“I will teach you the fear of the LORD”
The Christian school movement in Finland, launched to protect religious freedom and parental rights in education, has steadily grown over the past 40 years. Today, it is helping to restore Christian values and religious freedom even within the public education system.
The movement began in earnest in 1987 when YWAM established an interdenominational Christian school in Helsinki. At the time, there was no legal framework to support such schools, so for seven years it operated thanks to the dedication of unpaid teachers and volunteer parents. It wasn’t until 1995 that it received official approval.
The Finnish Christian school movement was deeply influenced by the educational philosophy of Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper, who emphasized both parental choice in education and religious freedom. His ideas helped shape Finland’s Education Act of 1920, which allowed private schools to receive public funding. Today, about 840,000 students in the Netherlands attend some 3,800 government-supported Christian schools.
In Finland, the 1998 Basic Education Act officially recognized private schools built on specific worldviews, allowing Christian schools to gradually gain legal approval. Currently, there are 16 officially recognized Christian comprehensive schools, with around 2,900 students—about 18% of all private school students—enrolled in them.
While basic education is mandatory in Finland, attending school is not, so homeschooling is also a legal option. Many Christian schools began as homeschool programs under temporary permits and later received full accreditation. Still, the uncertainty of temporary status remains a concern for many parents.
From 2002 to 2003, Finland’s Constitutional Committee reviewed issues related to religious freedom in education. As a result, both public and Christian schools were granted the right to uphold Christian traditions. More recently, a report titled “Hidden Lutherans” brought renewed attention to the Lutheran heritage embedded in Finnish society, which has since influenced education policy.
The Christian school movement in Finland is more than a call for educational reform—it is a deeper movement to restore education’s foundation in Christian values and worldview. Dr. Seppo Saari and his wife, pioneers of the movement, established the first Christian school in Helsinki in 1986 after receiving a calling at a YWAM camp. (Source: Gospel Prayer Newspaper, Edited version)
Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. (Psalms 34:11-12,14)
God, thank You for the restoration of Christian values and worldviews in public education through the Christian school movement, which began in Finland to protect freedom of faith and the parental right to educate children. In the face of the pressure of laws and institutions in the world that are hostile to the Lord, would You let churches, teachers, and parents awake even further and teach children the reverence of the Lord so that the next generation will reject evil and follow good. Would You let the value of the gospel deeply rooted in this land work as a life in the educational field and Finnish society, so that a holy generation who are in peace with God be raised in Europe and nations.
Prayer 24·365
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