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Colson Educators
Protecting What is Good:
Christian Education
That Transforms
Aligning Schools with the Biblical Vision of Reality, Truth, and Worship
Billy Hutchinson,
Colson Educators Specialist
It’s 1968, and you’re visiting NASA headquarters at the height of the Space Race. If you ask someone, “What is your job?” They’ll most likely reply, “My job is to put someone on the moon.” They might be a secretary. They might be an engineer. They might be a janitor. Either way, their job is to put someone on the moon.
That kind of mindset should permeate every Christian school. Every person on campus is meant to pursue a unified goal: to form true worshipers, because the end goal of Christian education is to help students see, savor, and worship Christ above all things.
As the Colson Educators Specialist, I’m eager to help schools pursue this goal.
My relationship with the Colson Center began back in 2016, when I went through the Colson Fellows Program. After that, I had the opportunity to facilitate a Colson Fellows Cohort of faculty and staff at Hickory Grove Christian School, where I worked for over twelve years.
I never imagined I’d get to work for the Colson Center all those years ago, but I’m here and it’s a dream job.
Are we getting Christian education right?
As a teen, I read the Bible but never tackled the concept of worldview. One of my seminary professors, Dr. Mark Liederbach, defined worldview as the system of beliefs by which we perceive, interpret, and judge reality. Everyone has a worldview, whether they realize it or not. When I started teaching high school, I wanted to demonstrate the credibility of the Christian faith by showing my students that the Christian worldview provides the best explanation of our world. But I quickly realized the most effective way to form students’ worldviews was to equip the teachers.
You see, too many Christian schools mistakenly believe that teaching the Bible means they’re teaching students to see all of life through the lens of Truth. But it’s not just biblical content that makes education Christian—it’s the distinctively Christian philosophy and practice of education that makes it Christian.
“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.”
— Luke 12:48
Great opportunity, great responsibility.
Christian school enrollment has increased greatly in the last five years. But with this opportunity comes the responsibility to ensure the education in Christian schools is truly Christian.
Christian education is not just about the teachers or administrators. It’s not just about the curriculum. When a janitor cheerfully cleans a school, he or she is saying, “This is beautiful, and we should protect that beauty.” When a teacher disciplines a student with the goal of restoration, they proclaim what’s true about God’s character: He is a redeemer and restorer of broken relationships. Even the nutritional offerings say something about what we believe is real, good, and true. Everyone on campus plays a role in shaping a student’s worldview toward reality or away from it. That means we must provide the clarity, confidence, and courage of a Christian worldview to everyone on campus.
Framework over formula: The “how” of equipping Christian educators
The Colson Educators equips schools with a Christian worldview through:
- Free online courses.
- Digital trainings that are customizable for individual schools.
- In-person trainings with a member of the Colson Educators team.
- Encouraging teachers to complete the Colson Fellows Program through a regional cohort.
After establishing a thoroughly Christian worldview, everything else begins to fall into place because everyone on campus sees themselves, their students, and the goal of education accurately. As schools embrace a thoroughly Christian worldview, they will begin to operate in a way that aligns with reality, glorifies God, and demonstrates the credibility of the Christian faith to every student on campus.
Christian schools may not put anyone on the moon, but, like NASA, they must share one ultimate goal: to participate with Christ in shaping the next generation of true worshipers.
Colson Educators Impact stats
1
Initiated regional school partnerships with
0
new schools in 2024
2
Plans to add
0
additional regional school partnerships in 2025
3
Issued over
3770
CEUs (continuing education units) via digital courses in 2024
4
Equipped leaders at
570
domestic schools
3770
international schools through digital courses