Your student’s college career is about to begin. You have worked together to discern the best school and course of study. Your sights are set on a day a few years from now that will mark the beginning of fully-prepared, independent adulthood for your son or daughter. All that separates your student from that milestone are classes to be checked off one-at-a-time. You’re in the home stretch. Your student will soon be learning the final bits that will enable him or her to enter the workforce fully prepared to earn a living. It’s almost time to breathe a sigh of relieved accomplishment.
This thought process seems to be right on track. Or is it?
At one time, parents could trust that their son’s or daughter’s college career would be in the hands of educators who sought to instruct students wholistically—mind, soul, and spirit garnered equal focus as young men and women were prepared to step forth into their God-given calling. In days gone by, the college experience stood for three main things: knowledge for the sake of understanding eternal truth, character formation, and discernment of calling.
Such is not the case in the current academic world. Today’s college experience is all about obtaining information about a future career; it’s all about acquiring the right skills. Little, if any, attention is given to preparing the minds and souls of our Christian college students to stand strong against the onslaught of secular humanism in the collegiate halls. Is it any wonder so many of our young adults turn their backs on their faith before entering the adult world?
The day is fast approaching when your son or daughter will be entering a whole new world. He or she will be exposed to a multitude of new experiences and world views. In an atmosphere that no longer assigns import to any process other than the transfer of knowledge, the child you send to college may bear little resemblance to the adult who graduates.
It is not necessary for your son or daughter to check faith at the door of the science lab in order to hold fast to faith.
Because all truth is God’s truth, it is not necessary for reality to be carved up into the artificial categories of sacred and secular. However, all supposed truth must be held to the standard of God’s Word. And all truth must be incorporated into a personal worldview and applied to life—all of life.
Now is the time to begin equipping your student to face an alien world safely. This is not the time to relax your guard. This is the time to redouble your efforts to clarify for your teen a healthy insight into the dynamics involved in the college experience. As your student stands ready to enter the doors of academia, it is important that you stress the true meaning and purpose of education. It goes far beyond the simple gathering of information.
True education involves the entire being. As Christ-followers we are called to live every aspect of our lives under God’s authority and for God’s glory.
Classical thinkers referred to this as Coram Deo (literally “before the face of God”). How we think and how we live go together.
Toward this end, Impact 360 has gleaned wisdom from yesterday’s collegiate insights and developed a three-pillar philosophy to guide and inform your student as, together, you navigate the college experience. We have adopted these three points that mirror historic collegiate goals as the motto of Impact 360.
Know what and why you believe.
Classroom studies and life-affecting experience will help you come to understand the nature of God and how to see the Bible as the standard of Truth for your faith, life, and work.
Be who God created you to be.
Now is the time to seek God’s vision for your future. Through the leadership training, personal assessment, and community Impact 360 offers, we will help light the path of discovery.
Live what you learn.
Change only comes with action and we want you to bring the Impact 360 mission to life, whether serving on campus, in your hometown, or on the other side of the world.
Each of these points is vital to the successful launch and experience of a Christian student’s college career.
We at Impact 360 Institute would love to assist you and your son or daughter to smoothly navigate the collegiate world. Whether your student is a freshman or a senior, it’s never too early in the high school days to begin preparing for the college transition. Our College Launch Conference will inform and enlighten you as to what to expect and how to guide your son or daughter through a successful college experience. Please consider joining our experienced team, led by Dr. Jonathan Morrow and Dr. John Basie, as we assist parents of teens in building plans to confidently help their students transition to college. For information about the College Launch Conference, please visit our website here.