SBC president advocates more Christian church schools

December 2, 2002

SBC president advocates more Christian church schools
___PENSACOLA, Fla.--Christian parents should prayerfully consider where their children are educated, and more Baptist churches should consider establishing their own schools, according to Southern Baptist Convention President Jack Graham.
___Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, made the comments in a Nov. 11 interview with the Florida Baptist Witness also published in Baptist Press.
___In September, Graham told members of the SBC Executive Committee he thought more Baptist churches should launch "kingdom schools" as part of the SBC's new "Empowering Kingdom Growth" initiative.
___"Kingdom schools are not a reaction to public schools," Graham said in the interview. The choice of public education, Christian education or homeschooling should be a "matter of prayer" for each parent "as it fits the need and the place in life for that child," he added.
___However, he added: "The world is too much with us and so, while we are not trying to cocoon our children, we don't want to put our children in a position to fail. And I think Christian schools put children in a position to succeed spiritually."
___While acknowledging "there are many wonderful public school teachers and coaches," Graham said Baptists should not believe establishing Christian schools will remove believers from the public arena.
___"You know we need to be careful with that argument because our kids, whether they are in Christian schools or in public schools, they see plenty of the world," Graham said. "I'm not in a position to mandate. I'm just suggesting that Southern Baptists look more seriously and more aggressively at establishing these schools."
___Prestonwood operates a Christian academy that serves preschool through 12th grade.

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