Christian Schools Are Not Enough — But They're Not Nothing
A conversation with David Stonestreet on the promise and limits of Christian schooling as a sphere of discipleship
Who bears the responsibility for forming faith in our children?
I have written about the partnered responsibility between children’s ministry, the household, and the intergenerational church. However, one sphere of discipleship that I have not written about—but am personally indebted to—is the role of faith formation in a Christian school environment.
Enter David Stonestreet, principal of Shire Christian School in the southern suburbs of Sydney.
I did my entire K-12 schooling at SCS (SSCS at the time, for “Sutherland Shire Christian School”), David Mr Stonestreet was my high school music teacher, my kids are enrolled at the school, and I am currently a member of the board (so technically 1/8th of David’s boss).
But just in case you thought the conflict of interest wasn’t high enough, David was also an almost-founding member of Soul Revival Youth Community at Gymea Anglican Church in the early 1990’s. He even brought his member card #009 to prove it.
This week on The Shock Absorber podcast, David joins me, Stuart Crawshaw and Joel McMaster on the couch to talk about
the role of Christian Schooling in modern Australia,
why so many non-Christian and unchurched families are choosing Christian education for their kids,
the Dutch Reformed heritage of Shire Christian School,
the particular theology and strategy behind SCS as a “covenant Christian school”,
transcendence vs. immanence in Christian expression, and
to reminisce about those early days of Soul Revival.
Christian schooling is not essential to raise disciples of Jesus. In fact, as I explain in the episode, Christian schools fail to be a long-term solution for faith formation in young people; they need the local church. But it is one possible sphere of discipleship that some parents may partner with. And on this topic, David is a good guide.
To hear more of David’s personal story and journey of faith, check out this episode of The Chip Lunch podcast.
Check out the full conversation in the links below or on your favourite podcasting app.
A.I. in Christian Ministry - Cross Formed Kidmin Podcast
I chucked a sickie a few weeks back, but Hunter and Ryan had a brilliant conversation with Brandon Maddick (co-founder, with Ryan of Dominion.Chat) about the benefits and cautions around using A.I. tools in our Christian ministry practice.
What tasks might be appropriate to offload to A.I.?
What are the implicit biases that we ought to be aware of in the big tech models?
What does it mean to have an explicitly Christian A.I. model like Dominion.Chat?
Check out these topics and more on this week’s episode of the Cross Formed Kidmin podcast.
If you’ve got a question or topic about Children’s Ministry that you’d like us to cover on the Cross Formed Kidmin podcasts, send me a DM or leave a comment below.