Wake Christian Academy believes that Christian education is not merely the “plugging in” of Christian truths to an otherwise secular curriculum. Furthermore, we do not believe that there is a dichotomy of sacred and secular academics, extracurricular activities, and future careers. Rather, we acknowledge God as the divine creator and nothing exists that He has not made (Col. 1:16). Everything has been created for and through Jesus Christ and must be for His glory alone. One can only understand creation and our role in it through the revelation of God. Thus, it has rightly been said, “There can be no education apart from a Christian Education.”
God has chosen to reveal His character, attributes, and will to mankind by means of Special and General Revelation. General Revelation is seen in the way in which “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20). God has also chosen to reveal Himself through the Bible. The Bible is not just a collection of books; rather it is the very Words of God and is, therefore, a book of absolute truths. It is His means of special revelation to mankind.
In spite of the fact that God has clearly revealed Himself to mankind, all have continually rejected Him and His truths since the fall of man through the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (John 1:10, Romans 3:23). As a result, “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Therefore, we are all sinners both by our nature and by our choice.
Throughout time, God has continually revealed Himself to be a loving, holy, just, and sovereign God. As a result of His holy and just nature, He must punish the sinfulness of mankind. However, as a loving and sovereign God, He had a plan from the very foundations of the earth for the reconciliation of His creation. That plan was fulfilled in Christ Jesus, His one and only begotten son (John 3:16, 1 Peter 1:20-21). “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Just as sin reigned through Adam, grace reigns through Jesus for all those who trust in Him (1 Peter 2:6, Romans 10:11, Romans 5:5,21, Zephaniah 3:11, Joel 2:26-27, Isaiah 50:7, 49:23, 45:17).
The purpose of Christian Education is to assist the family and church in the ministry of reconciliation through instruction centered upon Jesus Christ and founded upon the absolute truths of His Word (II Corinthians 5:18).
The teacher plays an integral role in Christ-centered instruction. In his epistle, James teaches that the tongue is a powerful tool. He compares it to the bit in the mouth of the horse and the rudder on the ship. He demonstrates the power of the tongue to guide the body either toward heaven or hell. It is important to note that this popular chapter on the tongue is opened with the challenge, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1). Throughout the Scriptures, God uses teachers to instruct His people in following after His ways. Teachers are given the responsibility to search the Scriptures to discover the truths that God desires to be taught to His children. They are challenged to learn and apply the truths themselves and then instruct others through both words and actions.
The primary goal of the teacher is to lead the body in following Christ. This can only be done if the teacher is himself/herself following Christ and learning from Him. Effective teachers and staff members will be born again Christians who demonstrate a strong Christian testimony. They are active members of a Bible-believing church and are trained in the area that God has called them to teach. Like Paul, they will live in such a way that they too can challenge their students to “be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
The goal of Christian education is to provide a learning environment that consists of Christ-centered instruction and activities that will provide conditions whereby young people can receive the Truth. In John 8:32 Jesus stated, “And ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free.” The Scriptures also state that Jesus is “the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6) and “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col 1:17). Christ-centered education acknowledges that Jesus is the center of all that is. He is the Truth and only in Him can truth be found. Therefore, curriculum must be developed with Jesus Christ as its center. He must hold the curriculum together, and all truth must come from Him and lead to Him.
Throughout the Scriptures, parents are commanded to raise their children in the “discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). A Christ-centered school strives to assist the family and church in fulfilling this charge. The school cannot take the place of the parents or church in this calling and, therefore, cannot relieve them from their responsibilities. Rather, it serves as an extension of both in rearing future generations to be followers of Jesus, and be well prepared for the fulfillment of God’s desire for their lives.
