It’s great to desire your kids to be a light for Christ, we desire that too.

Whether you are homeschooling or not this topic is vital for you to be educated on. It is too easy to be persuaded one way or the other without fully thinking it through for yourself.

We are going to take this topic very sensitively and we hope you keep an open mind as we go through it.

We are going to be sharing our convictions based on our experiences and research.

Here are the four spiritual reasons people are placing their kids in public and private school:

1. Be the Salt and light

2. The Great commission

3. In the world but not of the world

4. Be relevant

We don’t believe that any of these are good reasons as the purpose to put them into public or private school.

If you disagree with us, that’s okay.

You will be reaping what you sow as a parent. Also, we as parents are held accountable for the decisions that we make.

It doesn’t mean there aren’t unique situations that God has used for His glory.

Angie shares her story of being brought up in public school (Listen to episode)

Sometimes there are other good reasons to put your kids in public or private school like a single mom that needs to work for example.

We don’t have to agree on everything, we can be adults and respect each other even when we disagree.

1. Salt and Light

• If they are going to be salty we are assuming that they have already been discipled
• They know how to answer questions, are versed in the word of God
• If we have a Biblical perspective of humanity then we believe what God’s word said that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.
• The truth is that unless we have been discipling our children they aren’t salty and able to be an effective light.
• Just because one kid is strong doesn’t mean your others are prepared to be a light
• Sometimes we forget what we have and haven’t taught our kids, especially the younger ones.
• It’s important to be fair as a parent and not discipline for something we haven’t created a proper expectation for.
• Jesus is the ultimate example of discipling others. He discipled adults and walked together for three years. They didn’t have the folly of a child.
• He didn’t send them out alone, they went two by two.
• There is power in numbers, which is why we are part of a body of Christ.
• How can we justify sending out a six-year-old by themselves?
• It takes longer than three years with children, it takes a lot of time to disciple kids.
• It is an ongoing rhythm of day by day discipleship in the small and large moments over a long period of time.
• If we put our kids out into the world prematurely they can become saltless
• The enemy doesn’t want your kids to stay strong because there’s an opportunity to kill an entire legacy.
• We are the authorized leaders to disciple and train up our kids by God. We must stay the most important influence in their lives
• Don’t underestimate your role as parents.
• We as parents are responsible for filling up our kids so they can pour out to others.
• You better be filling them up if you are going to send them out. It’s unfair to expect a child to be disciple-making if they don’t know the word of God.

2. The Great Commission

• Being a light is different from the great commission.
• The bible says that if you put a light on a lampstand it will bring light to the whole room, so being a light can simply be the way we live our lives.
• The great commission is a slightly different thing than being a light.
• 1 Peter 25 says that the word of god is spiritual milk and children need it to grow into maturity.
• 1 peter 25 also says to put aside hypocrisy and there is hypocrisy in the education system.
• If your kids are being educated by hypocrites then they are not putting aside all hypocrisy.
• If you put your kids in school you are telling them to listen carefully, obey, trust, take notes, remember so you get good grades and follow the examples of the teachers and authorities in the school.
• Can you say these things to your kids with confidence about their teachers and school authorities?
• Matthew 28:18 says Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
• If you say that you are fulfilling the great commission by putting your kids in school then you are saying that your kids are making disciples, baptizing (have you ever seen a 4-year-old baptize someone?), and teaching others to observe all of gods commandments (can an 8 year old remember all of the things God has Commanded?)
• Are your children able to do this? Do your children have the confidence and maturity to do this?
• If you want your kids to be able to disciple then they need to have seen and experienced it themselves.
• Do you have expectations for your child in regards to the great commission that you do not live up to as an adult?
• It sounds good and spiritual to say that you are sending your kids into school to evangelize and fulfill the great commission but then on your end are you evangelizing to your neighbors or the people you work with and interact with throughout your life.
• Angie shares her experiences with most older women feeling like they do not know how to fulfill the great commission (listen to the episode)
• If older generations are feeling unable to fulfill the great commission then how much more do parents today not understand how to?
• If parents do not know how to disciple their kids then how are we supposed to expect children to do it?
• Children need to have the confidence to share the truth
• Part of sharing the truth is talking about sin and hell and are your kids confident enough to talk to their peers about those things? Are you confident yourself to talk about those things?
• Are you picking up your kids from school and saying “who did you share the gospel to today? Who did you minister to today?”
• No one needs a savior unless they believe that sin exists and that they have sinned.
• We have to prepare our children with the truth found in the word.

3. In the world but not of the world

• We are to be in the world and not of the world.
• John 17:14-17 talks about the world hating those who believe the word of God.
• So, if your children are believing the word of God then the people who don’t believe are supposed to hate them
• Do we want to send our kids (young or old) that are fragile in their faith, who are still figuring out how to own their faith which could still potentially be mom and dads faith at this point, do we want to put those kids among a bunch of people who are going to hate them?
• Just because you homeschool doesn’t mean you are not in the world, it just means that you are protecting your children from the world and the evil one.
• Are our kids being sanctified by the truth of the bible on a daily basis or are they being washed with false doctrines because they are spending 40 hours a week 6-7 hours a day in a school setting where they are being taught the opposite of what the bible says and then they come home and they are tired when you are trying to correct what they learned earlier that day?
• The point of them going to school is to be educated, and if that is the point (which it is) then why would we want to put an extra burden on them when they are trying to learn?
• Think about the confusion: “go sit down in class, pay attention, take notes, remember, learn. And then when you come home you are going to tell me everything you learned so that I can correct it and tell you the truth.”
• How can you be in the world if you don’t go to school? Well, what about sports, music lessons, friendships, going to the store, neighborhood, etc.
• It’s important to teach your kids about what is happening in the world because if they don’t know what is happening then they can’t know how to stand up against the evil and deception of the world and they won’t be able to protect themselves.
• Romans 12 the will of God, be transformed by the renewal of your mind, think soberly
• Angie and Isaac share about a surprising experience one of their children had with kids who were proclaiming to be Christians but were living contrary to what they were saying. (listen to the episode)
• Do you want your kids to look like the world?
• Do you want them swearing, do you want them to look at the wrong things, do you want them to have worldly attitudes? Or do you want them to have the heart of God?
• Do you want your kids to be relevant to foolishness?
• There are better ways to equip your kids to be relevant in the world.
• 63% percent of teenaged Christians don’t believe that Jesus is the son of God.
• 51% don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead
• 68% don’t believe that the holy spirit is a real entity
• Only 33% of Christian kids say that God will play a part in their lives after they leave home.
• If they resist authority when they are young then how are they going to submit to Gods authority when they are older.

Scripture in this episode

John 13:35 – “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Proverbs 22:15 – “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of correction will drive it far from him.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 – “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”

Matthew 5:13 – “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

Philippians 2:12 – “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;”

1 Peter 1:25 – “But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.”

Matthew 28:18 – “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

John 17:14-17 – “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

Romans 12:1-3 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Colossians 2:8 – “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

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