If you are a young believer, it can be hard to decide whether you should attend a Christian college or a secular one. Both Christian and secular colleges are great for imparting education, but to make that decision between the two, one has to delve deeper.
The truth is, being admitted into a college is one of the biggest decisions in an individual’s life. Your choice of college plays a big role in the subjects you will major in, the company you will acquire, what you will make of your career, and in some cases the person you will settle down with.
Whatever you choose to do with your life, you should never factor out your place in the Kingdom of God, if you are a believer.
Here are some important reasons why you must attend a Christian college.
It Helps You Grow Your Faith
The most significant part of going to a Christian college is the environment the college has to offer. The very ethos of a Christian college is designed to help you strengthen your faith. Christian colleges provide classroom lessons that propagate Christian values.
Moreover, they also offer weekly religious services under spiritual advisors and an infrastructure that is put together with the sole purpose of strengthening your bond with Christ.
Going to a secular academic institution can be difficult for you, especially when you are used to a staunch Christian environment at home. It can also be distracting for you to be surrounded by the worldly glitz and glamor.
On the flip side, a Christian college keeps you surrounded by religious reminders 24/7. Whether it is an early morning bible reading in the dorm or the morning prayers, at a Christian college your likelihood of developing a strong faith is always high. Such initiatives help you grow intellectually and spiritually.
Your Values Are Integrated Within the Classroom
The downside of going to a secular college is that you are always surrounded by people of conflicting views. While some of them come from other faiths, some of them are agnostics or atheists who challenge everything.
In such an environment, it is very easy to get sidetracked. However, your faith and your academics don’t necessarily have to be separated from one another.
As we have discussed above, at a Christian college, faith is incorporated into the lessons that you receive in the classroom. Whether it is an art class, a math class, or an economics class, you will have a taste of God’s word in every lesson.
Moreover, the teachers share their life experiences with you, in light of the sacred message. Not only does it give you a better understanding of the subject being taught, but it also helps you understand how all of these faculties align with God’s plan.
You Are Surrounded by a Clique of Believers
College is a time when we shape how we’re going to be for the rest of our lives. Some of the relationships you form in college stay with you for as long as you live. Therefore, it is very important to form a circle of friends that encourages you to stay on the right track, and not go astray by wrongdoing.
One of the purposes of a Christian college is to bring together men and women from diverse walks of life on a singular platform and to strengthen their character in a way that they don’t fall into temptation.
Moreover, they are surrounded by like-minded people who share the same values. Such support and accountability can help you benefit from the time you spend at college, thus helping you emerge as a distinguished individual.
Programs Are Built With Your Values in Mind
Contrary to popular belief, attending a Christian college doesn’t turn you into a monk. Just like any other college, a Christian college also offers a variety of activities and events.
They offer on-campus activities, student exchange programs, as well as internships that are professionally rewarding. Similarly, a Christian college provides you with opportunities to indulge in spiritual activities.
Some common examples of spiritual activities are working as an intern for a local church, doing community service, attending mission trips during summer breaks, listening to foreign missionaries and pastors, and attending on-campus activities.
The campus and the culture within that campus are designed with the same religious values in mind. It helps you prioritize your faith while allowing you to put your energy and time to good use.
On-Campus Religious Services
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As we have discussed above, when you start going to a secular college, it becomes easier to get sidetracked and forget your good habits. Moreover, with classes, exams, assignments, research papers, co-curricular activities, and partying, it becomes easy to make church or studying the bible play second fiddle.
Even if you inherently are a religious person, it becomes hard to find time and to create a balance between faith and this newfound life which has little to no room for religious activities.
However, the good news is, at a Christian college, all of your schedules are planned in advance. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about prioritizing your faith. It has already been done for you. All you have to do is to benefit from the college program.
At a Christian college, Chapel services, worship time, and Bible studies are all conducted on your campus. Also, you don’t have to go anywhere else. This helps you save time and focus better on what’s being offered.
These were some of the most important reasons for going to a Christian college. When kids are fresh out of high school, they are extremely impressionable. The sad part is, at this age, the unhealthiest things appeal to us most, and it is very easy to be drawn to them.
A Christian college plays a vital role in protecting youngsters from worldly evils and enabling them to shape their lives according to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
