2025-26 School Year in Review - Thank you!

Thus Far the Lord Has Helped Us

A reflection on what God has been doing through Christian schools in Europe

As another school year comes to a close, we find ourselves pausing — as we should — to ask a question that matters more than any metric or milestone.

     What has God been doing through Christian schools in Europe this year?

The answer is larger than any one school, conference, country, or organisation. It is a story told in classrooms and conference halls, in student testimonies and teacher conversations, in policy discussions at the European Parliament and around the graveside of a faithful servant. It is told in the quiet decisions of leaders who chose biblical conviction over convenience, and in the courage of teachers who showed up again on Monday morning with love and purpose.

     We tell it here with gratitude. And we invite you into it.

More than 350 students gathered — and 5,000 stories continue

Last autumn, more than 350 student leaders came together at our Student Leadership Conference events. They wrestled with questions about truth: what it is, how to live it, and how to hold it in communities that stretch across languages, cultures, and countries. Relationships formed that continue long after the conferences ended.

One delegate wrote:

"SLC has been a big impact on strengthening my connection with God and others — this is seen when I have the opportunity to meet so many people from different cultures. This has enabled me to grow in my knowledge of God's word in order to speak with others."

These students join more than 5,000 young people over the last 26 years who are already influencing their schools and communities in meaningful ways. We are only beginning to see the fruit.

And this October, for the first time, a Student Leadership Conference will take place in the United Kingdom — an expansion of this ministry that we are already praying for and preparing with anticipation.

Standing for educational freedom in Brussels

In January, ACSI Europe joined Christian educational leaders from across the continent in the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss educational freedom, parental choice, and the place of faith-based education in an increasingly complex cultural landscape.

The conversations were significant not simply because of where they took place, but because of what they reflected: a growing commitment among Christian educational leaders to engage thoughtfully and courageously in the public sphere — on behalf of students, families, and the schools that serve them. The work of EACE is at the heart of this discussion, joined by school networks and leaders across Europe.

At the close of the gathering, a devotional from Laci Demeter drew on one of Scripture's most enduring images of faithful remembrance. The name Ebenezer — "thus far the Lord has helped us" (1 Samuel 7:12) — was the stone set up to remind Israel of God's provision while pointing forward to continued dependence and trust. It is a fitting frame for where Christian education in Europe now stands: grateful for what God has built, attentive to what he is calling us toward.

Remembering a faithful servant

This year we paused to remember and give thanks for the life of Bert Vogel, whose influence on Christian education in the Netherlands — and across Europe — continues to be felt in ways he would have been the last to count or claim.

For decades, Bert invested in students, school leaders, and teachers with remarkable vision and quiet perseverance. His commitment helped shape the movement that many of us now participate in and benefit from.

In the weeks before his passing, knowing his time was short, he wrote of the peace and comfort of being held in the Father's hands, and of his thankfulness for serving Christ through Christian education.

His life reminds us of something that is easy to forget in the busy years of active ministry: Christian education is always a multi-generational work. We build on foundations laid by faithful servants who came before us, and we prepare the way for those who will follow. Bert Vogel was one of those builders. We are so grateful for his life, his friendship and his legacy.

Teachers gathering, learning, and being strengthened

The daily work of Christian education happens in classrooms — and this year, hundreds of teachers across Europe gathered for professional learning and encouragement through regional events that brought that work into focus and community.

In Romania, two major conferences brought together well over 100 participants each. In Hungary, teachers and counsellors gathered to deepen their understanding of restorative practices and student care.

The ACSI team joyfully hosted many other conversations and training sessions both online and in person across the region. Again and again, we heard the same desire: teachers want to integrate faith and learning more deeply, understand their students more effectively, and teach with greater intentionality and hope.

One school leader wrote after a training in Hungary:

"We really appreciated the conference you led on trauma-sensitive education and would like to schedule training for all staff for the start of the next school year."

That response — an immediate, practical commitment to take what was learned back to the community — is exactly what professional learning for Christian educators should produce.

Leading together across Europe

In February, ACSI Europe had the privilege of participating in the Christian Schools Trust leadership gathering in the United Kingdom, where school leaders explored what it means to connect vision and mission to the everyday practice of running a Christian school.

And in March, our annual International Educational Leadership Conference gathered school leaders from across Europe and beyond around the theme On Mission, On Guard — a theme that named both the calling and the vigilance required of those who lead Christian schools in a challenging cultural moment.

Many leaders describe IELC as more than a conference. One participant put it this way:

IELC is an invaluable opportunity to meet others with a similar vision, and to be encouraged by both the strengths and challenges that they face in their contexts. It is a breath of fresh air and reminder that we are not in this alone — God is working through Christian education in Europe in incredible ways!"

The focus on biblically faithful leadership was deepened through the launch of our first Foundations of Christian School Leadership cohort — an eight-week journey in which school leaders from multiple countries committed themselves to learning together. One participant reflected:

"I am walking out of these eight weeks as a more holistic, clear-sighted leader, better equipped to shape the future of Christian education. I highly recommend this course to any educator or leader seeking to align practical strategy with spiritual depth."

Grateful — and looking forward

Everything described above has been made possible through a growing community of Christian educators, leaders, supporters, and partners who share a common vision for what Christian schools in Europe can be and do.

Teachers who show up faithfully every day. Leaders who make courageous decisions rooted in biblical conviction. Donors and prayer partners who sustain this work through giving and intercession. Communities who refuse to believe that education is simply an industrial process — and who are building something different, something human, something shaped by the character and purposes of God.

The year ahead holds more. The UK SLC in October. The next IELC cohort. Courses, regional events, and conversations not yet planned. New schools joining a network that continues to grow.

But before we move toward any of that, we want simply to say: thus far the Lord has helped us. We are grateful. And we are not in this alone.

Updated on June 9, 2026