Dr. Ken Smitherman
President of ACSI (retired 2009)
If you asked any 10 different people to define Christian schooling, there is a good chance there would be a vast disparity in the definitions. One position that is often strongly accepted is that you do not have a Christian school if you enroll non-Christian students.
ACSI holds the following position: A Christian school is not so defined as an institution by the students it enrolls but rather by the fact that it is governed by appropriately selected individuals and administered by qualified educators who lead a faculty and staff of prepared and qualified individuals, all of whom embrace and implement the school’s biblical philosophy of education.
Choosing to assimilate children who are not believers or who are parented by nonbelievers does not make the school any less Christian.
Choosing to assimilate children who are not believers or who are parented by nonbelievers does not make the school any less Christian. Doing this does, however, call for clearly articulating thoughtfully and prayerfully developed strategies when welcoming nonbelievers into the school. Just as one does not build a beautiful home solely because the decision was made to build such a home, one does not effectively assimilate spiritually divergent children into the Christian school simply because the decision was made to do so.
I am convinced that there may be no greater opportunity to change lives—both for the sake of Christ and for every aspect of culture—than that which can be implemented through effective Christian schooling. When thoughtful and prayerful consideration is given to how these children will be served, to what preparation is needed by those who will be serving, and to how this ministry will be communicated to the school’s constituency, the groundwork has been laid for effective spiritual assimilation.
The Meantime Volume 6 Number 2