The Mission of the 
Student Development Office

We want to help students mature as servant leaders by reinforcing their classroom experiences with co-curricular activities and services that are consistent with a Biblical Worldview. We do this through a “GPS” guidance model that integrates gifts, passion, and sense of calling with a Biblical worldview. To those ends, our four objectives are to help students:

1) Direct their lives meaningfully according to a Biblical Worldview (Colossians 1:17)
2) Engage the world responsibly in service based on their gifts (1 Peter 4:10)
3) Apply their passion appropriately in covenant community (Ephesians 4:14-16)
4) Pursue their sense of calling effectively for God’s glory (Romans 12:1-12)

We are a community united by our Christ-centered worship, service, love and learning. You will find that the spirituality of our campus is not found in any one building or program. Instead, it is lived in the full, dynamic, everyday real lives of our students, faculty and staff—wherever they seek, serve and praise God.

1) A Christ Centered Community

Objective: We direct our lives meaningfully according to a Biblical Worldview (Colossians 1:17)

In order to build our community around Christ as a common center we worship intentionally, communally and often. Our students, faculty and staff worship every Sunday in local churches throughout our region. We also worship as a campus every Tuesday in Chapel. Students worship every other week on Wednesday nights at FOCUS. But we pray that worship will begin outside of these gatherings and continue when they end. We believe that worship is more than music at a meeting……it is the lifestyle of God’s people who live by His Living Word. These worship times and places merely serve to gather the worshippers and center the community around Christ.

2) A Community of Christian Gifts

Objective: We engage the world responsibly in service based on our gifts (1 Peter 4:10)

The spiritual life of our campus can be experienced wherever our students put their spiritual gifts to work: in churches, charities, social agencies, schools, day cares, restaurants, offices, retail stores, movie theaters, on campus-jobs, etc.… both as paid employees and as volunteers. We believe that an essential condition for maturity is responsibility. So, we encourage paid and volunteer work as an effective way for students to honor God and to discover their gifts, passions and sense of calling.

There are also many co-curricular groups where students work, serve or play together based on common interests and a common commitment to serving God in all areas of life. These include various ministry teams, student organizations, athletic teams and intramural sports. Participation is strongly encouraged. We also require strategic Mentored Ministry and a Week of Service for every student to develop their spiritual gifts.

3) A Community of Christian Passion

Objective: We apply our passion appropriately in covenant community (Ephesians 4:14-16)

As our hearts are formed by God, we learn to love all of his creation with his heart. He loves the material universe that he called “good.” He loves people who he made in his image. And he loves the cultures we shape when they honor him. Our covenant is designed to give that love a passionate expression in the way we relate with our environment, our world, our community and our neighbors. Our activities are designed to cultivate that heart through concerts, movies, plays and other events for engaging life artistically and expressively.
Additionally, we believe that a spiritual life is formed and noticed at home before it is formed or noticed in public. For students whose home is on campus, Resident Hall Directors, Resident Assistants and other students work hard to cultivate a healthy spiritual environment in the dorms. They encourage personal prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, accountability, responsibility, conflict resolution and diversity. They also encourage responsible care for our facilities, our environment and our neighbors. For students whose home is off campus, we encourage and expect them to maintain integrity with our campus covenant.

4) A Community of a Christian Sense of Calling

Objective: We pursue our sense of calling effectively for God’s glory (Romans 12:1-12)

As we learn to see with a Biblical worldview, we cannot help but confront many disappointing elements of our world and culture. The fallen world where we find ourselves is not the world God wanted for us. But it is still the world he created, he loves and he’s redeeming through his Son! As we wrestle with the world’s condition and God’s Word, we begin to feel strongly about making a difference for Christ in the real world. This is our sense of calling.

On our campus, the conversations between faculty, authors, guests and peers inspire a dynamic learning environment where we wrestle with the fallen world, God’s redemptive work and an appropriate personal occupational response. Classroom lectures, homework and group projects are much more than assignments—they prepare students for responsible leadership at home, at work, in the community and the world.