“Wait—you’re not RP?”

At Geneva College I confront this question on a regular basis. Students and even professors are baffled to learn that I am not a member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. So I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight—and even more, to thank the RP Church for the tremendous blessing it has given me through Geneva.

My church background lies in the United Reformed Churches in North America, a sister denomination to the RP Church (“phase 2 ecumenical relations,” for you polity enthusiasts). Apart from geographical differences, we resemble each other closely in faith, in worship, and in perspective on the world. We have much in common as we labor in Christ’s kingdom.

I grew up attending West Sayville Reformed Bible Church, a small congregation founded in 1876 by Dutch oystermen on Long Island’s south shore. I was surrounded by Christ-centered preaching, a close-knit congregation, and godly friends.

Having been homeschooled all my life, I faced some difficult decisions as I neared the end of high school. My parents felt that attending a Christian college would be the best way to continue the spiritual investments they had already made in my education, and I agreed.

I doubted whether the Christian college “bubble” would prepare me for a real-world career.

To make matters more confusing, four conflicting trajectories had become apparent during high school. First, my strong math and science record promised a successful career in engineering or technology. Second, I played the piano enthusiastically (and the organ, somewhat less enthusiastically). Third, I had been seized by an inexplicable interest in psalm singing. Finally, the philosophical questions provoked by a 4-year worldviews course, combined with gifts pointed out by my pastor and elders, had awakened me to the possibility of an eventual call to the ministry.

You know how my college search ended, so you can chuckle at how these interests would eventually tie together.

But as an uncertain high schooler with a fear of the unknown, the dilemma I faced is understandable. I first heard of Geneva College through my mother’s online research, which had unearthed a Reformed Christian college with an engineering program. I wasn’t ready to commit to spending four years at a school 500 miles from home, or to pursuing a field of study that would leave so little room for my other interests. I knew I had options—a secure engineering education, a strong music program, or a solid Christian education—but not all three at the same time.

I will forever thank my parents for their advice in this overwhelming decision. They said, “Choose the school for the school—that is, pick the college whose values, community, and overarching educational perspective are the best match—and trust God for the rest.”

When the question was phrased that way, I knew I had my answer. In comparison to other Christian colleges, Geneva’s sincere admission counselors, down-to-earth campus, and genuine acknowledgment of the lordship of Christ placed it in a class by itself. So, with the culture shock of a homeschooled Long Islander transitioning to a small town in western Pennsylvania, I took up my studies at Geneva in the fall 2013 as an excited—and naive—civil engineering major.

I entered Geneva with only a marginal awareness of the RP Church. Despite my interest in psalm singing, I hadn’t chosen the school for its denominational distinctives. As it turned out, I couldn’t have found a better place to pursue my unique combination of musical and scriptural interests.

I loved the singing, preaching, and fellowship at College Hill RPC.

I loved the “Swarm” gatherings at Pastor Titus and Alyssa Martin’s house and the Dessert & Devotions psalm sings at Pastor Matt and Heidi Filbert’s. I loved the spontaneous singing sessions with my roommates that understandably drove our neighbors insane. And I loved singing with the Genevans, especially when we embarked on a three-week tour to southeast Asia with a program entitled “Psalms for the King.”

Meanwhile, my first semester had revealed two things: Geneva had a rigorous and well-grounded STEM program, and it wasn’t for me. I could do the work, but I didn’t enjoy it. As my hopes to enter some form of ministry grew stronger, I longed for a major that would serve the dual purpose of equipping me for a fulfilling career while providing a solid base for future ministry. At the advice of choirmate Caleb McCracken, who had wrestled with similar decisions, I set up a meeting with Public Relations Professor Jeff Schindel to talk about Geneva’s academic opportunities in the communication department. I entered Jeff’s office intending merely to ask a few questions, but I walked out minutes later with a “change major” slip. From civil engineering to communication with a concentration in public relations.

As time revealed, my reservations about the durability of a Christian education in the face of real-world issues were not only unfounded but absurd. Over and over, Geneva has proved that an institution can both affirm the infallible authority of the Word of God and speak with truth and hope to each of the problems of our age. Among so many examples I think of Jeff Schindel, whose pursuit of truth and integrity in the field of public relations echoes into countless decisions on the job. I think of Interim President Bill Edgar, whose no-nonsense chapel messages on key questions from the Bible brought us nose-to-nose with the radical claims of the gospel on our lives. I think of the Genevans, who spend hours creating beautiful music and additional hours praying for the audiences who will hear it. I think of the college’s bold witness as it respectfully testified to the Supreme Court of the United States that Pro Christo comes before Et Patria.

My time at Geneva testifies to God’s abundant provision every step of the way.

God worked from the humanities sequence that picked up where my high school worldviews curriculum had left off, to the honors program that connected me with a core group of similarly motivated classmates, to the communication department’s challenging rhetorical approach, to the beautiful music made within the “walls old and hoary” of Alumni Hall. At the PR internship I completed this past summer, my coworkers gawked at my descriptions of class sizes of six or eight, faculty members who stop to chat with students on the sidewalk, or a dining hall where it’s difficult not to run into friends. Many students at large secular institutions would give anything for the college experiences I take for granted at Geneva.

I suppose my friends’ unspoken assumption that I’m Reformed Presbyterian stems from the fact that Geneva’s values matched my priorities so thoroughly.

I realize this may not be the case for every student with a Reformed or Presbyterian background. At the same time, I hope the testimony of one “RP lookalike” can serve as an encouragement not to take your denominational college for granted. The familiar nooks of the Beaver Valley contain a rare treasure, and I pray fervently that God continues to use Geneva College to equip students for kingdom service, not just from the RPCNA but far, far beyond.