The Big Idea
The disintegration of Christendom as a global Christian society, as well as the general western cultural decline and chaos that we see all around us is well documented in many places. A few of which are:
- The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. Trueman
- How the Light Shines Through by Chad Lakies
- The Anxious Generation by Haidt Jonathan
- Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
- All Things Shining by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance
- Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger
We can no longer assume (if we should have ever assumed) that the people in our community have any foundational understanding of the Bible or Christianity.
Not only that, but increasingly, we can no longer assume that they have a solid foundation of basic English literacy. A short anecdote from LCOS in the fall of 2026:
- 2 of 3 confirmands cannot comfortably read the Bible.
- 4 of 7 new members cannot comfortably read the Bible either.
None of these individuals are incapable of it. Yet it is clear that they have not been taught, or retained, the basic skills of language comprehension needed to open up a Bible and read it without difficulty.In our current place in history, we cannot rely on the culture or educational systems around us to reliably teach our people the foundational skills they need to learn, understand, and share the good news of the Bible.
This leaves the task of education to us. It is not a small task, but it is a task that is foundational to the work of the church. For without the continued nurturing of leaders who can learn about and share the Gospel, we will quickly find ourselves without the Gospel being shared at all.
What follows is a short planning process for the Preschool Board of LCOS to discuss and think about where we are and hope to be in our educational endeavors.
Progression of Planning Discussions
Historical Context
We will start with a discussion of some History. Read the following Lutheran Witness article:
A Gift for Our Children: The Past, Present and Future of Lutheran Schools in America – The Lutheran Witness
Write out your answers to the following questions:
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What surprised you about the History of Lutheran Schools?
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What are core challenges that have never really changed?
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What (if anything) has this historical context changed your mind about?
1. Current Context
Next we need to be clear on where we are now.
There are a number of factors negatively affecting enrollment including:
- National decrease in birthrate
- Local decrease in the population density of children
- Increasing financial pressure on families
- Expanding state funded T-K
- General shifts in parent attitudes toward educational expectations for their children
Are there any other factors that may be at play?
What are the general needs of parents and children today?
What are the needs of our church families?
2. Choose a Model
Use the following document to discuss and chose a school model:
Lutheran Education - Two Foundational Models
3. Discuss the Preschool’s Lifecycle
Use this document to facilitate conversations:
Church and Ministry Lifecycles and Waves
If there is additional interest Smooth and Rough Change can also be discussed.
4. Discuss Educational and Church Worker Goals
Use this document to discuss the core educational goals for LCOS:
Lutheran Education - Literacy over Content
How could we design our educational process to take someone who knows nothing about Christianity, the Bible, or Lutheranism and teach them from the ground up?
What kind of church workers would we want to train and support as a congregation?
- DCE
- Music/Worship Director
- Lutheran Trained Teachers
What are the roadblocks to finding, hiring and retaining this kind of worker?
5. Discuss Missional and Outreach Goals
How would we answer this classical question from Tim Keller:
“If your church went out of existence tomorrow, would the neighborhood weep?”
What is the impact of LCOS and Upward Bound on the community?
The official mission of LCOS is:
“Responding to God’s love, Lutheran Church of Our Savior desires to reach more people for Christ by:
- Proclaiming Him
- Growing in faith
- Caring for all people”
Where are we successfully fulfilling this mission?
Where do we need to rethink how we fulfill our mission?
What are the felt needs of the community around us? How can we meet them there and share the Gospel?
Use the simple framework below to chart out a few paths forward:
Wow! - Now - How