How Does Faith Shape Your College Major and Career Path?

How does faith impact my child’s degree plan?

Faith connects to every aspect of our lives. As your child considers which degree path to follow, faith will play an integral part of that decision. There are three ways faith impacts the choices your child makes regarding their degree plan.

1) Discern calling and purpose.

God uniquely created everyone with a plan and a purpose. Faith allows us to use the gifts and talents that He has given us to honor Him. As your child discerns a degree path leading to an ultimate future goal, that sense of calling and purpose that God places in each one of us is put on display. The courses your child will participate in while at Spurgeon encourage and clarify that sense of calling and purpose, setting them up for success.

• Encourage your child by describing gifts you see in them and how God has used those gifts. This could help them begin to discern their sense of calling and purpose (i.e., mercy, teaching, hospitality, administration).

2) Build a faith framework and filter for future decisions.

When we commit our ways to the Lord, He determines our steps. Allowing faith habits such as prayer, worship, and the reading of God’s Word to ground us makes big decisions easier because we have committed them to Him first. The habit of faith informing decisions does not start in college, but this may be the first time your child has an opportunity to truly exercise their faith as they discern God’s desires through their degree plan. The goal is for faith to become the filter through which they think, feel, and do.

• Discuss and disciple them through what it looks like to faithfully trust God with life decisions. Share about how you make hard decisions in your own life.

3) Connect vocation and faith.

As your child determines their degree path, it provides an opportunity for their faith and future ambitions to be connected. Ultimately, the desire is for your child to view their chosen profession through the lens of their Christian faith. Spurgeon seeks to integrate faith formation alongside professional and academic preparation for the Kingdom.

• Ask your student how their future ambitions honor the Lord. How can their profession further the Kingdom of God?