Building a Kingdom School is no easy task.

Do Kingdom Schools focus on students? Or parents? Or teachers? Or curriculum? Or the board of trustees? My answer to this is yes, Kingdom Schools focus on all of these areas. And, they focus on all of these areas all of the time! Schools that relax their attention in any of these areas risk getting the entire institution ill. A Kingdom Culture is created and maintained by developing all of these areas on a solid foundation. This foundation is the philosophy of kingdom education.

 The Kingdom Education philosophy, grounded in nine Biblical principles, allows school leaders to point the team to a goal line. Whether it is the faculty team, or the board team, or the parent team, or the student team, or the curriculum team, or any other team, the one unifying factor is the philosophy of Kingdom Education.

One of the most powerful comments the Apostle Paul ever made was made when he told the Philippians they could make his joy complete, by being of the same mind (Phil. 2:1-2). Developing like-mindedness in all areas of the school can only happen when all of the areas are heading towards the same goal line.

Institutions that fragment in mission focus are usually those that do not coach all of their players to break the huddle running the same play and targeting the right goal line. Even if all of the players are running the same play (a comprehensive staff training plan, a vertically aligned curriculum, and a strategically established plan to advance the school, and more), if the goal line has not been clearly defined, then the result is still the loss of purpose.

Teams that understand the play and who clearly are heading toward the same goal line not only score, they continue to score... and score... and score. Kingdom Education is the goal line... that provides purpose... for all of the players.

So, creating a Kingdom-focused school requires all of the areas of the school — the players (students, parents, staff, board, curriculum, and others) — to break the huddle running the same play and heading toward the same goal line. My prayer is that thousands of schools would unite around the philosophy of Kingdom Education. Can you imagine the impact on our culture if hundreds of thousands of board members, administrators, faculty, staff, parents, and students were all heading towards the common goal line?

God wants your school to be a kingdom school. Kingdom education is the foundation for such a school.

Larry Taylor is the headmaster of Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas. He has worked with LifeWay Christian School Resources to develop a comprehensive plan that schools can follow when building a school of influence for Christ.

This article first appeared on LifeWay’s Web site: www.Lifeway.com and is used with permission.