Yesterday, the Trinitas Board of Governors spent the entire day engaged in a continuous improvement discussion which resulted in an update to the school’s five-year strategic plan. Revisiting this process and document regularly helps the board ensure that the school is not only staying faithful to its founding mission and vision but is also thriving while improving in the execution of the same.
As valuable as that process is for organizations, it is equally important for parents to honestly assess where their family is in relation to the high calling placed upon Christian parents and to thoughtfully craft their own “strategic plan.”
Any well-formulated strategic plan begins with a high-level understanding of the organization’s mission and vision. The Trinitas mission is:
By God’s grace we endeavor to assist Christian families in the education of their children by providing a stimulating academic program in a distinctly Christ-centered environment expressly designed to equip students to a life of moral and spiritual integrity, personal and social responsibility, and a zeal to know and serve a Holy God.
If your family had a mission statement, what would it be?
Too often parents, even Christian parents, have given little to no thought to their vision for their family. Sadly, many have substituted a Christian vision of virtuous discipleship for their children with one inundated with convenience, comfort, and prosperity. As noted in a recent book on classical Christian education, “As long as education is merely about learning intellectual skills to help young men and women prosper in the American economy, it poses no moral challenge to the parent of those children.”[1] Conversely, the parent who desires to raise their child to love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, and soul, will find that their path is often fraught with difficulty. But be encouraged – the hardest things in life are often the best things (eg. marriage, parenting, etc.).
In addition to a clearly-defined vision, an effective strategic plan includes action steps. These action steps are often identified by asking the question, “what must we do to accomplish our desired vision?” Even parents who have acquired a God-honoring vision for their children must settle upon the action steps necessary to see that vision to fulfillment.
If you desire your child to be a genuine follower of Christ, what are you doing to see that goal realized? Are you placing them under the influence of those who are committed to following Christ faithfully? After all, the Scriptures stated plainly that the student will be like his master. (Luke 6:40) If you desire your child to love that which is good, true, and beautiful, are you actively curating the media, peers, and conversations to which they are exposed?
Remember, the old maxims concerning objects at rest and doing what you’ve always done ring true especially as they pertain to raising children faithfully. If, like me, you find the creation and execution of effective actions steps in pursuit of a worthwhile vision to be daunting, be encouraged. In time, the benefit will prove worth the investment.
[1] Kevin Clark and Ravi Scott Jain, The Liberal Arts Traditio: A Philosophy of Christian Classical Education, 3rd edition (Camp Hill, Classical Academic Press, 2021), 211.