ADVENTIST PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

The Seventh-day Adventist Church recognizes God as the ultimate source of existence and truth. In the beginning, God created in His image a perfect humanity, a perfection later marred by sin. Through Christ and His Spirit, God determined to restore humanity from its lost state. Through the Bible, He has revealed His will to the world, a revelation that supersedes human reason. Through His Church on earth, He seeks the lost for His kingdom.

The basic tenets of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as well as the inspired writings of Ellen White, are directed toward God’s restorative plan for fallen humanity. The Church conducts its own system of education to engender belief in these tenets, within the context of one’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to foster a desire to share that relationship with others.

Made in God’s image, every human being, although fallen, is endowed with attributes akin to those of the Creator. Therefore, Adventist education seeks to nurture thinkers rather than mere reflectors of others’ thoughts; loving service rather than selfish ambition; maximum development of one’s potential; and an appreciation for all that is beautiful, true, and good.

An education of this kind imparts far more than academic knowledge. It is a balanced development of the whole person. Its time dimensions span eternity. In Adventist education, homes, schools, and churches cooperate together with divine agencies in preparing learners for citizenship here on this earth and in the New Earth to come.*

*This statement is an abridgement of the complete philiosophy statement found in the General Conference Working Policy.