Taking online courses from a Christian university lets you benefit from an education centered around religious values. Professors understand the need to ensure you gain the same spiritual benefits from their virtual class that you would in a traditional setting, and they work hard to make sure your education is complete. You can enhance your relationship with Christ even without attending on-campus classes.
Resource: The 30 Best Online Christian Colleges in the U.S. 2015
Commitment to Service
Jesus called for Christians to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and religious colleges build this value on service into their courses. Professors at biblical schools have ties with non-profit organizations and incorporate their needs into class assignments. You might learn how to conduct literature reviews by researching nutrition for a food pantry or study finance by helping a small church balance their budget. Finding ways for students to help external organizations is a lot of work for your professors, but their commitment to serving others keeps them motivated.
Christian Fellowship
In the book of Matthew, Jesus says that he will be with his followers whenever they gather together. Ever since he shared these words, Christians have sought each other out as social companions. Judeo-Christian universities offer you a chance to bond with students who share your faith values. You’ll complete group assignments, participate in chat sessions and debate on discussion boards with other followers of Christ. This chance to learn together in a shared community is an amazing opportunity that can lead to lifelong friendship and academic support throughout your entire degree.
A Biblical Focus
Christians view the Bible as the most important book ever written. At Judeo-Christian schools, many class assignments include God’s word. Your literary criticism course might look at Psalms or the Song of Solomon to study poetry, while your history classes will likely compare the Bible’s version of past events with other sources written in the time period. This focus on scripture enhances both your college experience and your relationship with Jesus by allowing you to learn more about your faith’s doctrine while earning college credit.
A Spirit of Inclusion
Religious universities have high academic standards, but they also have high moral commitments. Because they exist primarily to help you grow both your faith and your academic skills, biblical colleges are more flexible with non-traditional college students and applicants who struggled in previous academic environments. From actively recruiting Hispanic students to offering a full range of student support services like remedial classes, one-on-one tutoring and virtual office hours to get extra help from professors, these schools do everything they can to help students of all backgrounds earn their degrees.
Room to Explore Your Beliefs
Growing stronger in your faith requires a willingness to ask hard questions and seek God’s wisdom for answers. By taking courses from a religious university, you’ll be entering a safe environment for actively seeking a deeper relationship with God. You might find yourself in a comparative religion course that asks you to contrast Christianity with other faiths or in a philosophy class that forces you to consider secular ways of understanding the world. This may sound like a scary prospect, but by the time you finish your degree, you’ll have a spiritual house built on rock, not sand.
Virtual classes are a great way to start your degree without major changes to your current work and family situation. You can enjoy online classes at a Christian university without worrying about missing out on the values that led you to that school in the first place.