Last month I talked about the problems young Christians may face in attending secular colleges and universities. This month I want to talk about the Christian college and university alternative.

Let’s start with the reasons a conservative Christian college or university may not be inviting to you. One reason is accreditation. Students who graduate from schools that are not accredited may have a hard time getting classes transferred to other schools or getting into graduate school. This is a legitimate concern and, if you look at a Christian college, you should ask about the school’s accreditation. The majority of Christian colleges and universities are accredited through some association and several are regionally accredited, which is the best guarantee of a transfer of credits or graduate school entrance.

The second reason you or your high school senior might not be interested in a Christian college or university is that it may not offer the degree program you’re looking for. Many Christian colleges have specific purposes: to train students who want to go into traditional ministries like preaching, youth ministry, music ministry, and missions. However many Christian colleges have changed or are changing in this area, recognizing that Christians need to be trained for ministry in all walks of life, as well as for traditional church ministries. Our Christian universities and some of our colleges now offer multiple degree programs in careers like education, business, nursing, TV and radio, and the humanities. Search the Web, request catalogs, and find out what degree programs the schools you are interested in offer.

So why the Christian college and university alternative?

Reason one: disciplined Bible study with experts in the field. We all know we’re supposed to read and study the Bible, and we probably feel like we never do enough. What I enjoyed about attending a Christian college was having Bible classes that forced me into the discipline of Bible study. Because I had to study for class, I read and studied more Bible in four years than many Christians do in their entire lives. Yes we’re supposed to want to study the Bible without the motivation of a grade or the fear of failure, but we often don’t. Thirty or more hours of Bible in college gives us a reason to “make time” to study, learn, and grow. Having highly educated professors who can help you understand what you’re reading and teach you how to better read the Bible on your own doesn’t hurt either.

I recommend that when you look into Christian schools, you look for schools that require Bible and theology classes with every degree program. Some Christian schools only require a few token Bible classes. Look at the colleges that require every student to major in Bible or theology whether his career major is ministry or business, missions or education.

Reason two: an environment of spirituality and moral expectations. Christian colleges are not holy towers where students polish their halos. There is sin on a Christian college campus because there are sinners there. But there are no wild orgies. If a campus has certain expectations, its students will try to live up to those expectations. Our students aren’t perfect, but they know there is a higher standard and they strive to reach it. At a Christian college there are also many opportunities (in addition to regular church attendance and participation) for formal and informal spiritual encounter: chapel services, devotion groups, dorm gatherings, and lots of late night conversations among like-minded Christian kids who don’t have to feel embarrassed because they’re sitting in a dorm room or lounge talking about their personal pursuit of God.

Reason three: God has no grandchildren. I think a major reason young adults face the danger of leaving the faith is because they are no longer children. For 18 years our kids believe the faith of their parents; but as they enter adulthood, they come across a major spiritual challenge—making their faith their own. This is not just a problem for kids who go to secular schools. Many good Christian kids seriously committed to Christ finally start doing what they’ve never done before: having doubts, asking questions, wanting answers. This is not because they lack faith (though they often wonder if that is the case). Instead it is because they are finally making their own spiritual way. They cannot live on their parents’ faith anymore—they have to make their relationship with God their own. This happens often during the college years. And if Christian college students struggle with it, how much more will Christian kids struggle on a secular campus without spiritual mentors to help them?

Simply put, a Christian college or university can help Christian young people live lives in Christ. That’s career training for eternity. |L

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 8, 2009 - Why I believe in God
October 25, 2009 - Commuting in days of evil
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 30, 2009 - Dance alternatives
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
July 6, 2008 - Tyler Perry and the movies you’re missing
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
February 5, 2008 - Ten suggestions for a godly standard of living
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
January 6, 2008 - Choosing a lifestyle
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 25, 2007 - Christians teaching Christians to change TV and film
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 29, 2007 - Hope
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 18, 2007 - What the Bible movies can teach us
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
August 13, 2006 - More Lies Hollywood Tells
July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells