools do not feel bad. You can still raise a godly family! ???
In response to Jennie: I, too, am that mom. Amazingly, however, I homeschool. I agree. It is tough. I do miss work sometimes.
I know this is an old post and comment, so I thought I’d share a few practical ways in which I combat this. First, I have a part-time job that I only work a couple of nights outside the home. That gives me the ability to feel fulfilled in something other than mothering. Second, I don’t go with my kids to their extracurricular activities in the evenings which I don’t work. They have a church club, sports, and art activities that they attend without Mom. I drop them off and then go read a book or have coffee and think. It helps me to recharge and they get to exercise their independence, too. Finally, something that I recognize not all families can do depending on where they live, my kids play outside alone in our fenced yard. I remember great times playing outside alone from as young as 3! So, they get that for “recess”, and I get time to do the dishes without interruption.
It certainly is a challenge, but if you pray and ask God for help in finding ways to allow your introvert self time to adjust, He will help you, I think.
To Natalie, I always have to pray for single moms. I have absolutely no idea how you all do it and I find it very impressive when women have such strength and ability to juggle all the roles a single working mother does. I definitely don’t think every family is able to homeschool- I think many use excuses who are able to and don’t want to, but in your case I really don’t think you are able. In cases like those, I think you can rest in the knowledge that Jesus knows exactly what you are dealing with and He is there for your kids in such a hostile environment!
Our family has done Christian school, homeschool, and public school. I am an educator in a hybrid school, where homeschoolers come a few times a week. My husband and I can afford Christian education for our Children but have chosen to put them in public school for the very reason you are saying NOT to put them in school. I am active, like SUPER active in our public school. I am the class mom, the volunteer, I write encouragement notes to the teachers, I pray for the staff and teachers too. I am not saying this to say “look at me”…I am saying this because I am the parent, and I am still raising my kids and training them….this has been the same in Christian and public school. Many of the students in Christian schools, and homeschool co-ops do not know Christ either…what a great opportunity there too!! 🙂 I think this is an opportunity to look at parenting more than what school you will choose to send your kid to…if God has given you peace about any of them and you are coming alongside your kids and pointing them to Jesus you haven’t failed them…even if they do turn away from the Lord in older years. His Word (your investment in teaching them the Word) will not return void…Scripture promises that! We have been blessed all 3 years to have great teachers at our public school too. I am all for homeschooling (i see many of the benefits) if this is where God has you, but if it isn’t God is BIG and you can still choose to be an awesome parent and have awesome conversations about their faith! My boys DO share their faith with friends at school…I am glad that God has us there 🙂
Bravo! By the grace of God I came out of public school never doing bad things or getting into trouble. Like you said kids are easily influenced and it’s hard when they are immersed in the world not even given time to prepare for battle. To me its like taking someone who has never served in battle and throwing them in there with out any tools.
I’m sharing this!
Great analogy, Hyla! We can’t rightly expect our kids to defend their faith when they’ve been given little preparation. They need many years of training in handling and applying the Word of God first, so they are well equipped to deal with the challenges our culture presents to the faith. Thank you for sharing this post with others! 🙂
I also came from the public school system and have never done any bad things or gotten in to trouble. The experience of public school has cemented my decision to homeschool and my 5 year old is finishing kindergarten and will be starting 1st grade in the fall.
I don’t think you are you are giving children enough credit, I would often tell my teachers that they were wrong about things and would share my faith with other pupils. I would talk to my parents about things and knew what was real and what wasn’t. I remember my dad quite clearly telling me that teachers don’t know every thing, and that they were wrong about certain things, yeah, I knew the answers to right for a test, but I also knew what I believed.
Also one thing my dad told me is that he really had to trust God with me and my brother, he’s a vicar and choose to minister in some really tough places. (Areas where another vicar had been stabbed on the doorstep several years previous and where all vicarages were installed with cctv as a needed precaution) any way he said even though it was hard he had to trust God, and that God didn’t just call him to a place but the whole family.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Ally. I’m glad you had a good schooling experience growing up. We should be careful, however, not to place our own individual experiences above God’s Word. The Bible gives parents clear instructions how to raise and educate their children, as well as example after example of what happens when His people surround themselves with a pagan culture. The results were never positive. Today’s education system in America, with its largely pagan philosophies, has a huge impact on shaping the worldview of students. Kids often spend more waking hours at school than at home, too. Just to be generous, if parents spend 30 minutes a day year-round teaching their child from the Bible, plus the child receives 1 hour per week in Sunday school, that would only equal 2,366 hours to try to counteract the 14,000 which they spend in a secular school.
Many children also have their faith challenged there before they are ready to defend it. As parents we need to take the statistics seriously that over 50% of young people walk away from the faith when they leave home. We have to consider the input of steady secular values and ideologies into their heads over the course of 12 years. There are no guarantees of course, but if we are intentional about building a strong biblical worldview foundation and preparing our kids to defend their beliefs at home, before they are thoroughly immersed in a toxic student culture, they have a much better chance of keeping their faith.
