Current reality check
Christian school leaders are caught in a painful tension. On one hand, we know our students will enter a world where AI is ubiquitous. Banning it entirely feels like sending them ill-equipped into a reality we’ve refused to acknowledge.
On the other hand, we’ve watched technology erode attention spans, facilitate academic dishonesty, and replace deep thinking with algorithmic shortcuts. So we’re divided, within our schools, across our networks, and sometimes within ourselves, unsure whether our primary posture should be protection or preparation.
This uncertainty extends to our teachers, many navigating AI without clear frameworks or training. Some experiment quietly with AI themselves, using it for feedback or differentiation, while others avoid it entirely, unsure what’s ethical. When educators do engage AI for planning or preparation, transparency questions arise: “Who do we tell? What message does our use send?”
At the heart of our concerns lies a deeper challenge: the absence of robust, biblically grounded frameworks for technology discernment. Without theological clarity on stewarding AI as image-bearers, we default to reactive policies, treating AI as either a savior or a threat rather than a tool requiring wisdom.
We want students to use AI “as a tool, not as a crutch,” but we haven’t articulated what that means in practice. The gap isn’t primarily about technology; it’s about theological and pedagogical clarity.
Even amid uncertainty, encouraging signs emerge. Christian educators are asking better questions: not “Should we allow AI?” but “How does our faith inform wise stewardship?” (See Dave Mulder’s CACE post, “A Better Imagination: Where the Rubber Hits the Road.”), Schools are moving beyond blanket policies toward contextualized approaches. School communities are engaging in honest dialogue. These conversations represent the beginning of the journey-mindedness our vision requires.
The 2035 vision statement
Let’s journey together to 2035 and cast a vision of what flourishing in the digital age might look like. By 2035, Christian schools will cultivate learning communities where educators and students, as co-learners and image-bearers, navigate the digital world with wisdom and confidence, creating beautiful work that serves God’s kingdom as they discern truth from deception and leverage technology for human connection and flourishing rather than isolation and distraction.
What would this vision look like in practice? We envision schools where—
- Students and educators grow as wise, reflective thinkers who use technology to deepen understanding rather than shortcut learning. They wrestle with complexity and discover how God has uniquely wired them to contribute to His world.
- Learning is characterized by “beautiful work.” Educators and students partner on sustained projects that undergo revision and refinement, serve real needs in their communities, and contribute to God’s redemptive work in tangible ways.
- Educators and students learn together. They engage in collaborative cycles of creation, feedback, and revision that honor each learner’s unique gifts and foster a culture of gracious critique and continuous growth.
- Educators and students leverage technology not for self-promotion or isolation, but to build bridges. They serve across geographic, socioeconomic, and cultural boundaries, engaging with those different from themselves while continually asking, “What does love require of me?”
The figure below shows how the 2035 vision for human flourishing in a digital world can be put into action. In this example, a student-led community food security project demonstrates sustained work, co-learning, and wise technology stewardship.
Exemplars in action
Several Christian schools are pioneering thoughtful and strategic AI integration. The Stony Brook School in New York formed an AI Task Force of philosophers, technologists, and educators to explore the use of AI through a biblical lens and to equip faculty with the training needed to address its use in the classroom. They developed an “AI Checklist” to address plagiarism concerns and maintain transparency with students and families. Their approach demonstrates that biblical frameworks can guide technology decisions rather than fear-based policies.
Greater Atlanta Christian School, in partnership with Ethos Education Group, developed Trek Learning—a learning platform that helps students engage AI as a collaborative thinking partner rather than a shortcut. Trek models transparent AI use while maintaining student agency and critical thinking. Their development of Trek exemplifies how Christian schools can create customized ecosystems that align technology with their theological commitments and mission.
Pathway forward
The journey toward our 2035 vision requires differentiated steps. All schools should form student-educator partnerships to co-design learning experiences and implement secure AI platforms.
- Starting schools: Establish AI ethics committees; pilot one mission-aligned tool.
- Advancing schools: Develop AI literacy curriculum integrated with theological frameworks.
- Leading schools: Customize AI systems embodying their unique mission and share resources with the broader community.
Metrics of Success
By 2030, we’ll see progress when—
- 80% of educators complete biblical AI ethics training and regularly demonstrate co-learning with students in AI, documented through classroom practice.
- Students produce sustained projects with multiple revisions serving real community needs, with reflections articulating participation in God’s redemptive work and how Christ’s love shaped their engagement.
- Graduates can articulate specific instances of choosing independent wrestling over AI shortcuts and discerning when technology enhances versus diminishes flourishing.
- School surveys reveal that revision and feedback are normalized as growth, not failure.
The question before us is not whether our students will encounter AI, but whether we will equip them as image-bearers to steward it wisely. Let’s journey together.
Note: The AI thinking partner Claude was used to refine this post.
