“Beware lest any man spoil [kidnap, to lead away from the truth] you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments [first principles] of the world, and not after Christ.” Col. 2:8
Making the decision to attend college is momentous. While making a decision about what college to attend can be exciting, it can also fill many students with trepidation. Knowing that the place you choose will be formative in your life for at least four years makes you want to choose wisely and well. It is good to consider a Christian education first. Give God a chance to provide the way.
- Discipleship– A Christian college produces more than graduates and qualified job applicants – it sends disciples out into the world. A faith-based school sends its students into the entire range of professional fields, from business to government to non-profit to church life. And then those students represent Christ in those same fields.
As such, a Christian college takes your education seriously. Christian universities know just how high the stakes are in producing Christian leaders, in producing college-educated disciples. When the faculty and administration send you out to represent the faith, they want you equipped, representing the Gospel well through your witness of intellect and excellence.
For this reason, you’ll find academic standards at a Christian college as – or even more – rigorous than any secular college.
- Biblical Worldview– At a Christian college, you’ll find a biblical perspective on every subject taught. Professors at Christian universities will bring you the same current, expert instruction found at secular schools, but reinforced and refined with timeless Truth.
To study history at a Christian college is to observe and interpret God’s unfolding plan in human affairs. To study information technology is to consider how we might be wise stewards of the power science gives us. To study criminal justice is to ponder God’s purpose in establishing civil authorities.
Properly understood, every course can reveal the nature and character of God, and a Christian college will search for the deeper truths in every subject.
- Godly Friends– The friends you make in college will wield a serious influence on your life, and you’ll find friends at a Christian college who share your values, your commitments, and your passion for God. Imagine sharing your college years with friends who want to see you grow in your walk with the Lord, who want you to find God’s calling. Rather than college being a time of temptation, college could be a time when your social relationships spur you on to greater righteousness.
- Science and Technology– The world as we understand it through science constantly changes. Research and theory that were taught as fact in one era can give way when new data is discovered in the next.
A good college is obliged to teach its students the latest in science and scholarly advances, but a Christian college will place the truths of science in the greater context of God’s timeless Truth. While keeping pace with the most current thinking on any subject, a Christian college will never be moved from the unchanging truth of providence by an intellectual fad.
At a Christian college, you will learn the facts in light of the Truth.
There’s no time in your life like college. You’ll never work harder – and you’ll never have more fun. And when you pursue a Christian education, you can find a closer relationship with God while you find yourself.
- Christian Faculty– Another reason to choose a Christian college is that it gives you the opportunity to learn from seasoned Christians who engage their particular field of study in the light of faith. You may want that kind of explicit Christian teaching and mentoring.
- Application– How Do You Want to Engage Your Faith? Finally, a Christian college can provide practical settings for students to actively engage their faith within the local and global community. Part of deepening as a Christian involves active ministry to the world in light of that same faith. A Christian college can provide mission trips, internships and other opportunities that that encourage students to hone their creativity and compassion in a specifically Christian way. While a secular university may also provide plenty of those kinds of opportunities, you may not have the opportunity to receive explicit Christian mentoring or opportunities for theological reflection on your activities.
SOURCES
The following websites were used to assemble this blog. They are not necessarily an endorsement of the schools presented.
http://www.christianuniversitiesonline.org/why-attend-a-christian-college-or-university/
http://drjamesdobson.org/images/pdf/18ReasonsWhyYouShouldAttendaChristianCollege.pdf