I didn't go to a Christian school, but there was an active scripture presence in the school, and nearby there were a number of Catholic, Anglican and independent Christian schools.
Furthermore, I've be attached to numerous public and private high schools while I was a youth minister. In some cases, these were schools connected to my denomination.
A few weeks ago I heard a scripture teacher from the local high school, the one I attended, speak in a church service.
Amongst other things, prompted by a question, he mentioned the role of Christians within public schools.
In his response he said, while the local public school is a rich ministry field, a part of the reason is the Christian drain which occurs due to religious schools.
Without doubt, religious schools serve an important communal, educational and spiritual purpose, but it can come at a cost to the public system.
With the vast majority of Christians withdrawn from the public system, where does this leave the Christian presence in, primarily secular, state schools, especially peer-to-peer?
One inadvertent effect of this funnelling, with the Christians in their own special conclave, is it gives the appearance that their are far fewer believers than is actually the case.
Additionally, it isolates any new believers or genuine enquirers who might emerge through the scripture programs.
So... Does the heartfelt desire to cater, or even worse, shelter your child from public education hurt the wider Christian witness?
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