Date
12-16-2025
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Steven Smith
Keywords
rural Christian education, faith-based schools, servant leadership, biblical leadership, adaptive leadership, digital discipleship, educational equity, church-school community partnerships
Disciplines
Educational Leadership | Practical Theology
Recommended Citation
Kellogg, Chad A., "Kingdom Classrooms: A Redemptive Framework for Revitalizing Christian Schools" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7813.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7813
Abstract
Rural Christian schools across the United States face critical threats to their long-term sustainability, particularly in remote communities such as Salmon, Idaho. These institutions frequently operate without public funding, endure persistent staffing shortages, and struggle within aging facilities while lacking robust community advocacy. This Dissertation-in-Praxis (DiP) addresses these systemic inequities by developing a replicable, biblically grounded framework designed to strengthen the financial viability, educational quality, and missional integrity of rural Christian schools. Calvary Chapel Heritage Center (CCHC) in Salmon, Idaho, serves as the central case study. Utilizing a mixed-methods action research approach, the study incorporates qualitative interviews with church and school leaders, ethnographic observation, and contextual analysis of leadership culture and organizational dynamics. The project is theologically rooted in biblical stewardship, covenantal discipleship, and theological anthropology. It integrates servant leadership, transformational leadership, and adaptive leadership theories within a faith-based educational context. Additionally, the research draws on Edgar Schein’s model of organizational culture and Patrick Lencioni’s framework for organizational health, identifying both institutional challenges and redemptive opportunities. Findings demonstrate that rural Christian schools can overcome patterns of decline through community-anchored leadership, context-specific instructional strategies, and integrated discipleship. The study presents a scalable operational and assessment model to equip church-school partnerships for long-term resilience. Rather than pursuing consolidation, the framework affirms localized governance, relational discipleship, and spiritually grounded innovation.
