Preparing the Soil: Partnering with Families to Help Students Know and Follow Jesus
As a former Director of Campus Ministries at a PreK–12 Christian school, summer was one of my favorite seasons in education. It allowed me to step back from the pace of the school year and reflect on the bigger picture: Where had we seen God at work? Where were the students growing? What areas needed more attention? And how could we pursue our mission more faithfully in the year ahead?
Summer provides that same opportunity for many Christian school leaders and educators. It is a season to evaluate, pray, plan, and prepare for another year of investing in students.
As you look ahead to the coming school year, I encourage you to consider one question:
How intentionally are we partnering with families to help students know and follow Jesus?
For those who serve in online and flexible learning environments, that question is especially important. While the delivery of instruction may look different from traditional methods, the mission remains the same. We are helping students grow in the holistic way that Luke 2:52 describes Jesus’ growth as a young boy: in wisdom, in relationship with God, and in relationships with others. Research continues to remind us that one of the greatest influences on these areas of growth is found within the home.
The Opportunity Before Us
Christian educators have a unique calling. Whether students learn in a classroom, through a hybrid model, or online, we have the privilege of helping them understand who God is and how His truth shapes every area of life.
Research continues to point to a consistent reality: The home remains the most influential environment for long-term discipleship.
This does not diminish the role of Christian education. Rather, it highlights one of our greatest opportunities.
Scripture gives parents the primary responsibility for discipling their children. Schools and churches have the privilege of coming alongside families, reinforcing biblical truth, creating growth opportunities, and helping cultivate environments where faith can flourish. When home, church, and school work together, students benefit from a consistent message about who God is, who they are, and what it means to follow Christ.
In many ways, online Christian education creates a unique opportunity for this partnership. Because distance learning typically takes place within the home, parents have a greater awareness of their students’ educational experience. The question before us, then, is: How can we intentionally leverage that opportunity to strengthen both learning and discipleship?
What the Research Is Showing
Over the last several years, I’ve spent a great deal of time studying research surrounding faith and discipleship. Whether it comes from Barna, Cardus, Focus on the Family, or research within Christian education, one consistent theme emerges.
Faith grows best in the context of relationships.
Children are most likely to embrace and own their faith when they see it modeled authentically at home, engage in meaningful faith conversations, participate in spiritual practices with their families, and are surrounded by caring Christian adults who invest in their lives.
Barna’s research called Households of Faith highlights the importance of intentional spiritual rhythms such as prayer, Scripture engagement, and faith conversations. Meanwhile, today’s students are navigating anxiety, loneliness, questions of identity, and the constant influence of technology. They are searching for meaning, belonging, purpose, and truth. At the same time, many Christian parents report feeling underequipped to lead spiritually at home.
Research within Christian education offers encouragement as well. Cardus’s Enduring Faith study found that graduates who experienced intentional Christian schooling demonstrated stronger long-term faith outcomes, including higher levels of prayer, Bible engagement, and church participation.
The key takeaway is that we do not have to choose between investing in students and investing in families. The most effective discipleship strategies recognize that these efforts are deeply connected.
What This Means for Online Christian Education
The research is clear: Faith is nurtured best through relationships, conversations, and consistent spiritual influence in the home.
For schools serving students through online learning, this reality presents both a challenge and an opportunity. In a traditional school setting, educators may see parents at drop-off, athletic events, performances, conferences, or chapel services. In an online environment, those interactions may be less frequent, and yet the home is often more visible and influential in a student’s daily learning experience.
This means online Christian education is uniquely positioned to strengthen the partnership between school and family. Rather than viewing family engagement as an added initiative, online schools can view it as an integral part of helping students flourish academically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally.
What Flourishing Online Schools Are Doing
As I interact with Christian schools across a variety of settings, I see a common thread among those making a lasting impact. They recognize that technology and flexibility are only part of the equation. Relationships still matter.
Leaders consistently communicate that family engagement is not simply the responsibility of one department or one staff member. It is part of the school’s mission and discipleship strategy.
Teachers look for creative ways to connect learning with conversations at home. A reflection question, prayer prompt, discussion activity, or family application can encourage meaningful interaction between students and parents.
Schools provide resources that help parents understand what students are learning and how they can reinforce biblical truth in everyday life.
