So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT
Greetings! If you haven’t yet, before you begin to read this blog, I would strongly encourage you to read May’s blog I wrote being “Campus Ministry” before continuing to read this month’s blog. It will help give further context and clarity of why I chose to write this blog being “Christian College vs. Secular College.”
A unique aspect about campus ministry in my experience when I was on staff at Ball State Christian Campus House (CCH) is meeting students and their parents visiting Ball State and stopping by CCH to learn about the ministry. About fifty percent of the time one of the conversation items that comes up is the topic of “Christian colleges versus secular colleges.” Many colleges can carry good and bad reputations and one that befalls Ball State University is it being a “party school” as is often the phrase shared in the midst of these conversations.
Paired with this is also the phrase of thinking of Christian colleges as a “safety net” for growing ones faith and thinking of secular colleges as unsafe and would diminish ones faith. I definitely understand the parents or students concern in sharing their thoughts in seeking the best option. Even top Christian colleges when visiting churches in seeking student enrollment and mission support tend to add to this further in saying something along the lines of, “You shouldn’t send your children to secular colleges because you can feel safer sending your children to a Christian college that has chapel and believing teachers” (my wife Mikaela heard this in person). Again, I understand the concern and by no means am seeking to cast shade on Christian colleges, but I have a different perspective.
My response to parents and students on this topic is something along the lines of the following. First, in my personal experience and perspective, when it comes to Ball State or any other secular college or Christian college, there are party’s at every college, whether they are on campus or off campus, whether they are a Christian college or secular college. It comes down to whether the student is seeking to become involved in the party life or not. In my time at Ball State as a student it was not difficult to avoid going to parties off campus because I simply chose not to. Even when I repeatedly had a group of friends that would invite me or strongly encourage me to go, I would decline and after a while they stopped asking because they knew what my response would be. It was not just for faith reasons alone in why I chose not to go, I simply know the opportunity for bad decisions, mistakes, and accidents tends to be higher when alcohol is present and involved. I found Ball State to be a safe college, especially on campus they support a lot of fun and safe events on campus during the school week and weekend to help promote safe alternative options. In addition Ball State has its own highly trained University Police Department for student safety. Many other secular colleges tend to have some form of university police that serves the college if they are large enough. However, at Ball State off campus there is indeed a party life and it would be an option to become involved in that lifestyle if one chose too.
Secondly, concerning the worry of losing one’s faith at a secular college versus a Christian college, I would challenge that. I have listened to stories from those who have gone to Christian colleges and knew friends who lost their faith by going to a Christian college. While it is true that being at a Christian college can provide a safety net for one’s faith development, I believe one could grow and develop their faith as equally or greater at a secular college versus a Christian college. Why do I believe that? Because when a student is at a secular college they are living in community with non-believing students, teachers, and staff where there is testing, questions, and there is opportunity for evangelism in helping draw non-believers to Jesus. What happens when a student graduates and leaves a Christian college? They leave the “safety net” and are now in community with non-believers after they spent four years or more away from this environment. Not to say that students who attend a Christian college are totally isolated from a non-believing environment, but the environments are different and the impact on one’s faith will vary. Regardless of a Christian college or secular college, a huge factor does depend upon the student in whether or not they apply themselves to grow in their faith and relationship with God. I have never come across a verse in the Bible that in context states believers are supposed to withdraw from a non-faith or non-believing environment. I believe in studying Jesus’ life we find a resounding answer to this.
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
Colossians 4:5-6 NLT
I have a friend who attended a top Christian college and regularly went to chapel and shared with me that she also went off campus to a secular college nearby to be involved in the campus ministry there, because the students who were involved in this campus ministry “wanted to be there.” Now, to be clear there were indeed students like them who genuinely wanted to be at chapel and worship, but there was a mix between those who genuinely wanted to be there and those who did not to be at chapel. In other words as they shared their experience, for students at many Christian colleges going to chapel is not a choice, it is required. If a student does not go, they can get in trouble to the point that some Christian colleges will begin to fine you after several absences. While a student would agree to this in attending the college, it is a form of accountability as Christian colleges state because often chapel is a spiritual development requirement in relation to being for course credits or is simply an attendance requirement at other Christian colleges. With that being said, if a student is going to be fined $100 to $375, I could see why one would want to make sure they did attend chapel, but as in my friend’s case, there could be students who do not want to be at chapel, but simply come to avoid being fined or face other disciplinary actions.
In my conversation with other campus minister’s on this topic, one brought up that there does not have to be only option A and option B, but there can be an option C. Option C is if one decides they want to pursue ministry, he recommends going to a secular college for ones bachelor degree and get involved in a campus ministry in becoming a part of the leadership at that respective ministry as a student. Then after graduating from the secular college, they should go to a Christian college and pursue a master’s degree to further grow their faith in having a strong biblical foundation. That in my opinion would be an ideal route to pursue. Rather than having “Christian College vs. Secular College,” why not both? In times where we often set two differing opinions in opposition to one another, why not have them united as one?
I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
John 17:22-23 NLT
Best Regards,
Derrick Shipley