In the last few years, higher education has suffered a severe loss of trust. Public confidence in 4-year colleges is at 42 percent, down from 57 percent in 2015. Rising costs, perceived politicization of the curriculum, charges of antisemitism, and top-heavy administrations at public and private institutions have driven increased public scrutiny.
Understandably, these trends have prompted many parents and college-age youth to look for alternatives outside of traditional college, or to seek private, Christian-college options rather than public secular universities.
Yet Christian higher education has not been immune from the cultural trends that have eroded trust in higher education, and not all are equally prepared to counter these trends.
The pace of cultural change places a new urgency onto the perennial question of how to choose a college where students may find an educational environment where they not only gain an excellent education in their field of choice, but also graduate from the institution with resilient, tested, well-equipped Christian faithfulness.
Wondering how to do that? Let me offer a few suggestions from where I sit, as a freshly retired professor of history and dean of Howard College of Arts and Sciences at Samford University, capping a 34-year career in university teaching and administration.
Look Beyond the Christian Label
Since your goal is not merely obtaining a credential but finding faithful mentors, the task of choosing a college extends beyond merely finding the adjective “Christian” on the school’s website. A wide variety of such institutions exists in America, some of them church-affiliated and others not, some with faculty fully committed to orthodox Christian faith and others more mixed.
You will need to probe past the attractive marketing materials and winsome admissions representatives to determine the realities in classrooms and residence halls.
Start with the Mission Statement
The school’s mission statement offers a good place to start. Universities invest effort into crafting mission statements that serve them in many important ways, guiding major decisions such as the types of programs they offer, how to spend their funds, what roles to pursue in church and community life, and how to hire faculty and staff who will advance that mission.
Those whose leadership and faculty are most committed to their Christian purpose typically produce robust statements that include strong commitment to the authority of scripture, to historic Christian doctrine, to Christian ethics, conduct, and service. A well-crafted mission statement expresses a set of Christian beliefs and values that you can readily compare with your own to determine whether this school may be a good fit.
The less the mission statement says about biblical authority and historic Christian doctrine, the more you need to press your investigation into the institution’s level of Gospel-centered commitment.
Questions for Faculty
More than any other factor, you will want to know how fully the faculty embrace the institution’s stated commitments. What does the college administration do to ensure they are hiring and keeping believing faculty? Do they expect applicants to confess their own faith and affirm support for the school’s mission? Do their faculty evaluation procedures require regular evidence of ongoing Christian faithfulness and service?
You may need to probe a little deeper to get an answer to this question. Some schools will state this up front on their websites. Other institutions may have such a policy in place but may not post as publicly for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, most will readily share that information.
The best persons to ask would be the deans and department heads who oversee the major you are exploring, because they directly manage faculty hiring for that academic program. I would be hesitant to recommend study at a school that carries the label of “Christian” but is vague or negative in its answer to these questions.
You will also want to know how well-equipped faculty members are to evaluate and integrate their Christian faith with their area of study. Does the institution support such integration through an office of faculty development? Do deans and department heads encourage faculty to show evidence that they meaningfully integrate faith and learning in their classrooms, their research, and in their professional work?
Questions for Student Life
Finally, how well does the institution support the spiritual life of its students outside of the classroom? Is there an office of university chaplain or spiritual life? What does that office and the office of student support do to encourage students to practice their faith? Does it sponsor or encourage fellowship groups? Does it host regular gatherings for worship?
Does it help its students connect with local churches? It can be easy in college to neglect meeting together for encouragement in faith and Christian perseverance, as the author of Hebrews tells us to do (Hebrews 10:25).
Questions for a Local Church
Whatever choice you make, help your student plan and cultivate practices to pursue a growing life in Christ. A robust Christian environment can help in this effort, but regular fellowship with other believers in a local church will also be crucial.
You will want to make sure that the church you choose is gospel-centered and supports vital worship, along with ministries of teaching and fellowship that will help your student grow in devotion to Jesus Christ and effectiveness in serving others. Such a church will be committed to the authority of Scripture and the core doctrines of Christian belief as expressed in the Nicene Creed and the Five Solas of the Reformation. Having a church within walking distance of campus may help your student remain faithfully involved. Those with a strong college ministry may draw a larger critical mass of students from your campus who carpool and make it easier to get to church and remain involved, even if the churches are farther away. The Gospel Coalition can help you with its easy-to-use church directory.
Rest in God’s Providence
There may be other important factors that influence your choice of Christian college: where it is located, the quality of the campus and its facilities, the reputation of its programs in your major. Yet your search should not end without solid answers to the questions above.
Wherever your search finally takes you, remember to trust in God’s sovereign guidance and providence. “I am sure of this,” the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church, “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).
God is able to sustain and deepen your student’s faith, working through the mentorship and effective teaching of committed believing faculty and sharpening their intellect and resilience even when they encounter challenges to their faith. Pray for them faithfully, talk with them frequently, and trust in the God who ordains the steps of his children.
