Why the new Charisma’s Best college resource for Spirit-filled students matters more now than ever
Amid America’s current culture wars, it’s more important than ever that we have national leaders who stand for morality and Christian principles. To stand against the popular, godless currents of today, however, requires a firm foundation for these leaders—one I believe is often best built through a solid Christian education.
Not long ago I saw Michele Bachmann, the feisty congresswoman from Minnesota, being interviewed by Gov. Mike Huckabee on TV. Later I watched Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell interviewed on another program. All three have a reputation as strong leaders in different parts of the country, and all three have one thing in common: They were educated at a Christian college or university—Bachmann at Oral Roberts University and Regent University School of Law; McDonnell at Regent; and Huckabee at Ouachita Baptist University.
Many other strong leaders have attended Christian institutions, and most can credit their schooling for building a foundation that undergirds their careers. Simply put, we need to encourage more young people to attend Christian schools. Many students are not spiritually mature enough to withstand the assault on their faith that awaits them at a secular college. As a result, most fall away—which is why we must encourage and support them as they consider which college to attend.
That’s also why we created Charisma’s Best Christian Universities, Colleges and Schools. About one in four of you will get this exciting new product along with this issue because we identified you as someone who may have college-bound children or grandchildren. If you didn’t get a copy and would like to—or want a second one—we’ll be glad to send it for free. Just email us your request to [email protected] or call (407) 333-0600.
Charisma has long covered the Christian educational scene. We’ve reported on schools doing innovative things that were of interest to the Pentecostal/charismatic community. One college president told me years later that our article helped put his school on the map. For years we’ve periodically had “Christian higher education” emphases for both editorial and advertising. But we’ve never done anything as bold as Charisma’s Best Christian Universities, Colleges and Schools, nor have we received so much excitement from the Spirit-filled academic community about a new project.
Charisma’s Best is designed to get your attention. It’s attractive and has interesting articles about the importance of going to a Christian school. At its core is an exhaustive list of Christian colleges, complete with contact information. We wanted this to be authoritative and easy to use, because what we found out from our “blue ribbon committee” of college presidents was a lack of resources for Spirit-filled students wanting to be led by the Holy Spirit through their journey of finding the right school. Because of this, we’ve particularly highlighted institutions that embrace Pentecostal/charismatic theology to stand out from the more than 250 mostly evangelical schools listed. (In fact, we deleted almost 50 schools from our original extensive list if we knew they were anti-charismatic.)
Charisma’s Best is perfect for parents or grandparents to give to a potential student to pique their interest and inform them. They can also visit charismasbestcolleges.com, which has more details on each school, plus opportunities to access thousands of dollars in scholarships. We even have plans to publish a Charisma’s Best Christian Seminaries, Graduate Schools and Online Learning in the spring.
But Christian schools need our support as never before. Get to know any Christian colleges near you or in your denomination. Or maybe you could include them in your will, as I’ve done. The substantial endowments received over the years make large secular schools strong. Most Christian schools don’t enjoy these types of donations, so it’s vital that we do what we can to support them. Who knows, you may be assisting the next national leader who will help turn America back to God.
Steve Strang is the founder and publisher of Charisma. Follow him on Twitter @sstrang or become a Facebook fan of Charisma.
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