CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Christian education is dedicated to helping people discover God’s meaning for life.[1] It goes without saying that Christian education must be founded on Biblical principles if it is to be genuinely Christian. In the first place, it is how Christians through their study of the Bible get to know God and understand His plan for their lives. Secondly it is how Christianity is passed on from generation to the next.
The scriptures say that right from the beginning God laid the foundations of Christian education, after He has created man, He put in him the abilities and intelligence to think and name all which God has created then He placed in the garden of Eden for him to take care of it, He did not stop there but He instructed the man concerning the dos and don’t, He also explain to man the consequences which will follow if he does not obey the instructions given to him (Genesis 2:15-17).The same process is repeated in the history of Jewish people whereby God kept instructing them on how they should live ,worship…He gave them rules and regulations for them to follow so that they will be called His.
From the time of Adam to nowadays, Bible history shows us that Christian education comes from God and it is needed all over the world. Several people try by all means to have knowledge and be instructed, spending their time, strength and wealth to acquire education in different disciplines .Such people are showing more and more interest in learning because of the significance they attribute to it and the values that come from it; the more a person is educated, the more is considered in the society. Sadly, there is almost no room for Christian education in the list of disciplines that people boast of, no emphasis on the importance of Christian education, not even enough effort to improve the quality of its teachings.
In His post resurrection ministry, Christ instructed the apostles to teach and make disciples, the disciples made should make theirs too till the gospel will reach the whole world but it seems like the purpose has been changed and replaced with other teachings. The quality of teaching leaders of tomorrow churches are receiving today is seen as been of low quality compared to the expectation of Christ. When He throw His regards in the future to see how the church will look like He even wondered and asked, “Will I find faith when I will come back?” Years back this question look like irrational to many but the way things are going today one can understand this statement better.