– Why we do it –
Even from a purely secular point of view, all people should study the Bible. It is without a doubt the most significant collection of books of all time. No other book has been copied or printed more and exerted such an impact on the world.
Although the Bible was written over the course of 1,500 years by more than 40 authors from different backgrounds on 3 different continents in 3 different languages, it speaks with one voice and holds together as a cohesive historical record from beginning to end. There is no other collection that compares.
But the Bible is much more than the world’s most influential anthology; it is the lens that allows us to see everything else clearly and correctly. The Bible provides us with a worldview that puts the puzzle pieces together and enables us to evaluate the merit of every thought and action.
Finally, the Bible is the life-giving Word of God. It supplies us with peace, joy, assurance and love. In it we encounter the Gospel (i.e. the good news). This good news is that God has given us the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life because of the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus. Because of the vital importance of this message, we devote an entire course to the Bible in addition to integrating it into every field of study.
– How we teach it –
We teach the Bible from the moment the students get off the bus until the time they go home. This is because the message of the Bible is not just a written message; it is an embodied message of love that shows forth in the lives of the faculty and staff. God’s love is evident from the way that they truly care about the students and view them as God’s children.
We start every day with a focus on God and His Word. All students and faculty gather together in the gym (or chapel on Wednesdays) for Daily Prayer. During this time, students hear a Bible passage, receive a Bible message, sing a praise song or hymn, pray the Lord’s Prayer and ask the Lord’s blessing on the day to come. When children start the day with the Lord, they are able to put on “the armor of God” so they can face the challenges of the day.
In Bible class, the younger grades hear or read a Bible story on their level and then narrate it back to the teacher to help them retain it. This also gives them much needed practice in sharing God’s Word with others. Students have weekly memory verses so they can hide God’s Word in their heart and take it with them everywhere.
Starting in seventh grade, students read entire books from the Bible at a pace of one or two chapters a class. This enables students to cover a lot of ground while leaving time for discussion, questions and writing. From seventh through twelfth grade, students read and discuss books on apologetics such as Josh McDowell’s More than a Carpenter and C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. We want our students to be in a good position not only to believe the Christian faith, but to defend it (1 Peter 3:15).