I believe it’s a bit harsh to call the public school the enemy’s training camp when there are Christian teachers in there teaching. I’m fine with homeschooling but let’s not demonize every person involved. There are good Christian students and good Christian teachers who are preaching the Gospel in spite of what the department of education is sending down the pipe. I’m not saying you have to send your “trainee” in, but let’s not leave them on the battlefield and call them defectors.
I don’t home school, but as a homeschool mother who is obviously passionate for it, are there any ideas that you have that Christians, who are part of the church, can help those Christians in the public schools? Or do you believe that the public school venue is off limits and should be left to the Dept.of Ed.? I’m trying to work through this in my community currently so you help and candor will be appreciated.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Adam. You are right that there are good Christian teachers in the public schools. Several of my friends are those teachers. However, many say they themselves will homeschool when their kids are school-aged because they don’t want to subject them to a place that is rife with immorality, and we live in one of the most conservative states in the country! While there are certainly fine individuals involved, the public school as a whole system is one that promotes anti-biblical agendas without apology.
Education cannot be neutral, and by its very nature must encompass a worldview. It will either be God’s worldview, or man’s worldview. The public school teaches or “trains” from a secular humanist worldview, which to the Christian, is a false religion (anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God) they should be extremely wary about placing their children under. The problem is that many of the real people involved in educating our children aren’t really aware of what is happening. Most of them sincerely have the children’s best interests in mind, and that makes us feel safe. They’ve been taught from a humanistic worldview, and they don’t know that NOT teaching from a Christian worldview is synonymous with teaching humanism.
That being said, I believe Christian adults can have a role in reaching out to the lost in these schools. Obviously one way is to teach. Another would be to become a chaplain for a sports team, if it’s allowed. One of our pastors is the chaplain for our town’s high school football team and hosts a dinner for the players every Friday before the game. Our church has a ministry to one of the elementary schools where people can sign up to be tutors for students. It also distributes prayer grams to all of the teachers and serves them lunch once a quarter at a special function. Lastly, we can be involved on a school board and make our voices heard at the local level.
I wish I were on facebook still so I could share this post. I don’t typically try to “convert” people to homeschool. I feel that is between them and God. However, it does frustrate me when people attempt to say homeschoolers are sheltering their kids or that it’s wrong somehow to homeschool. I get a lot of Christians who respond poorly to our choice to homeschool as if we are damaging our children by not allowing them in school. They believe schools would be better served if more Christian kids were in them. Except, throughout history, more Christian kids WERE in public school and look where we are now. That’s not to say it’s the only factor leading to people leaving the faith, but I think it’s a poor argument to expect our kids to bear the brunt of converting an entire generation on their own when they are such immature Christians (if they have even truly accepted Christ yet at all) themselves.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, Sarah! It floors me that so many Christians still expect our kids to carry that burden of witnessing to other children in an environment that is blatantly anti-biblical. Most kids are woefully unprepared to defend their faith in such a place.
Another point to consider is that Jesus didn’t start his ministry until he was in his 30’s. Why are we sending our little ones into the mission field of public school and expecting more? I also know people who are very comfortable with their decision to send their kids to public school, so ultimately it really needs to be between that family and the Lord. We are only accountable for what we did as parents.
I just thought I would add my two cents here as I see there are a lot of home school moms on here commenting. God called my husband and I to put my children in public school for this very reason, to be salt. I know with two million percent certainty that is what God called us to do and why He called us to that. Your article is kind of unsettling to me because you are pretty much saying that God couldn’t possibly call parents to do that. God created this very universe with only His breath…I believe if He can do that, He most certainly can protect my children, send them to school with an army going before them. Our decision to send them there was reaffirmed countless times in hearing stories from teachers and others at the school. I cannot tell you how hard it was for me on a daily basis because there was so much judgement from other christian families. People should have been surrounding us and lifting us up in prayer. And instead they were judging us, how dare christian parents put their kids in that devil school. It was so hard for me to stay strong in what God called us to do. I cried daily as I watched my children walk into school. This last year, God called us to home school. So, now I have been on both sides of the coin. When I tell people we home school, I hear nothing but a bunch of bashing on public schools and how dare parents send their kids there….and I just wanted to add my two cents here because yes, GOD DOES CALL PARENTS TO PUT THEIR KIDS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL. He calls parents to home school. He calls parents to put their kids in public school. He calls parents to put their kids in private school (and why we are on that topic, the private school I went to was ten times more evil than the public school I went to. It was corrupt. My parents paid thousands upon thousands of dollars for me to go there and I got caught up in evil, worldly things while there). It’s all between ONLY those parents and God so why is it even anyone else’s business? If there are parents out there with their kids in public school, it is HARD way harder than home schooling. So, why can’t we surround them. Encourage them. Pray for them daily. Pray for their kids daily.
Hi Melissa, thank you for taking the time to read and add your “two cents”. I think you may be confusing God’s will with His ability. He can definitely work through any circumstance and situation, despite our own decisions. He would not, however, deliberately call parents to place their children in a school to be witnesses when He has specifically given the task of education to the parents (Exodus 20:12, Colossians 3:20, Deuteronomy 6:7, Ephesians 6:4).
