Christian Education

God has given me many gifts in my life for which I am thankful. I have great parents that love me and love the Lord. I have a wonderful wife that loves and spoils me. Also, I have a tremendous church full of people that God so graciously has allowed me to serve as pastor. Now, the Bible says in Luke 12:48, "...For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required," so with each of these wonderful gifts, there comes great responsibility. None of these carry a greater responsibility than, however, the gift of children that God bestowed upon my wife and I some 15 years ago!!! Since learning of that first little baby in the womb, we began to pray about fulfilling the Biblical command to "train up a child in the way he should go," in hopes of seeing the end of the verse, "...and when he is old, he will not depart from it," come to fruition.

In 2017, it has become more and more clear that for a parent to truly do this, they are probably not going to be able to trust the public school system. In the last few decades, the infiltration of relativism (the idea that there are no absolute truths...all truth is relative) and humanism have so eroded the education system that it has become more of a place of indoctrination than a place of education. Just this past week I read an email about the Charlotte Mecklenburg school district pushing the use of a book called, "Jacob's New Dress" in all of their FIRST GRADE classes in order to try and promote acceptance and to prevent what they call "gender-based harassment." The left-wing activists understand that the way to change a nation is through the education of its children. Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Lenin was quoted as saying, "Give me one generation of youth, and I'll transform the world." If these men understood the power and influence of our children's education, we can be certain that Satan understands it, and will do all he can to pervert and purge all truth from the curriculums of the educational world.

This is why our Christian school is such a blessing to me and my family. Although it may not have all of the technological advancements or academic variety and opportunity as a large public school, I cannot thank God enough for giving us a place to send our children where they will be taught and have modeled before them, the truths of the Word of God. I wouldn't trade anything for the Bible-based world view that is being taught to my kids from this place. I literally thank God almost daily for our school, and am working with our teachers and staff regularly to continue to make it all that God wants it to be. With that being said, faults and all, I truly believe that having access to a Christian education has been one of the greatest tools God has given my wife and I to help us raise our children in "...the nurture and admonition of the Lord," which is another command given us in Ephesians 6:4.

Pray for the school, our staff, our students, and for God's Holy Spirit to be present and preeminent inside its walls.

Thanks for your time, and God Bless!!!

Article by

TONY SHIRLEY

Pastor of New Manna Baptist

Church | Administrator of

New Manna Christian School