God In the Middle of My School: Providence Christian School

“And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham and he said Here am I. And He said lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: For now I know that thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thy son thine only son from Me.”

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by its horns: and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” God Provides. God, Providence.

The Lord put on our hearts to start a school, Providence Christian School, although my husband and I had no experience, or training, or personal desire to do such a thing. Surely the fingerprint of God is already evident to you as He chooses the weak things of this world, the despised, that no man may Glory. So it is with Him, except the Lord build the house it is built in vain. He chooses those foolish who have no idea of how to do the thing so that He can do it. Completely. Entirely. The Lord set these principles in our heart, be willing to sacrifice that which is dear to you and trust the Lord for every provision. He is able to do exceedingly more than you can ask or imagine. You empty vessel can be mighty for God because He will fill you with Himself with His ways and bring forth fruit thirty, sixty and one-hundred fold. Since His ways are not our ways, so perhaps the less you know the better because it causes you to live in prayer. You take each step with fear and trembling armed with the Word and the Spirit. In every situation big or little you wait on the Lord because, beloved, we are so mindful of the consequences of causing a little one to stumble.

Therefore, we fear God and not man because the consequences of disobedience could have eternal impacts on those the Lord commits to our care. We have been afflicted, suffered, and been in need, maligned and mocked, yet we have seen the Glory of God. He healed people in the midst of us, blessed finances in families, enabled troubled children to learn, enabled challenged children to learn, poured out His love and His Word so that all prospered in Spirit. He is God.

Here is what He taught us about being a Christian School. It is a life-giving structure. Begin every day with assembly, the body of Christ assembled together. We opened at 8:30 with all grades in one assembly where we prayed, read the Bible, received teaching and sang praises to the Lord. We all read from the King James Bible from kindergarten through 12th grade. God put it on our hearts. We sang from the hymnal daily and some worship songs as well. Both are pleasing to God. We taught daily as the Spirit of the Lord directed us, oftentimes giving Scripture and teaching directly addressing an issue of the previous days’ schooling. Sometimes it was a broader issue or underlying problems to deal with obedience, faithfulness or kindness. Daily assembly gave us opportunity to bless, instruct and put right current problems the children or the teachers faced. We opened our day by acknowledging the reason why we were having school, to gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to receive instruction of Him, by the Word and to be a living witness with testimony.

Jesus was in the beginning and our day began in Him. Other subjects could be missed in a day with unusual demands but we did not miss assembly.

School operated only four days a week Monday to Thursday to satisfy the state requirements for 180 days, or 1000 hours of instruction. Our day was from 8:30 to 3:30 with two 15 minute recesses and a 45 minute lunch. We loved our four-day week format for several reasons. Parents who had previously homeschooled their children wanted time with them.  Three-day weekends lent themselves to families, God’s priority institution. In our family we spent our Fridays on special outings, downtime, or preparation for the weekend when Dad would be home. It was so special as a Mom to have time with the children just like the early years prior to them becoming school age. Then, how much we delighted in our two days with Dad and enjoying our family with his oversight, his ways, his ideas and his outings!

The four-day week worked well with the teachers. Multiple grade classes are more of a challenge and much busier by their very nature. We had multiple grade classrooms because our school was smaller and we accommodated all the grade levels. It is quite an accomplishment to instruct two or three levels of Math, Language and Reading in a day. Bible, Science, Art and History were more compatible over the grade levels allowing stepped instruction with overlap in each subject. The three days of quiet Friday to Sunday gave the teachers time to rest, pray, recuperate and manage their groceries, pay the bills and grade.

Our day began with prayer as teachers, administration and parents assembled held hands and prayed. Oh! Many fervent and effectual prayers were lifted up at that time. A few moms came regularly, the faithful prayer warriors who took our concerns home and continued to lift them up to the Lord over the course of the day. We cannot say enough about prayer. Our day continued in prayer. On a difficult and full day, I would go briefly to the phone to call someone to pray. There were not a lot of details given in the conversation perhaps simply an urgent “Can you pray for the school now?” I am so grateful for the coverage we gained from a saint outside of the building and property, lifting us up to the Lord and standing in the gap in prayer. We teachers may have had to go on teaching, go into a conference or turn our attention to another matter, but the confidence we had knowing we were covered in that moment by prayer.

We prayed with the children before class. We prayed with them when they needed serious conversation, correction or discipline. We prayed as a class when things were disorderly or when a wrong spirit was present. Yes, Christian schools are under attack. But the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the body of Christ, that is the assembled praying saints big or little.

In a classroom where there was disorder, talking out, or a rebellious spirit we asked the students to just close your eyes and put their heads down on their desk for a moment of quiet, then we prayed. We prayed out loud. The students prayed individually as led by the Lord. We had class leaders who could be asked to pray. Sometimes they were prayers of repentance, sometimes rebuking the enemy, or prayers of healing, or love or the presence of God. It never failed that the atmosphere was literally changed as heads came up, work resumed and God was with us.

If we had an issue of unkindness or bullying, correction began with prayer. In a serious matter we would forgo Math, Science, or Language, meet in the assembly area and pray and talk. Again, the change in the children and the teachers was apparent. We came before the Lord invited Him in and put our troubles before Him. We asked for forgiveness and wisdom and God answered. We had Scripture and teaching and a new beginning. The children openly and contritely said sorry to one another. One could feel the joy in the air when those things were dealt with before God. They were put right and we all had a fresh start. Stopping class to assemble, pray and put things right was not a common event but it was a blessed event because we all received grace upon grace and none lacked.

With God in the middle of the school, prayer was first before words, conversations, decisions or actions. When students were sent to the office for discipline, I feared God and sought Him. Prayer is your first responsibility as a principal or administrator. Be mindful that your words, your heart, and your spirit may bless encourage bring instruction and build up a student. As well as good words correcting and redirecting the student your wrong words may cause someone to stumble. How truly one comes before the Lord with fear and trembling when that child is in front of them, and that you would not have a millstone hung around your neck.

You must be inspired by the Holy Spirit to instruct, correct and show love. The Spirit will lead you into all truth. Even as I listen to their little stories about what happened, I listen to the Spirit of God. I prayed after their telling of events. Think about this, the only children that come into your office are the children in need; they are in deep need. They, more than others need the Word of God in their lives. The problem that brings them into your sanctuary of prayer may not be the foundational issue influencing the child’s behavior. Addressing only the surface problem leaves the child uncorrected, unhealed and unchanged. Yes, the problem must be addressed but the root must be spoken to, prayed over instructed in the Word and healed. God has this child before you and He will speak to you and each one of us, if we will listen. Once again, we need to be that empty vessel.

You may know all the “facts”, about a student, family history, grade-point average, personality, and how many times this child has been sent to the office. The facts may or may not serve you­­–or the child. If you are at the listening post of God watching on that wall, you will speak eternal words into that child’s life. Have you ever thought of those discipline issues as a God appointment? Welcome them, for that little child no matter how big or tall needs to hear from Heaven. Therefore pray. You are fulfilling the Lord’s desire because He said, “My house shall be a house of prayer”.

So, this is how the Lord began a school, Providence Christian School and not just one school but many schools shall spring forth. It began with God’s provision both to begin and to persevere. It continued with the faithful regular assembly of the body for the Word, prayer and Holy teaching. God first. It continued in prayer seeking the will of the Father and the knowledge of the Holy Spirit for correction and inspiration. It rested on the Word, the Bible: “All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in Righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Providence Christian Schools, these are very good works for the Lord and the kingdom of God.