God has already given us the principles we need to navigate this decision throughout His Word. Those principles state that the fundamental goal of education is to teach children through moral and intellectual instruction, not to provide missionaries to unbelievers. He assigns the role of educator to parents because He knows it is likely that young kids will be corrupted by worldly influences and end up apostasizing. And that is EXACTLY what has happened over the last 150 years in America.
Yes we are ultimately accountable to God for our individual decisions and shouldn’t be judging others’ parenting, but it is completely right to exhort one another to follow God’s commands.
Marisa, none of the verses you listed say anything about how parents are the only ones who should provide their children’s SCHOLASTIC education. The verses you referenced talk about how children should obey their parents and how parents should provide SPIRITUAL instruction for their children. It’s very clearly written in the Bible. I’m not sure how you have misconstrued these verses, other than just wanting it to work for your argument. But, you should be very careful not to claim something is written in God’s Word when it is not. I have nothing against homeschooling if it works for you. There is also nothing wrong with sending your child to a public school. Parents should do what they feel is best for their family.
Also, God very well may have called the other parents to place their children in public schools to be a light. We don’t suddenly become a mature Christian at age 18. We all mature at different paces. Maybe her children were equipped for a job he had for them at the public school. My 8 year old is way more spiritually mature than I was at her age and she is doing very well at public school. It is in no way your place to tell someone they have confused God’s ability for His will. You have no idea what He told them to do. It’s between them and God.
Hi Jamie, it’s true that these verses do not specifically mention secular education or schooling. However, ALL education is spiritual. We tend to divide things into “spiritual” and “secular” categories, but God doesn’t see it that way. Education involves so much more than just imparting knowledge; it involves the shaping of character and transmitting of values. It also, by definition, must encompass a worldview. The question is, will it be God’s or man’s? Every time you give someone advice, you are drawing upon your insight about how some aspect of the world works.
1 Corinthians 1:19-20 says, “There is no room for worldly wisdom that raises itself up against the knowledge of God.” Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom cannot co-exist. One will inevitably dominate the other. Our children’s schooling works the same way. History, math, science, nature, art, literature, and music, if not taught through the lens of Scripture, is anti-biblical.
We’re also commanded in Scripture to bring up our children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). That word “admonition” in the original Greek is “paideia”, which the Greeks used to describe all facets of education. In other words, God’s Word is to be a part of all aspects of raising children, schooling being no exception!
I disagree with your article, in it, there’s a premise that Christian homeschooling parents will raise up their kids in the instruction of the Lord and that is not necessarily true. You can have a homeschooling parent as well as a public school parent and neither one leads their children to the Lord and then you can have both kind of parents that lead their children to Him. Whether my children were in public school or whether they were homeschooled I made sure that they were being raised not only in the instruction of the Lord but to know his heart for them and for people. To show them His nature and his goodness that they would fall madly in love with Him just as He is in love with them. Whether they were being homeschooled or whether they went to public school, that they are light no matter where they are that they carry His presence with them that He will never leave them no matter where they find themselves. I want them to love Jesus and serve Him no matter where they are and Whether I choose homeschool or whether I choose public school that is a choice that I can freely make until he calls me to make one or the other and I believe He carries enough grace for us as parents and for our children. I am not against homeschool as a matter of fact I prefer it but not for the reasons you’ve Stated.
Just came across this website today. So much insight! I have homeschooled my kids since about 2010. My husband recently left our family and I continued homeschooling because my heart is for training and teaching my children. In the last few months I have wrestled much over what to do as far as my children’s education is concerned. We had to unexpectantly move from our home and I had no where to move to because each landlord was requiring proof of income and this single-homeschooling mom of 4 kids had no employment. I have had to think through things I have never had to think through before…my broken heart agrees with almost everything you have said about homeschooling but there is also the wisdom/discernment piece of it that says “I can’t keep borrowing money from family and friends.” I need to take responsibility for my family because no one else is. I’ve been broken and humbled through all this greatly and I pray we can be granted enough scholarship money for the kids to attend a private school but if not we have charter schools as an option. I love, love , love the encouragement from Deuteronomy 6:6 “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they sall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” I would say that if you are at all able to stay home with your kids all day, every day and teach them DO IT! First choice for sure! I know I am super grateful for the years I had with my kids! For reasons I cannot comprehend, God’s ways are so much higher than ours. I trust His sovereignty and trust that He will show me how to redeem those moments that I will still have with them outside of school, albeit less than before, but still teachable moments none-the-less!
My heart goes out to you, sweet mama. I can’t imagine how hard that must be. I’m praying that the foundation you laid down these last nine years will be a strong and secure footing for your children, should you have to put them in some type of public school. <3
Thank you for this post! I have a 2 year old and 4 year old and God willing they will never see the inside of a public school. I went to public school as child and I came out serving God. First it was the fear of God that kept me from doing anything that would dramatically alter my life and after I received the gift of the Holy Ghost (at 16) the love I had for God kept me the rest of the way through high school and college. If not for the baptism of the Holy Ghost I am fairly certain I would have given up on God.
Most people will completely disagree with you, but you are spot on!
I do feel for single mothers and fathers. I have heard of single parents homeschooling their children after they get off work but I know that must be really hard. Still it can be done.