In Part 1 of this series, I outlined the importance of generational worldviews, and in Part 2, I emphasized the role that education plays in shaping them. In this next series installment, I will speak to the specific roles that parents, caregivers, and Adventist educators play in preparing the next generation for the future.
Our children have to be able to stand for their beliefs. We must use every opportunity to instill God’s Word in their hearts and minds.
Deuteronomy 6:6–9 states, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” That is intentionality!
What is being fixed into the minds of our children and young people? Is it God’s Word? The reality is that they are currently being raised in a valueless society. We must ask ourselves: have we been normalising this society?
Although our children attend physical schools, all parents and caregivers have a duty to instruct them in the Word of God. What intentional home curriculum have we created? What experiences are we giving them at an early age that will wire their brains for eternity? Are we forearming them to stand for truth when we are not around? Every opportunity must be used to forearm our children for the coming onslaught. Some might even argue that onslaught is already here.
Our children are being inculcated at school, from their curriculum to commemorative months and holidays (such as Halloween, Black History Month, and Pride Month) that they are expected to participate in. What happens if your child does not wish to join in certain activities due to their personal worldview? Some parents and interest groups are taking schools and the government to court over what is being taught in mainstream classrooms today.
Our children must never be ashamed to stand up for truth with meekness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). They must be able to say, like Paul, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16).
Think about the young people mentioned in the Bible—Daniel, Joseph, Esther, Timothy, the little maid who helped Naaman, the leper and, of course, Jesus. In their day, their worldviews were shaped by their home life. They learned to stand for truth in the absence of their parents.
Take, for example, the Catholic faith, which does not evangelize in the way that other denominations do. They do not have great public meetings in churches or set up tents for campaigns. They have another strategy: everywhere they go, they build schools. They are the largest provider of schools and educational institutions in the world.
Who is the second? The Seventh-day Adventist Church. We have nearly 9,500 schools in 150 countries with 111,000 teachers reaching 2 million pupils.
Why do our schools exist? As Ellen White said in Education, “In the highest sense the work of education and the work of redemption are one, for in education, as in redemption, ‘other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’”
Seventh-day Adventist schools were constructed for a purpose. Education is about creating the conditions where every child can grow. It is how their worldviews are developed and shaped. We must ensure that our schools are more than just places of information. Instead, they should be places of critical thinking and curious exploration. Adventist schools are not just places of academic excellence but also centres of divine restoration.
In Part 4, the final installment in this series, I will provide a real-world example of how a strong faith identity and worldview can shape our children’s futures and equip them for eternity.
