At a presbytery family conference last summer, my family enjoyed a meal with friends who are parents of school-age children. As the meal was wrapping up, the dad said in a good-natured yet serious way, “Persuade me to send our children to Geneva College!”

What a good and pertinent request, I thought. Geneva is the Reformed Presbyterian college within an increasingly non-denominational American Christian context. Reformed Presbyterians have stronger denominational identity than most Christians. Yet attending one’s denominational school is hardly a self-evident expectation, the way it might have been a century ago when most American students attended private, religiously affiliated colleges and universities.

Today, we believe Geneva is a compelling option for Reformed Presbyterian families. The terrain of higher education is shifting and uncertain. It is marked by confusion economically, politically, and spiritually. For those who understand faith in Christ and the fear of the Lord as the starting points of all wisdom and knowledge, both classroom content and campus life in American higher education reflect intellectual chaos and moral decline.

Meanwhile, at Geneva, the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Reformed Presbyterian Testimony continue to anchor the entire educational project in the Scripture. The college board of trustees recently approved Geneva’s core values as follows: “With Christ as King and under Scripture, we: 1) serve with grace; 2) pursue godly wisdom; 3) foster academic strength; 4) engage culture faithfully; 5) inspire vibrant hospitality; and 6) honor one another.” As core values, these have emerged from the biblical heritage of the college, active today and evident in the faculty, staff, and students who have preceded us. They are also points of aspiration. Like every institution, we have not “arrived” and seek greater faithfulness and growth.

Starting Points

To present a case for Reformed Presbyterians to attend, support, and serve Geneva College begins with important conditions that I routinely explain when speaking to groups within the denomination:

1. If you are a Reformed Presbyterian, we want you at Geneva!

Your presence and participation in the life of the college advances our mission as an RP ministry of education. We want you to come and serve with us. As Jesus came to serve, not to be served, we need RPs at Geneva who understand our work as a long-term mission commitment and come to join in the work of Christ’s church with a host of believers at the college.

Geneva is one of the most potent RP mission stations on the planet. Many people come to know Jesus Christ at Geneva College every year. People who already know Christ grow in their love for Him, their knowledge of God’s Word, and their desire to build Christ’s church through their work at Geneva.

The Lord accomplishes much of this ministry through relationships people develop while working and living together at Geneva. We want RP students to contribute to our college’s culture and engage through classroom work and studies; in athletics, music, and other campus activities; through faithful church participation and discipleship; and in the everyday paths of life on campus.

2. We would like every Reformed Presbyterian to consider Geneva seriously.

We hope Geneva will start out on your early list of possible destinations for college, and that you will keep Geneva on your list for serious consideration throughout the college search process. We do not believe that every college-bound Reformed Presbyterian should attend Geneva, only that Geneva should be in the mix, because…

3. We want you to attend to God’s call on your life with care as you make a final college decision.

Geneva continues to teach students that we all need to learn to respond to the call of Jesus Christ as the primary factor in guiding our life’s work. We remain open to the reality that God may be calling Reformed Presbyterians to study at a different school according to His good plan and purposes. Furthermore, we do not want any Reformed Presbyterian to think that the college or the denomination looks on a college decision as a loyalty test or a mark of greater or lesser faithfulness. There are many good ways for RPs to serve and support the ministry of education at Geneva. Attending as a student is just one way.

Prime Considerations

What makes Geneva a compelling option for us as Reformed Presbyterians? We hold Christian education as a priority, as reflected in the second vow of covenant baptism, which is a promise to provide a God-centered education. This vow, and our commitment as congregations to support parents in fulfilling it, indicates our commitment as a church of Christ to provide good Christian education options for our young people. Geneva is a natural outgrowth of these commitments.

Our Reformed Presbyterian commitments to Christian education provide the basis for the ministry of higher education at Geneva today. In the 1960s, the church initiated a process that resulted in the approval and publication of the Foundational Concepts of Christian Education. At the college, we have been celebrating the 50th anniversary (1967–2017) of its adoption throughout this school year. Foundational Concepts announces the biblical presuppositions that undergird and inform all wisdom; explicates the coherence of all knowledge in Christ; calls for the college to teach students to integrate faith in Christ throughout all learning and life; and expects students to attend to Christ’s calling in pursuing their life’s work—a coherent Christian vocation that involves life in the home, the church, and the community.

The basic foundation and purpose is central to good education, as are the teachers. The Apostle Paul calls Timothy to remember from whom he learned sound doctrine. For most people college is a deeply formative, even transformational, season of life. Because the most potent learning comes from teachers, coaches, directors, and other adult leaders of young people, “Who will I learn from?” becomes a crucial question.

