5 Ways Your Kids Can Express Their Faith at School

5 Ways Your Kids Can Express Their Faith at School

Whether your children are preschool or college-aged, it's important that they know how to express their faith in a school environment. Although we hear a lot about Bibles being banned from public schools or Christian prayer or after-school groups being targeted, it is important for Christian students to know that America is still a country with laws protecting religious freedom rights. We are blessed as Christians to be granted these freedoms, and we can encourage our children to use them while at school. Here are five ways students can express their faith during the school year.

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  • 1. Bring Their Bible

    1. Bring Their Bible

    Although there have been reports that teachers and school administrators have told students that they couldn't have their Bible in school, this just isn't true. It is perfectly legal to bring a Bible to school. Of course, it's common sense and respect not to be reading it during a class or lecture, but it's part of your religious freedom to have your Bible with you if you'd like to read it during lunch or between classes or during recess. 

    In fact, did you know that there is a whole day dedicated to bringing a Bible to school. It's called (not surprisingly) Bring Your Bible to School Day.

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  • little girl praying before meal

    2. Pray before lunch

    This is possibly the easiest aspect of your child's Christian faith that they can bring with them and express at school. Whether they pray out loud or silently, students are perfectly free to express their faith in this way -- again, as long as it's not interrupting a class or another school function. Simply making a habit of praying before lunch can be a great way to express Christian faith while at school, and who knows, other students may take notice or even make prayer a part of their routine as well.

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  • 3. Start an after-school Bible study

    3. Start an after-school Bible study

    While a student may only be able to find a few minutes during a busy school day to read and study the Bible, an after-school Bible study can be a great way to study Scripture more and also to meet classmates and make new friends. It can also be really helpful and encouraging for students to connect with other Christians if they are attending a public, secular school. Public schools allow after-school Bible studies or clubs, as long as they are student-run and led.

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    4. Incorporate faith into a school project

    The Bible and Christianity are extremely influential in our culture. Even if someone is not a Christian, they will likely be required to study the Bible and at least portions of Christian/Church history. This means that there are plenty of ways to incorporate the Christian faith into a school project. Perhaps if a student was given an assignment to research and present a project on a period of history he/she could choose the early Church period, or if he/she was required to write a short biography of an important historical figure, he/she could choose an influential Christian.

    The possibilities are many! This is a great way to increase one's own faith as well as share the Christian faith with classmates and teachers.

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  • People sharing a Bible, sharing the gospel

    5. Share the gospel with a classmate

    There's an old saying that goes: "Always preach the gospel; if necessary, use words." A student will likely have an impact on his/her classmates and teachers simply by doing the other things on this list, but if the opportunity presents itself and the student feels the Holy Spirit is guiding them, they may want to share the gospel with a fellow classmate. Especially with kids, a great way to start this conversation is likely to be how Jesus has impacted the student's own life.

    Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Pamela D McAdams

    Publication date: August 24, 2017