Christian schools must produce disciples, association director says

PLANO—“Kingdom education is about salvation. It’s about discipleship. It’s about bringing kids to Christ and equipping kids so they will go fulfill God’s will and bring honor and glory to him in their service to Christ,” said Ed Gamble, executive director of the Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools.

Gamble shared his philosophy of what he calls “kingdom education” at a June meeting of the association at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. The Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools has 162 member schools with 92 of those schools in Texas.

Teachers and administrators gathered to learn how to help students further their kingdom education through conferences and workshops.  Multiple topics of importance in education today were addressed, including “Intelligent Design & Creationism Integration, School-wide,” “Developing Critical Thinkers of Worldview and Culture,” and “The Protectors Program—Freedom from Bullying,” in addition to many others.

In his address to educators, Gamble shared the philosophy and focus of kingdom education, which differs greatly from current secular education.

“The purpose of secular education is to give you a means by which you can make a living, so you can buy stuff and so you can live well and so you can die well.” On the other hand, Gamble said kingdom education is a lifelong, Bible-based, Christ-centered education from the cradle to the grave.

Kingdom education has five basic tenets, Gamble said—Bible-based, Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-controlled, pupil-related and socially oriented—with a focus on helping kids develop a biblical worldview.

“We are seeking to raise up a generation that can interact with the world and share the Good News, the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, and bring honor and glory to God in their service of him,” Gamble explained.

“Your concept of reality and truth is based upon your worldview,” he added. “We know reality and truth has to do with the fact that eternal God exists and that God has revealed himself to us, to man, through the Bible. And so therefore, that affects our beliefs. What we believe is what we value. What we value is what we do.

“If we are going to transform young people, we’ve got to transform their belief system. That’s what kingdom education does. It transforms their belief system.”

The Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools website is sbacs.org.