What Our Administrators Love about Christian Education

Darin Long, Superintendent, Christian Academy School System, Kentucky: “Christian education is about a partnership between the school, families, and the church, which is held together by the shared mission of developing students with a heart for God. We get the privilege of impacting the whole child: academic, social, and spiritual. Experiencing the joy of hearing a child say that they know their teacher loves them, seeing students pray together in a hallway, or talking to an alum who is continuing their walk with the Lord is evidence of God's work in students' lives and our schools. This is why I love devoting my life's work to Christian Education.”

Shawna Wood, Head of School, Dalat International School, Malaysia:
“Christian education is an opportunity for discipleship. Not only do we teach students academics, but we also walk alongside them in their journey to know God. My greatest joy each day is the 15 minutes I spend doing middle school advisory. I never know what my students are going to say, but I take every opportunity to listen to and pray with them. I love that, even as head of school, I am privileged to lead small groups and mentor individual students.”

Dr. Jay Ferguson, Head of School, Grace Community School, Texas: “What I love most about Christian education is the importance of what we do. As David Platt famously said, the Church is God’s Plan A for the salvation of the world, and there is no Plan B. There is no more important investment we can make in the future of the Church than in discipling kids to know Jesus Christ, and to serve Him as His disciples, on mission for the gospel where they work, live, and play, all over the world. We get to do that by loving kids and their families, and by creating and modeling authentic communities that many of them have never known. It's hard, hard work, but it is truly life-giving.”

Dr. Clifford Daugherty, President, Valley Christian Schools, California:
“What I love most about serving at Valley Christian Schools (VCS) is that we, as Christian educators, have the privilege to ‘Arise, shine, for your light has come.’ Isaiah continues, ‘…and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you, and His glory appears over you’ (Isaiah 60:1-2 NIV). While many Christians are escaping the ‘thick darkness’ in the San Francisco Bay Area by moving out of state, the VCS ministry is privileged to serve Silicon Valley. The Light of the World is shining brightly on more than 2,800 students, their families, our community, and thousands of alumni worldwide. Jesus is making disciples through Valley Christian Schools in one of America's most spiritually challenging cultures. But Jesus' Light shines the brightest in the darkest night. What a joy!”