/
School is starting – who's discipling your children?

School is starting – who's discipling your children?


School is starting – who's discipling your children?

We cannot assume our children will "just turn out fine." The culture is evangelizing them with fervor. Are we?

Jenna Ellis
Jenna Ellis

Jenna Ellis served as the senior legal adviser and personal counsel to the 45th president of the United States. She hosts "Jenna Ellis in the Morning" weekday mornings on American Family Radio, as well as the podcast "On Demand with Jenna Ellis," providing valuable commentary on the issues of the day from both a biblical and constitutional perspective. She is the author of "The Legal Basis for a Moral Constitution."

As August arrives and school doors reopen across the country, millions of American families are packing backpacks, sharpening pencils, and preparing for another academic year. But beneath the surface of this annual ritual lies a much deeper – and more urgent – question for Christian parents: Who is discipling your children?

In 2025, education is not a neutral enterprise. From gender ideology to historical revisionism, today's state-funded schools have become battlegrounds. State legislatures are debating parental rights bills. School districts are adopting "social-emotional learning" curricula that push worldview assumptions antithetical to biblical truth. And in too many cases, students are emerging not just under-educated, but unanchored – morally, spiritually, and emotionally adrift.

Scripture doesn't leave room for ambiguity here. In Deuteronomy 6, Proverbs 22, and throughout the Bible, parents are commanded to teach God's Word diligently to their children – when they sit in the house, walk by the way, lie down, and rise up. Discipleship is not just a Sunday morning activity. It is an all-of-life mandate.

That's why this school year, Christian families must take inventory. What worldview is shaping your child's understanding of truth, identity, and purpose? Who has more influence on their heart – the classroom or the dinner table? TikTok or the Scriptures?

We cannot assume our children will "just turn out fine." The culture is evangelizing them with fervor. Are we?

Now is the time to be intentional. Maybe that means considering homeschooling or Christian education. Maybe it means daily debriefs after school, asking "What did you learn today?" and "How does that line up with what God says?" It may mean turning down screens and turning up family worship and especially family discipleship.

If churches want to raise the next generation of Daniels and Esthers – young men and women who stand firm in a modern-day Babylon – they must partner with parents who are in the trenches. Sunday School is not enough. One hour a week cannot compete with 40 hours of secular indoctrination.

Education is never just about academics. It is about formation. And the enemy knows this.

Christians are not called to simply abandon the education system altogether. Some are called to teach in public schools as salt and light. Others are called to engage school boards, run for office, or serve as watchdogs. But far too many parents have ceded their God-given authority over the hearts and minds of their children, and we're reaping the tragic consequences.

As another school year begins, let us recommit ourselves to the task God has given us: to raise up children who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Notice: This column is printed with permission. Opinion pieces published by AFN.net are the sole responsibility of the article's author(s), or of the person(s) or organization(s) quoted therein, and do not necessarily represent those of the staff or management of, or advertisers who support the American Family News Network, AFN.net, our parent organization or its other affiliates.