With the slogan "Church goes to school", the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland has released a new film that highlights the school concept of Christian values combined with holistic pedagogy.
In the film, which lasts five minutes, teachers from the two Adventist schools in German-speaking Switzerland have their say.
At the same time, a similar branded video was also released for the seven private Adventist schools in Austria.
Adventists maintain the largest Protestant education system in the world
What began in German-speaking Switzerland, in 1896, in a small castle in the canton of Bern—or in the global context, in 1858, in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA—is now the largest Protestant education system in the world, with more than two million students enrolled in over 9,800 schools in almost 150 countries.
In the German-speaking zone of Switzerland, there are currently over 1,780 students at 24 locations, coming from Oranienburg, in Germany to Zurich and Vienna, Austria. One of the oldest and largest schools is the Marienhöhe school center in Darmstadt, which currently has 533 students and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025. The Adventist school A to Z, in Zurich, has also been in existence for 70 years. Even the smallest school, such as the private school A to Z—in Reinach, Aargau—is part of a worldwide network of committed teachers and a pedagogy motivated by Christian values.
"Every school develops its own profile at its location and makes a suitable offer that is well received in its regional environment," says Christian Fischer, head of the department for education and training at the Adventist Church in Germany. The schools are networked in a loose association in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, which organizes quality management measures and further training. In Switzerland, there is also a network with other Christian private schools through the Initiative for Christian Education (www.icbs.ch).
"Our educational institutions in German-speaking countries complement and expand the public school system and make a contribution to the diversity of the school landscape," explains Cornelia Dell'mour, the Adventists' education representative in German-speaking Switzerland. "If churches do not contribute to society, they become irrelevant, and education has always been an important contribution, even historically. Regardless of their origin and social background, we want to offer the children and young people at our schools a compass of values that gives them orientation in a constantly changing world."
To visit the websites of the two Adventist schools in German-speaking Switzerland, please go here, and to visit the private school A to Z in Reinach, Aargau, please go here.
To read the original article, please go here.
