“I wish I was their teacher!”  As a youth pastor, I had one hour a week with them.  Teachers had thirty!  Right then, the Lord formed in me the desire for a Christian school.  Now, twenty years later, our church has a Christian high school, Spring Branch Academy, with seventeen students.  This fall marks its tenth year!

Why should you consider a student for this school?  For some, it is a time to grow up, to take some steps towards independence.  For others, it is a time of renewal, a break from the distractions, temptations, and bullying at school.  For all students, it is the opportunity to worship God through academics.  Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them (Psalm 111:2).

Personally, I think the best reason is the pursuit of worship through wisdom in the word.  Consider these wonders:

Creation is digital!  Right now, bursts of light are hitting you in rapid fire, not in a smooth flow of energy.  Inside every cell, your body’s specifications are microscopically encoded in DNA.  How amazing is that!  By divine appointment, both the physical and biological worlds are digital (Psalm 119:91).  Could we have easily understood these things before the digital revolution of pixels and CDs?  And what is God saying to us through this reality?

Medical terms are in Greek!  A hundred years ago, Dr. Plummer of Mayo Clinic urged doctors to obtain a classical education in Latin and Greek.  Why?  They are the languages of science!  For example, the tissue around your bone is called the periosteum, which in Greek is literally “around-bone.”  Similarly, hypodermic is literally “under-skin.”  As Adam named the animals, so have we, but often in Latin and Greek!

Infidelity affects history and culture!  As President Wilson excused his love affair, so he arrogantly handled Europe after World War I, thereby setting the stage for World War II.  Similarly, how far should we trust the sentimentalism of Ebenezer Scrooge’s conversion, when the author Charles Dickens later divorced his wife over interests in a young actress?  How much wisdom is found where the fear of God is lacking?

The Incarnation defined personhood!  In articulating that the Son of God was an individual person, separate from His divine and human natures, the early church was able to define personhood independent of function.  In contrast, moderns have reverted to a pagan understanding of personhood as the accumulation of personal traits, such as self-reflection and self-determination.  If these traits are lacking, as in a vegetative state (mark the language!), then do we still have a person with personal rights?  Similarly, the little embryo fresh from fertilization in the lab?  We need to regain the riches of our Christian heritage.

God gave us a Book!  Why not read it for credit?  Starting this year, we are offering middle school students the opportunity to read and study the entire Bible as history and literature.

Do you see my point?  Christian education is more than the absence of things.  It is the pursuit of worship through wisdom in the word.  Please, I invite you to bring to me your questions and let’s explore the options!  As a church, we do not believe that parents must educate their children in a particular way, but we do appreciate options—and Spring Branch Academy is an option that we can offer!  So, come, let’s explore together if this option is a good fit for your student this coming year.

For more information, please contact me, Pastor Bob Snyder, or visit us on the web at sbacademy.us.