Dear Hill Country Families,

What is the return on investment for sending your child to Hill Country Christian School? It would be easier if we were producing widgets to sell in the marketplace and could look at your capital investment and its return 12-13 years from now, but we do not. Our product is people—your people (a.k.a. your children)—and in particular, we want your people to graduate as whole-hearted Christ-followers, well equipped to step into the path God has for them in the future.

Sadly, the statistics on students growing up in Christian households who achieve that end are less than encouraging. In the book Faith for Exiles by David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock, approximately 65% of teens who attend church regularly and grow up in Christian homes will walk away from their faith shortly after graduation. Interestingly, that number grew by 5% in the last decade. Ouch. And if you are like me, the greatest desire of your parental heart is to see that your children are walking with the Lord.

So how do we change the tide? How do we make faith compelling to our teens?

I wish I could tell you there is a silver bullet and that I can guarantee a solution that would have all of your (and my) children walking with the Lord by graduation. This I cannot do. But I can say both anecdotally and statistically that one of the most powerful things we can do to encourage life-giving faith in our children is to surround them with adults (parents and other Christ-following adults) who will influence them towards faith each day. And there is no better way to do that than through Christian education. I know I’m biased, but hear me out.

I’ve watched countless graduates over the last 22 years in Christian education grow up walking with the Lord. I’ve watched many of these graduates bring their kids back to our school to be educated because they want the same Christian education that they had the blessing of receiving. I’ve observed it enough times that about five years ago, I decided to start gathering data. At my school in Washington, we did a deep dive into all of our graduates, dating back to our first year. We found that 75% of our students were walking with the Lord after graduation. At Westminster in Birmingham, our statistics were even higher (closer to 80%). Notice that we have the inverse of the national average. Interesting. I haven’t been at Hill Country long enough to track this, but I suspect we would see a similar result.

Why is this? I think there are at least three reasons for this:

1. In Christian schools like Hill Country, our students are marinated in the Gospel every single day. Sort of like what Moses commands the Israelites to do in Deuteronomy 6:4-9: “You shall teach them (God’s laws) diligently to your children, and talk of them constantly…”

2. We, as parents, need others who speak the truth of the Gospel into our children. Teachers and staff who love our children day in and day out, but also point them to their need for a Savior, are a desperately needed gift for us as parents.

3. Positive peer culture shapes our kids’ hearts and minds. In all three Christian schools I’ve had the privilege of working in, we’ve had a positive, Christ-following peer culture. This is a powerful tool to influence our children.

I could go on, but you’ve read enough for today.

Thank you for allowing us to partner with you by seeking to educate your child’s heart, soul, mind, and strength each day here at Hill Country. We are honored to serve alongside you on your parenting journey.

In Christ,

Eric DeVries, Head of School