Christians feel the call. We know it’s our vocation to serve God in all matters, but should we separate that sensation from education? Work? Maybe not. Incorporating your faith into your daily lifestyle is important. As important as receiving a college education and at Warner Pacific, you can achieve both simultaneously.
If you’re still struggling to determine whether or not to attend a Christian College, consider the following 3 reasons.
- Christian Colleges Foster Better Thinkers
The fact is, you can attend a secular school, learn everything you need to know, and still NOT know how to apply it. Knowledge is power, but there’s actionable knowledge and passive knowledge and it’s not hard to determine which can be put to better use.
There’s a misnomer that Christian colleges are locked in a bubble, that it shelters you from the “real world” by pairing you with like-minded individuals. The truth of the matter is Christian universities force students to ask “how” and “why” more so than secular schools. It’s not simply educational questions, but lifestyle questions.
Take business degrees for example. If you pursue a business degree at a secular school, you’ll be taught sales techniques and fundamentals for growing an industry. You’re taught how to do it, you’re told why it works, and then it’s on you to graduate and apply it. That’s great, but there’s one problem. What if you work for a company whose product you don’t believe in? What if you’re surrounded by salespeople who fabricate results and make false promises to make more profit?
Now making money is important – no one argues that – but you will have a better life and be a better person if you find a job that you genuinely believe.
If you pursue a career in business at a Christian university, then you aren’t just told the how and why, you’re asked to explore it yourself. How can what you’re doing benefit God? How can the company you choose to represent, enhance your faith?
Especially where sales are concerned, everyone has been sold on a bad deal before and knows how miserable it felt. But, in this day and age, transparency and guarantees are paramount. More so than ever before, people click on reviews, visit blogs, and try to get the backstory on companies before they make a purchase, before they pledge their loyalty to a company.
Without a community for your faith, you can feel lost in a career that’s unfulfilling. But when your education forces you to assess your values and see how they apply to your career, you’re much more prepared.
- Christian Colleges Nurture Rather Than Defend
Contrasting views and perspectives are good. There are countless people in the world lose their faith, struggle, and return. Many physicists question their belief system while they’re learning, and then when they see how unique Earth is in the expansive universe, find their faith once more.
In a secular school, you have to assume your beliefs will be challenged. Especially if you’re living in a dormitory, close quarters can breed negativity. You will be questioned and maybe even opposed. For many people, they see this as an opportunity. They want the challenge so they can strengthen their resolve and find a deeper conviction in their faith. While that approach works for some, it’s not usually the best option.
You may be asked questions that you don’t know the validity of. You may be told passages of the scripture you’d never read or heard of before. In short, you may be unprepared. This is what makes attending a Christian university a great option, you’re able to explore your faith to the fullest. You can dig into all the nooks and crannies of your religion and find out why you believe what you believe and then, when someone questions your faith years later, you know why you believe what you do and are prepared to defend it.
To get a visual example, imagine you’re participating in a debate and when you’re given the floor to speak your mind, you’re constantly being interrupted. It’s not easy to maintain your train of thought or get your message across if you’re being assaulted by questions that you will answer or don’t know the answer to. At a faith-based college however, you’re able to finish your train of thought and navigate through the things you don’t understand yet.
- Christian Colleges Create Community
Nothing can make you feel more isolated and alone than feeling like no one shares your point of view. It’s easy to feel like an outcast and it’s even easier for peers to ostracize you. At Christian university however, you’re going to meet people from wildly different backgrounds with diverse personalities, but what unites you is your common belief.
It’s college, so there are going to be relationships that move through different phases. Who you find the most in common with in your first year may change in the second year. There will be dating, there will be competitive classmates, and people that can (on occasion) rub you the wrong way. Where faith-based colleges like Warner Pacific differ the most from secular schools is several times a week you have the opportunity to attend Chapel which may provide you with some insight and direction in your trials and tribulations.
Faith should be celebrated, but it does so much more than that. It can inspire you to broach difficult confrontations, it can amend arguments, it can bring you closer together. More than anything, it helps you remain humble, admit your faults, and keeps you focused on what really matters: a love of God and Christ.
DMG