The Public-Schooled Christian

“Schools should be a safe place for learning.”

That’s what most people think and say. But that’s not how it is. 

The truth is, public schools are a battleground. 

I’m not talking about a political battleground, though that may be true. And I’m not referring to school shootings, bullying, or threats, though those are all harmful events that need to be stopped. 

Public schools are a spiritual battleground. 

Every young person who enters a school building has a soul–a soul that Satan is fighting to obtain. 

And far too many public school students have been won over by Satan. Millions of teens have given in to the beliefs of this world and are slaves to sin, whether or not they realize it. 

So, when Christians enter a public school, they enter a place filled by nonbelievers or lukewarm Christians.

Jesus says in Revelation that lukewarm Christians–people who have a casual faith and don’t truly know Him–will not inherit the kingdom of Heaven. “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). 

You wouldn’t be hard-pressed to find someone who dons a WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelet or a cross necklace at a school. But to find someone who wholeheartedly follows Christ is a different ball game. 

There are many students who say they are Christian–yet never attend church, read their Bible, and don’t really know what Jesus says. As well as being full of nonbelievers, public schools are full of people who bear the name of Jesus but don’t act like it. 

But there are also believers who are devoted to following Christ in public school. Though they are far in the minority, these people are impactful. These people attend school to make a difference for Jesus. 

Are you one of them?

Let me explain my story…

A Christian kid in public school may feel like it’s better to have the same mindset as everyone else than to stand up for their beliefs, especially if they’re not surrounded by influences who draw them closer to Christ. 

I was swept up in the crowd around me at school for several years. For most of middle school, I took my faith very casually. I attended church on Sundays, but I never listened to the message. Maybe that’s why it took me so long to learn about and understand Luke 9:23–”And He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’”

I didn’t know that following Jesus demanded more than attending church on Sundays. How could I, when most of the Christians around me at school didn’t know or understand that either?

The Christians in my classes (given, they were very young–only 6th and 7th graders) believed much of what the Bible said–things like murder or lying is wrong. And I thought that was what Christianity was about–believing certain things and being a nice person. But being a Christian is about sacrificial love. It’s about following Jesus. 

Luckily, God showed me my mistake. The Covid-19 pandemic hit, and I was separated from most of the bad influences I had been around. I spent time with my close friends and family, and didn’t see many other people. 

Around that time, I reached a low in my life and read the book Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman, which flipped my supposed faith upside down. I began to build a firm foundation in Christ and get to know Him. Then I returned to school in 2020, and in 2021 I realized how hard it is to be a Christian in public school–at least high school. 

I don’t think school itself is anti-Christian, though some things taught don’t align with the Bible. The people in public schools are what makes school hard for me. 

There are temptations lurking around every corner for teens in public schools. Inappropriate clothes may tempt people to lust. Certain friend groups may lure Christians into gossip. Students can be led astray by teachers teaching unbiblical concepts. There is pressure to approve of things like the LGTBQ+ community. There is temptation to be dishonest and cheat so we can get good grades on schoolwork. 

And if a Christian stands apart from the crowd and chooses to follow Jesus in spite of what everyone else says, classmates in public school don’t always accept it. Sometimes, they’ll decide that you’re homophobic, or racist, or a teacher’s pet. And then, sometimes, they’ll decide that they don’t want to be around you anymore. It’s hard not to go along with the crowd in school. 

I don’t want to insinuate that public school is horrible; there are good social groups in public school–and I’ve happened to find one of them. But there are many social groups that would be detrimental to a Christian’s spiritual life. 

But if something will glorify Jesus, God wants us to do it, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. He tells us to deny ourselves and take up our cross in Luke 9:23–that’s more than uncomfortable–it’s hard! When you became a Christian, you decided to follow a man who, in His time on Earth, was shunned, hunted-after, and finally, killed. Jesus went through a lot of hardship. 

If He could keep from sinning in spite of what He went through; if He could teach people about God and be different from the crowd even though it got Him killed, couldn’t you and I stand up for our faith in school?

Public school is a place where the values of Christianity and the values of the world butt heads. That’s why it’s a battleground. And Christians are called to fight in the battle and live for Jesus–but how do we fight the battle well?