There are many factors to consider in researching colleges, including what you want to study and what career you are drawn to pursue. Another essential factor is what type of college to attend. Should I attend a secular college, or should I go to a Christian college? Leaning on your faith throughout the college experience can help you feel stable and supported while many other aspects of your life are changing. Here are some benefits to weigh in on your decision. 

1. Combine Your Purpose With Your Passion

College is a prime time to explore your identity. You will find out what you want out of life as you learn about the world around you. When you attend a Christian college, many students you come to know will be rooted in a similar belief system. Their support will help you maintain your faith while you are achieving academic success.

At a Christian college, Scripture will be at the center of many of your experiences. You will learn to read and interpret the Bible for academic purposes and build your spiritual life. The support of a faith-based college will help you focus on your gifts and abilities and learn to tap into all the potential God sees in you. 

2. Join Your Faith With Your Learning

God and the Bible are not part of a secular education. When you attend a Christian college, you don't have to chose between studying academics and exploring your faith. Instead, when you take history and science courses at a Christian college, each topic is explored from the perspective of the Christian worldview in a way that should strengthen your understanding and deepen your faith.

In college, people discover who they truly are outside of the family structure in which they grew up. A Christian college supports you as you develop your own understanding of the world through a lens of faith. It offers a framework for integrating Christian ethics with academics and the social issues challenging the world around you.

3. Build a Strong Community

The friends and relationships you build in college often stay with you for the rest of your life. When you go to a Christian college, you know there are professors and other students who share your beliefs and values. You will be joining a community of people who worship together and support each other in following God's Word to make the world a better place.

The faculty at a Christian college should be able to support you spiritually as well as academically. Many courses incorporate various aspects of the Christian worldview, allowing you to experience a faith-based educational approach where beliefs and academics are interwoven.

4. Diversify Your Social Group

At a Christian college, students from many racial and ethnic groups come together to integrate their spiritual life with their studies. When you attend a Christian college, you will meet people who may seem different from you because of their economic status or political affiliation. Despite differences you may encounter, love for God provides commonality and unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Attending a Christian college allows you to hear other people's stories of faith. Some people have come to Christianity recently and are hoping to grow in their faith as well as academically through this college experience. Others have grown up in a Christian community and know only a life with God. When you attend a Christian college, your classes will be full of people with unique experiences who may be able to support you in your faith walk.

5. Honor Christ in Social Activities

Parties and events at secular colleges can be conflicting for many people of strong moral conviction. This is one of the reasons many parents worry about sending their children away to school. When you attend a faith-based institution, you can take part in activities that are exhilarating while still honoring Christ.

Christian colleges host chapel services, Bible studies, life groups, concerts, theatrical productions, dances and sporting events. At these events, Christian values are built into the structure and implementation so you can remain true to your personal faith and belief system as you participate.

6. Actively Practice Your Faith

Christianity is about more than reading the Bible. It is about living God's Word. At a Christian college, students not only integrate their faith with their studies, they also put their values into practice. Many Christian colleges provide mission trips and volunteering opportunities. Additionally, they offer professional internships and study-abroad opportunities with partner organizations that uphold Christian values. 

If you are still asking yourself, “Should I go to a Christian college?”, consider learning more about Grand Canyon University. Since its founding in 1949, GCU has followed its biblically-rooted mission. Through both online and in-person classes, you will experience a rigorous academic environment with distinctively Christian beliefs, values and practices.