It means first and foremost that we are Christians. We are committed to proclaiming the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, the payment for sin through His death, burial, and resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Further, we believe the Lordship of Jesus Christ extends to everything we do, everything we think, and everything we are.

That being the case, the question is how to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ through education itself. And we believe that is best done through a curriculum and method of teaching that sees all knowledge and all disciplines as interrelated, ultimately finding their end in God. Think of it like a great mountain, we see the pinnacle and know that our goal is to reach the top. We also know that the top must be supported by a much larger base. If the pinnacle of the mountain of education is glorifying God, our Creator, how do we get there?

That is where classical comes into play. In our view the purpose of education is discipleship, building Christian character through the development of virtue. We want students to walk in wisdom, and the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:1f). Wisdom is not a list of do’s and don'ts. Wisdom is a well-built life. As Rome wasn’t built in a day, Christian character isn’t built in an instant. Over the course of life children develop and grow.

Classical education leans into this natural development of children into adults via grammar school (roughly K-6th Grade), logic school (roughly 7th-8th Grade) and rhetoric school (roughly 9th-12th Grade). We learn a subject by learning its grammar, the basic language used to talk about and describe it. Then we learn the why of the subject, its internal logic. Finally, we begin to see how the subject relates to other things we know, making connections and drawing conclusions that one subject in isolation cannot support. That’s rhetoric.

We believe God spoke and the world existed (Genesis 1:1f). We believe Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). We believe the Bible is God’s written Word (2 Timothy 3:16). Grammar, the study of words, is not just an arbitrary discipline. Words are the nature of things. To study them through grammar, to understand them through logic, and to use them in discovery through rhetoric is crucial to walking in wisdom. As you might imagine, this type of study is not your typical textbook and worksheet type of study. It’s a deep and meaningful engagement with ideas of eternal value. It’s the cultivation of the soul through beauty, goodness, and truth.

This cultivation of the soul also serves a more immediate purpose. Namely, our nation requires a moral and informed citizenry. Our republic can only be sustained through virtuous and good people. Our Founding Fathers, many of whom were classically educated themselves, understood this. Freedom requires responsibility, it requires living in wisdom. Classical Christian education both serves the church and sustains the nation.

So why classical Christian education? In summary:

1. Because God is our Creator and we should honor Him by walking in wisdom;

2. Because children deserve the chance to develop and grow in a way that aligns with their nature; and,

3. Because our nation must be sustained by moral and virtuous citizens.