2017 Foundations Talk | 1:03:03 | All Grade Levels, Culture & Faith, Bible & Theology
Summary
Success for classical Christian schools is highly dependent on the engagement and health of the local church. But despite our schoolÍs efforts to require church attendance from families, all too often the students who show
up on Monday morning lack basic Bible and theological knowledge and are likely struggling to find the practical role of their faith in daily life.
TodayÍs pastors range from being highly supportive to passively critical about the presence of classical Christian schools in their community. Many ministry leaders often donÍt want to take school sides and have a host of misunderstandings, assumptions, and at times fears, about the agenda of their local private Christian schools. Yet schools are not called to be surrogate churches, despite many parents looking at the school to be their church. Are there steps schools can take to be sources of encouragement to local pastors and move them to being confident advocates for your school?
This workshop will explore current research from Barna on the state of the church today as well as surveys of pastors in communities with classical Christian schools. Practical and proven strategies will be presented of several initiatives that have brought the church and school into closer understanding and partnership.
After fifteen years serving as an ordained minister in suburban and urban churches as well as a decade as a ACCS school headmaster, Davies is uniquely positioned to ñsit on the fenceî between the church and the schools.
Speaker
Davies Owens is the head of vision and advancement at the Ambrose School in Boise, Idaho, where he also served as the dean of the upper school. Prior to moving West two years ago, he served for ten years as a board member, and later, as head of school of Heritage Preparatory in Atlanta, Georgia. Five years prior, he was the executive director of BlueSky Ministries, an innovation lab and consulting organization launched after he worked in the dot-com days for Christianity.com in Silicon Valley. He is also an ordained Presbyterian minister who served as a local church pastor for twelve years. Davies has a BA in sociology from Furman University, an MDiv from Duke Divinity School, and a doctorate from Gordon Conwell Seminary in Boston. He has studied on a number of occasions at L ‘Abri Fellowship in Switzerland and England. He and his wife, Holly, see the consistent fruit of classical Christian education in the lives of their three children: Hannah, Liam, and Bennett.
Additional Materials
The Association of Classical & Christian Schools presents Repairing the Ruins, the ACCS annual conference, copyright ACCS. You may make additional copies of this recording for use by your school but please do not sell any copies of the recording, or post it on the internet.
Library Home