From last week:

In recent decades, both churches and youth have faced significant challenges. Across the board, church attendance has seen a decline, particularly among young people. Additionally, many teens who do attend church drift away after graduation.

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To prevent the next generation of Christian children from falling away, we must create an environment that allows them to be educated in alignment with Christian values. It is no longer sufficient to rely solely on the brief hour or two spent at church on Sundays to counterbalance the influence of secular school culture during the remaining 35 hours of the week.

Outsourcing the education of our children to the state is not always the best option, as it often fails to prioritize the values of the church and the home. So, is starting a school within the church an option worth considering?

Fortunately, the N.C. General Assembly has made religious schooling economically feasible by significantly expanding the Opportunity Scholarship program. It now offers tuition assistance to all students in the Tar Heel state. Scholarship amounts are based on family income, with low and middle-income families receiving the largest awards. This expansion benefits parents who previously could not afford private school tuition. For the 2023-2024 school year, students are eligible for scholarship grants from $3,246 to $7,213.

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Private Christian schools maintain their own academic, religious and admission standards. The state respects the autonomy of non-public schools in terms of religious and educational philosophies.

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With the expansion of Opportunity Scholarships, churches should seize the opportunity to invest in a Christian school and extend their reach into the community.

Translation: “While most people in the United States support the division between church and state, I want to start a school within my church because I am not only losing numbers in membership but am also needing money to sustain my tax-exempt entity. The state of North Carolina has these unregulated vouchers. We should start a school in our church and accept these unregulated vouchers to finance our outreach program to recruit more church members while they are adolescents. Since we already have buildings which are empty because we can’t reach people as well as we used to (probably due to rigid, wrathful views and literal religious interpretation) as well as not having to invest in athletics or bussing or even a cafeteria, the amount of money received above the bottom line to sustain a school can be used to keep our church in business.”