Christian Education

Definition and Meaning

Christian education is the activity by which the church teaches Scripture and its faith tradition to the next generation and to new believers, nurturing them in the faith. The academic discipline that studies this activity is called Christian education studies, and within theology it is treated as a branch of practical theology. Christian education encompasses education within the church (church school, Bible study, and discipleship training), faith formation in the home, and education in Christian schools.

Biblical and Historical Background

In the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6:6–9, which instructs parents to teach God's words diligently to their children, is regarded as a principal basis. In the New Testament, the Great Commission, with its charge of "teaching them to observe all things" (Matthew 28:19–20), and Ephesians 6:4, among other passages, are cited.

The early church provided doctrinal instruction to those preparing for baptism. After the Reformation, catechetical texts in question-and-answer form, such as Martin Luther's Small Catechism (1529) and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), became central to instruction. In late eighteenth-century England, Robert Raikes opened Sunday schools for poor children, and these spread widely as the Sunday school movement.

Practice in the Korean Church

From the time of its earliest missions, Korean Protestantism placed great emphasis on education, founding institutions such as Paichai Hakdang, Ewha Hakdang, and Soongsil School.

Today, church education takes place primarily in the church school. Students are divided by age into departments such as the preschool department, elementary department, youth department (middle and high school), and young adult department, and during school vacations churches hold vacation Bible school and retreats. Each department is led by an education minister (jeondosa) or an education pastor, while the teachers are often lay members. The education boards of each denomination's general assembly publish church school curricula, known as gonggwa (lesson materials).

Emphases differ by denomination:

• Among Presbyterians, denominations with a strongly Reformed orientation place particular importance on catechetical instruction.
• Presbyterian, Methodist, and other churches that practice infant baptism provide confirmation instruction once the child has grown.
• Because Baptists do not practice infant baptism, they offer instruction that prepares individuals for baptism by immersion upon their own profession of faith.
• Lutheran and Anglican churches continue the tradition of confirmation instruction.

In recent years, as church school enrollment has declined, educating the "next generation" has come to be seen as a key challenge for many denominations. There has also been debate over whether mandatory chapel services or religion classes at Christian schools conflict with students' freedom of religion.