The second catalyst of change has been the degrading of a cluster of values in the Canadian evangelical church. A few statistics illustrate the impact of the change without actually defining the cause. In a recent study (2007) undertaken by Ipsos Reid, we discovered that only about 6 percent of Canadians are able to name a school in the category of Christian higher education and only 47 percent of evangelicals can name such a school.
Furthermore, all target audiences in the survey, including evangelicals, rated non-Christian institutions more highly than Christian. Our sector still scored top marks in areas such as class size, the mentoring role of teachers, and the presence of faith in the learning process. But, the sum of it is that Christian higher education is relatively unknown today and, if it is known, it is misunderstood.
How did we get here? Obviously this is not a decadal trend. Sixty years ago Christian higher education was an integral part of a vibrant evangelical community. In those days, when Canada was a quasi-Christian culture, students, with parental blessing, streamed to our schools to study God?s Word and 'to find themselves,' to use a completely anachronistic phrase to make the point. They thought it was essential to know God's Word and to find his will if they were going to 'find themselves.'
Today, in a noticeably less Christian culture, Canadian Christians have decided Christian higher education, with its emphasis on knowing God and his will, is not as important as it was in an earlier 'Christian' day. When these values are no longer paramount in our lives, a series of unintended consequences results, including, I would argue, a diminished view of Christian higher education.
Thankfully, exceptions exist and Ambrose is part of a denomination that values and nourishes its school and encourages it to work collaboratively with others while developing new programs in Arts and Sciences as well as in Theology and Ministry. This means students in our school, regardless of their vocational interests and objectives, are challenged to think about God's will for their lives and to pursue a personal knowledge of him and his handiwork in creation.
| We endure this financial strain because technological innovation delivers genuine benefits for the student |
I am grateful the general decline in Christian higher education has not extended to our school. The credit goes to the churches of The Christian and Missionary Alliance which, together with those of The Church of the Nazarene, made a courageous, strategic decision to re-launch their school as Ambrose University College and invest it with new resources and support.
Recently Bernie Van De Walle, one of our professors, commented to me that we have an outstanding group of students this year: "They are as spiritually motivated as any we have had." Given the quality of students on our campus today and the determination of our churches to see renewal happen, I believe the seeds of positive change have already been sown.
George Durance is President, Ambrose University College
