Website Terms, Conditions, Privacy Policy

By: Josh Worden 

This story has become increasingly uncommon in recent years: a student attends Christian school their whole life and is insulated from values and beliefs other than their own. They’re kept in a bubble, and once they graduate, they get blindsided by the outside world. 

To address this, Christian educators may have asked the question, “How do we prevent our students from living in a Christian bubble?” 

But according to many Christian educators, this question is no longer relevant. 

“Because of the internet, the bubble has been burst from pretty much every angle,” said Kristie Taylor, Director at Lancaster Christian Academy in South Carolina. 

“I’ve heard that question asked, and I disagree with the premise,” said Chris DeLuna, Bible Teacher at Arlington Heights Christian School in Texas. “Maybe it’s true for other schools, but with us, I don’t find that to be the case. Our students have relationships with people outside the school, and social media has really changed the landscape. The kids are not going out into the world, the world is coming to them.” 

Tammi Peters has seen the landscape change since becoming the Head of School at Fayetteville Christian School in North Carolina in 1986. 

“I personally don’t believe it’s possible for kids today to live in a bubble,” she said. “They get a steady diet of the world we stand opposed to. It’s important for Christian education to speak truth into them. They’re learning secular humanism, that life revolves around them, that God is a figment of our imagination.” 

Even in years past, Christian schools never completely insulated students from brokenness and sin. 

"Because we’re human and sinful, there is sin at a Christian school,” Taylor said. “The difference is that we address things with a biblical worldview.” 

So, if Christian students today are insulated from the outside world even less than before, how can Christian schools best operate with this in mind? 

“I think we’re called to protect our students, but I also don’t want to prevent them from experiencing and developing a Christian worldview,” said Kacey Chambers, Head of School at Grove City Christian School in Ohio. “The way to do that effectively is to show them the events of the world, age-appropriately, giving them opportunities to experience that in a controlled setting. This world is fallen, but how can we train the next generation to have a biblical perspective to address these issues in a way that Jesus would?” 

Peoria Christian School in Illinois is a covenant school, “which can isolate our students,” says Dr. Angie Lyons, the school’s Superintendent. So, when topics come up that students are wrestling with, teachers aim to welcome those discussions. 

“In our upper-level Bible classes, we do not shy away from the issues of the day, nor do we shut down conversations,” Lyons said. “We try to direct and navigate those conversations, but we want our students to ask questions and share the things they’re dealing with.” 

Maitland Christian School in Australia is an evangelistic school, with about half its student body coming from church-attending families. The curriculum in Australia is mandated, so the government has a significant say in what can be taught. One of their most effective programs actually takes place outside the school walls. 

"Students in grade nine through 11 spend a week serving God somewhere as part of our mission program,” said Geoff Peet, the school’s Executive Principal. “Our aim is for them to discover that God loves us and wants us to go love other people.” 

If parents ask how the program could work with students from non-Christian families participating, Peet responds that the program will benefit students no matter what.  

“We learn to show kindness and gain empathy for other stories,” he said. “We do that with humility because we want to learn from other cultures.” 

Dr. Brian Dougherty, Head of School at Heritage Christian School in Indiana, highlights the value of involving parents. 

“They need to be familiar with the curriculum so they’re not surprised,” he said. “Likewise, if you have people gifted in the Word of God, understand biblical truth, and most importantly, understand relevant issues, there’s no better place than the Christian school classroom to engage students.” 

The last piece of advice may sound counterintuitive, but it addresses an issue that has always been common in Christian schools: students compartmentalizing their faith. 

“One of the things I’ve tried to be careful to do in a Christian school setting is not to shove the Bible in the face so much that they become desensitized to it,” Taylor said. “Prayer is essential, but if we don’t pray every day in every class, that’s okay, because that’s not how the real world is. You have to space it out." 

In Taylor’s view, it’s possible to oversaturate students with the Bible if done the wrong way. 

“It can get to a point where you’re always correcting or teaching that they lose interest,” she said. “The Bible becomes academic and not about life. It becomes a compartment, and they say, ‘At school, I act like this. In sports, I act like this. On Sunday mornings, I act like this.’ That’s the bubble I’m worried about, creating kids that are so desensitized to Scripture that it’s another subject and they’re not living it in the world.” 

To continue your journey in establishing yourself and your students in biblical truth, consider attending the Rooted Educator Worldview Summit, June 16-18 in Dallas, Texas.