“O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. His mercy endures forever.” These words from the common table prayer have been spoken by hundreds and thousands of Lutherans, thousands and thousands of times, throughout the years to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has given them. Through our religious education we have been taught that we must always remember that giving thanks to God is primary in all we do, for all we have is granted through God’s love of His people. It is this marvelous and wonderful Christian education that is the basis of this article.

Nineteen years ago my wife and I decided to enroll our first child in Mt. Olive Lutheran Day School. Our decision was based on many factors, which included the following: smaller class size, more personal teaching styles, excellent faculty and many extracurricular opportunities. First and foremost, though, our decision was based on the opportunity for our child to hear about and live in the Word of God every day in school. From that day 19 years ago, this child has grown and since has graduated from Mt. Olive school, attended and graduated from Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School (MVL) and now is attending Bethany Lutheran College. Every day he has heard and lived the Word of God, and for that we are eternally thankful. Our other two children are attending Mt Olive and MVL. We can be confident as parents that as our children become adults and enter the “real world,” they will be prepared to take on the challenges of the world with a foundation of Christian values, education and beliefs.

Love for Christian education has been at the heart of the Lutheran Church and our synod since its inception many years ago. We certainly give thanks to those who lived before us and who so eloquently spoke on the importance of Christian education. On October 13th, 1889, in a dedication address to the Norwegian English Teachers College, it was said:

It [the school] must therefore be Christian, that is, the word of God must govern in the school, in the discipline as well as in the instruction. The Word of God must not merely be an important course there, but the life-giving power which carries and permeates the other instruction, the foundation upon which the entire education in the school rests.

In his address to the Synod Convention of 1892, Pres. H. A. Preus stated:

Strive with all your powers toward establishing regular parochial schools! Set about seriously to give the children a Christian education! The growth of the Lutheran Church, yes, its existence depends on it to a considerable degree, because the future belongs to the coming generations.

Finally, in his address on elementary education, Pastor Henry Ingebritsen in 1939 stated:

Let us never cease to make every effort to bring up our children entrusted to our care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Thank God, we have a number of Day-schools, doing excellent work. The young, as well as the old, must be brought to the fountains which God in mercy has opened for us—namely the Word and the Sacraments. Where the Christian home and Christian school work hand in hand, under the blessings of God, results will not be lacking.

It is our duty as Christians to give thanks to God for those who came before us who realized the importance of Christian Education.

While we can’t predict the future, we can certainly listen and learn from the past. The Board for Lutheran Schools of America (LSA) is listening to the past to help prepare for the future. LSA’s goal is to establish Christian, confessionally Lutheran, community-based schools as well as work with current schools to help prepare our children for the future challenges that our sinful world presents. “O give thanks to the Lord” for this wonderful and exciting opportunity that faces us all—the Christian education of our children, grandchildren and generations to come.

John W Tetzloff is a member of Mt Olive Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota and a member of the Board for Lutheran Schools of America.