The last two days I’ve met with almost a dozen different pastors/leaders in the Portland area to discuss approaches to higher education.  As a church we are going to be an extension campus for Eternity Bible College.  6 years ago, while I was on staff at Cornerstone a few of us were discussing our dream of starting a Bible college.  We ended up starting the college and it’s now completing its 5th year of education.  We had a few distinct reasons why we wanted to begin a new college:

1. Disconnection from local church.  All too often Christian college students go away to school and lose connection with the life and ministry of a local church.  We raise them in the church, but if someone desires a Christian education they have to leave and go away to a Christian college.  This is not a bad thing in itself, but it isn’t without some issues.  Essentially the college campus develops a system where they fulfill the role of the church: campus pastors, chapels, discipleship structures, mission trips, etc.  In some ways this is good because many local churches are still not ministering effectively to college-age people.  However, the separation from a local church during college is not healthy – no matter how you look at it.  Connection with a local church is vital for an individual to actually apply what they are learning – in their personal life as well as in ministry.  So, at the foundation of EBC, it’s connected to local churches in many different ways.  For example, EVERY student is required to serve in a local church 4-8 hrs a week.  Another thing that is unique is that the classes are taught by local pastors.  There is much more to it, but the gist is EBC is uniquely connected with local churches and intentionally makes sure students stay connected as well.
2. Indebtedness.   Far too many students desire a biblical education but end up accruing way too much debt to do so – especially those that desire to go into ministry or overseas missions.  This is a great disservice.  The reality is the university system (as a whole) has become a business and it’s costing the Church probably more than we realize.  At EBC you can complete your entire 4-year bachelor degree for about $13,000!  That’s about the same as one year at a typical Christian college.  This allows students to graduate with little if any debt.
3. Christian Bubble.  The reality is that many Christian colleges become a bubble.  And frankly many students get weird – some might even say “dis-functional.”  They are being filled with a bunch of head knowledge that can really cause a sense of arrogance.  Of course there are those that stay grounded, but I’ve found these are usually those that stay connected to local churches in some way – or are mentored by someone who is.   EBC requires certain classes to be taken at a secular university to keep Christian students engaged in the culture.  They sit through psychology, philosophy, social science, etc classes with people from completely different worldviews.  This is crucial and helps avoiding the bubble factor.  The truth is, in the Christian world, we are really good at building up straw man arguments about other worldviews and beliefs and then tearing them down.  Or, we just ignore other schools of thought all together.  Both can be damaging to students.  So, rather than exposing our students to other ways of thinking and then walking them through it, we ignore it all together or tear it down unfairly.  EBC also doesn’t have dorms, keeping the students living in the city in which they are going to school.

There is much more to the school and uniqueness (of course), but those are a few key aspects.  It has the academic rigor, but keeps students connected to the local church, does everything it can to keep them debt free, and forces them to stay engaged in culture while they’re being educated.

At EBC we’ve also defined “educated” differently.  I recently wrote an article on this for Journal of Student Ministries called, “Educated or Indoctrinated?.”  It’s designed for us to ask ourselves questions regarding how we define education.  The bottom line is at EBC, as Joshua Walker (President) so distinctly said today, “We are not trying to impart knowledge (information) to our students, but wisdom.”  He talks about wisdom being knowledge applied in life.  I like that.  In the article above I talk about how we too often define educated as someone who can regurgitate information – but this is not education, this is indoctrination.  There’s a big difference!

Anyway, much more on this subject to come.  But, I’m excited to have EBC as a part of my church here.  With my heart for college-age people, this is going to be a vital part of our church…

Oh, I forgot to mention…classes can be audited at NO COST.  Fun stuff to be a part of, for sure.

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2. New Article
3. Christian College Environments [4]
4. Christian College Environments [2]
5. Para-Confused In The Church