The Church’s Duty to Educate Its Young

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 16, 1906

The Church’s Duty to Educate Its Young

THE church is asleep, and does not realize the magnitude of this matter of educating the children and youth. “Why,” one says, “what is the need of being so particular to thoroughly educate our youth? It seems to me that if you take a few who have decided to follow some literary calling, or some other calling that requires a certain discipline, and give due attention to them, that is all that is necessary. It is not required that the whole mass of our youth should be so well trained. Will not this answer every essential requirement?”—No, I answer, most decidedly not. What selection would we be able to make out of the numbers of our youth? How could we tell who would be the most promising, who would render the best service to God? In our human judgment we might do as did Samuel when he was sent to find the anointed of the Lord, and look upon the outward appearance.

Who can determine which one of a family will prove to be efficient in the work of God? There should be general education of all its members, and all our youth should be permitted to have the blessings and privileges of an education at our schools, that they may be inspired to become laborers together with God. They all need an education that they may be fitted for usefulness in this life, qualified for places of responsibility both in private and in public life. There is a great necessity of making plans that there may be a large number of competent workers, and many should fit themselves as teachers, that others may be trained and disciplined for the great work of the future. The church should take in the situation, and by their influence and means seek to bring about this much-desired end. Let a fund be created by generous contributions for the establishment of schools for the advancement of educational work. We need men well trained, well educated, to work in the interests of the churches. They should present the fact that we can not trust our youth to go to seminaries and colleges established by other denominations, but must gather them in where their religious training will not be neglected. God would not have us in any sense behind in educational work; our colleges should be far in advance in the highest kind of education.—“Education.”