Even in an online environment, educators intentionally partner with families in the development of the whole child. They support academic growth, social and emotional development, character formation, and spiritual maturity. Together, schools and families help students grow in what we often describe as the head, heart, and hand: developing wisdom, nurturing Christlike character, and learning how to live out their faith in everyday life.
Most importantly, leaders model this value for their staff. Because they recognize that healthy ministry begins at home, they encourage faculty to invest in their own spiritual rhythms and family relationships. Staff members who are pursuing faithfulness in their own homes are often better equipped to encourage families within their school community.
What This Can Look Like
Research helps us understand the opportunity. Stories help us see how it plays out practically.
Years ago, while serving in spiritual formation leadership at a Christian school, a family enrolled their children because of the school’s academic reputation and extracurricular opportunities. They wanted an excellent education, but faith was not a meaningful part of life in their home.
Through the faithful investment of teachers, coaches, mentors, and the church our school was a ministry of, both students began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As their faith grew, so did their confidence to engage their parents in spiritual conversations.
At the same time, the school continued to invest in the entire family. Relationships were built. Invitations were extended. Community developed. Eventually, both parents also came into a personal relationship with Christ.
The family became active participants in the life of the school and the church. They learned how to establish spiritual rhythms in their home and developed a family plan centered on following Christ together.
Years later, their children graduated from our school and entered universities that were not very welcoming to the gospel. Yet, these students were prepared. They were grounded. They were equipped to live out their faith with conviction and courage. Today, they are raising families of their own and intentionally helping their children know and love Jesus. This is what it means to flourish. This is what we get to see when schools faithfully invest not only in students but also in the families who influence them most.
Preparing the Soil
Jesus often used agricultural imagery to describe spiritual growth. Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 3:6 when he writes, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (ESV).
That picture has shaped how I think about discipleship.
We are not responsible for producing the transformation—that is God’s work. But we do have a role to play.
We prepare the soil. We cultivate environments where truth is taught, relationships are formed, questions are welcomed, and faith is modeled. We plant seeds through teaching and discipleship. We water those seeds through encouragement, prayer, and consistent presence. Then we trust God to do what only He can do.
This is why partnering with families matters so much. When home, church, and school work together, we are not competing influences. We are cooperating laborers in the same field.
A Challenge for the Year Ahead
As you prepare for the coming school year, take time to reflect on where you are: What is working well? Where are students and families thriving? Where might there be opportunities to strengthen, adjust, or begin something new?
For school leaders, gather your team and ask, “How are we equipping families to be active partners in helping students learn to know and follow Jesus?” Review your onboarding, student support, communication, and discipleship practices through that lens. Look for one practical way to better resource parents this year. If you’re looking for a place to begin, the Flourishing Families framework at FlourishingFamiliesPlan.org provides a roadmap to help schools assess their current efforts, strengthen family-school partnerships, and build a more intentional strategy for engaging families in the discipleship journey.
For teachers, consider one way to create a bridge between your course and students’ homes. A monthly connection point with the family, a prayer focus, a discussion prompt, or a simple note of encouragement can help parents engage more intentionally in their student’s growth.
For all of us, before encouraging other families, we should invest in our own. Consider what spiritual rhythms, conversations, and practices you want to cultivate in your home this year. The most powerful ministry often begins with our own faithfulness. If you have never created a family discipleship plan, the Flourishing Families Playbook offers practical tools and guidance to help families develop intentional rhythms for growing together in Christ.
Every Christian educator has experienced periods when the fruit of their labor seemed invisible. Yet God often uses ordinary acts of faithfulness to shape lives for generations. As you prepare for another school year, continue planting seeds. Continue cultivating relationships. Continue partnering with families. Trust the Lord with the harvest.
At the end of the day, the biblical mandate is clear, the need is significant, and the opportunity is extraordinary. May the Lord give us wisdom as we prepare the soil, faithfulness as we plant and water, and confidence to trust Him for the growth He desires to bring in the lives of students and families for generations to come.
Research Sources
- Barna, Households of Faith (2019)
- Barna’s children’s faith formation research
- Barna, Gen Z Volume 3 (2024)
- Cardus, Enduring Faith report (2026)
- ACSI, Flourishing School Culture research
- ACSI, Flourishing Faith Index
- Focus on the Family’s family discipleship research
