Academic Excellence and Spiritual Formation: Where They Meet

When planning for your child’s future success, academic excellence is always a priority. But academics and intellect aren’t everything; your student’s spiritual formation is just as critical a component to their overall wellbeing. You might be surprised to learn that academic excellence and spiritual formation overlap a great deal in the Venn diagram of success. They work hand in hand as your child learns and grows. Here are just a few areas where they meet.

Secure students are successful students

To unlock their ultimate potential, your child needs to be emotionally and spiritually secure. Young people need to have a healthy, steadily developing sense of self to be successful in all other areas of life. A student who has a strong and loving spiritual foundation will be in a better place to pursue their academic careers than their peers who do not.

Your child needs a support system

Children, particularly teens and pre-teens, need a positive support system of peers and adults in order to thrive. This support system of friends and mentors can often be found in a church community or in a Christian school setting. This foundation of uplifting support is key to not only their emotional development but their academic success as well. When your child has an outlet in which to process the stresses and challenges of life, they will be freed up to focus on their schooling.

Academic excellence is about the whole person

Getting good grades isn’t always enough to ensure success in high school and beyond. A student’s ability to connect with others relationally and emotionally is an even more critical skill to develop. They need to develop empathy, compassion, and a broader worldview. A Christ-centered education will nurture the student as a whole person, and encourage and support their growth. Christian schools foster empathy in their students by teaching the Bible and implementing those teachings first hand by serving others in the community. Spiritual maturity ensures that all of these ingredients are in place, helping foster success in every area of the student’s life.