Geneva faculty members and staff profess Christ publicly and affirm the inerrancy of His Word. Geneva’s high-caliber faculty have earned solid academic credentials and possess expertise in their fields of study. They maintain high expectations and provide strong support to help students meet high standards of academic performance. And, in a world of higher education dominated by liberal academics, Geneva’s faculty is theologically conservative.

Because all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ (Col. 2:2–3), Geneva provides a coherent, core curriculum that gives students the opportunity to develop intellectual agility through Christian engagement with the liberal arts. The Geneva core begins with grounding in required Bible courses; walks students through a demanding humanities sequence that invites integrated knowledge of history, philosophy, literature, and human life; and presents the mediatorial kingship of Christ as the fulcrum of political philosophy. The core serves to invite every Geneva student into practical Christian wisdom.

Such value is scarcely available nationwide, either in public or Christian higher education. In public universities, general education requirements reflect the confusion and incoherence of modern and postmodern curricula but house the most virulent forms of anti-Christian ideology. And where Christian colleges are concerned, one needs to look carefully at where a school stands on questions of the inerrancy of Scripture, the atoning work of Christ, marriage, human sexuality, and creation. Geneva offers students unmatched core agility in the practical wisdom only Christ can provide.

Geneva offers Reformed Presbyterians a private, Christian college education at a cost within reach for many RP families. We understand that private college education is not cheap. And families must make decisions with real budgets and long-term commitments in mind, often with many children headed into the college years. We are rightly concerned about price, cost, value, and debt.

How do RPs afford Geneva? First, many RP students qualify for significant scholarship aid based on academic performance in high school. Second, through early college, dual enrollment courses, advanced placement courses, and community college transfer credits, many RPs reduce costs by reducing the credits necessary to complete a Geneva degree. Third, by working in the college community, many RPs both contribute to the college mission and reduce their college expense directly through earnings.

Because Geneva wants RP students to come, the college provides an RP scholarship based on membership in the church. And we can honor our Calvinist culture by being thrifty, hard working, and resourceful. Many RPs who initially thought Geneva was out of reach financially have been able to attend and graduate without burdens of debt. To make a final cost determination demands going through the financial aid process once you have been admitted. For most RPs, Geneva offers a very competitive cost option.

Our mission is to equip students for lives of faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. RP students come prepared to gain the maximum benefit from a Geneva education. Geneva graduates fulfill the college mission, leaving campus prepared to excel pro Christo et patria (for Christ and country), and RP alumni have been doing so for generations. RP students are among Geneva’s leaders at moving into fruitful professional work and quality graduate programs at major research universities. More important, Geneva alumni faithfully engage in the work of building Christ’s church, establishing solid Christian households, and serving their communities.

Geneva presents remarkable opportunities for RP students to become deeply equipped for their life’s work. Many of the most unique aspects of a Geneva education—from the biblical foundation to a curriculum and campus life that profess Jesus Christ as the center of all wisdom and knowledge in practice—are built in ways specially fitted to RP students. These same features of a Geneva education also enable students to excel in post-collegiate work.

Connecting with Geneva

Discerning whether the Lord might be calling you to Geneva as a student involves more for RPs than simply making contact with Geneva’s admissions office. To give Geneva full consideration, I offer a few recommendations for students and their parents:

1. Visit with 5–10 Geneva students and alumni. Talk with people who have studied at Geneva in different eras and programs. Make sure to talk with a number of current students.

2. Identify 2–3 Geneva degree programs in proximity to areas of study in which you might be interested. For example, a number of Geneva students have gone into veterinary science after completing a biology degree at Geneva.

3. Plan a campus visit. If possible, visit when you can stay overnight with a current RP student and attend some classes and campus activities. Meet with a professor in your area of interest and talk with faculty or staff that lead activities in which you might participate. Make sure you stop by the president’s office when you come!

Geneva is for all Reformed Presbyterians. It’s our school and an active mission station engaged in the ministry of education pro Christo et patria. There are many good ways to serve at Geneva formally and informally. Coming as a student is not a test for being a good RP, but we very much want good RPs to consider whether Christ might be calling you to serve and learn with us during your college years.

Learn More

Foundational Concepts web page: geneva.edu/about-geneva/foundational_concepts

Foundational Concepts 50th Anniversary video: youtu.be/PTKtWDlirOc

Geneva Admissions Counselors: geneva.edu/admissions/counselors/

Dr. Calvin L. Troup is president of Geneva College.