Planting Seeds of Truth

Why the Kepharts Chose Biblical Education at Maranatha

Teaching all subjects from a biblical worldview is a keystone to what happens here at Maranatha. We recently had the chance to sit down with one of our families, the Kepharts, to hear their story and perspective on partnering together in the biblical worldview development of their son, Silas. 

Moving to Minnesota from Alaska for family reasons, the Kepharts initially couldn’t wait to get back to Alaska. Since then, they’ve fallen in love with MCA and knowing that their son is growing up in an environment where he is truly loved and taught the Word of God— they couldn’t see it being any other way. “It’s really why we’re even in this state still, to be honest.” 

The Kepharts fully believe that it is our duty, as parents, such as the command is given in Deuteronomy, to bring our children up in the ways of the Lord, and that a big part of that is to make sure our son’s teachers align with our biblical values. “It’s so important to partner with others who share the same love for God’s Word and how important it is.” Children spend a majority of their time at school and to have them being daily surrounded by like-minded believers is crucial. 

Being a part of a school that knows its identity, and that identity being found in Christ, is extremely important to the Kepharts. “No two people are going to agree on everything, but when there’s an organization or an establishment such as public schools that’s trying to intrude on an identity in Christ the more important it is to really think about who is speaking into your child’s identity.” The key is to plant those seeds when they are young so that, as it says in Proverbs, they won’t depart from it even when they’re old. “What I see walking around this place,” Mr. Kephart said, “is there’s more people in love with God here than anywhere else I’ve seen.” 

Parents these days are well aware of what is taught in schools and what their children are being influenced by. Kids, in many ways, are like plants in that they need the proper environment to grow healthy. Making sure kids are put in a nurturing, safe environment where they’ll be loved and taught the truth of God’s Word is paramount for making sure our children have the proper stability before going out into the world to be the light. “We have such a responsibility.” 

Raising children up on the Word of God starts at home, and our teachers are here to help support that. If our teachers aren’t living out that example of what it means to follow after Christ, how will our children see the example? Biblical integration at Maranatha is more than just a chapel or two a week and a little Bible on the side. When doing their first walkthrough at MCA, the Kepharts were taken aback by just how truly embedded the Word of God really was in everything. “That was definitely a winning point; that was the sinker.” 

Building a school upon the truth of God’s Word has been the goal of Maranatha since the beginning. To put it as Mr. Kephart did, “God’s Word is the single source of truth.” Our goal, as well as the goal of our parents, is to surround our children daily with that single source of truth. Kids these days are relentlessly bombarded with conflicting viewpoints and messages, and our plan is to partner together as a school with our parents to provide stability and security for our students through the only thing that can do that: God’s Word.