The Beauty of Communityby President Greg Christy

DAN ROSS

We describe Northwestern College as a Christian academic community. These three words are inextricably linked, forming the core of who we are. 

We have been committed to academic rigor, along with a Reformed and Christian worldview, since the time of our founding as a classical academy in 1882. Virtually all private institutions of higher education across America were also founded by church bodies. However, during the 1960s and ’70s, many church-related institutions distanced themselves from their Christian heritage. That’s where Northwestern is different.

We chose a different course at Northwestern and became even more intentional about our Christian mission. The late ’70s and early ’80s were years when NWC poured resources into Christian missions and outreach programs, establishing our Summer of Service (SOS) and Spring Service Project (SSP) programs that continue to offer students the opportunity to put their faith and learning into action.  

The decision to become even more intentional about the Christian aspect of our mission changed everything about our destiny as a college, influencing hiring practices and curriculum development and leading to the excellent reputation and strong brand we enjoy today: a Northwestern that is an authentically Christian college. We’re known for our exceptional campus community and admired for preparing graduates who are devoted Christians and deep thinkers.

We are committed to living out the best of what it means to be a Christian college. And we are an academically rigorous institution preparing students not only for the workplace and graduate school, but also for a lifetime of learning. In addition, there’s a third word besides “Christian” and “academic” that describes Northwestern: community. Perhaps more than any other word, “community” is how alumni describe their Northwestern experience.

Many colleges and universities talk about community, but there is something truly distinctive about the type of community built here. Chaplain Harlan Van Oort ’82 may have described it best during a recent chapel service. He said, “When you mix worship with service it creates community.”

Walls and barriers are broken down as we worship and serve together. This happens on SOS and SSP trips, within discipleship groups in our residence halls, and all across our campus—including in the classroom where excellence is offered in worshipful praise of God and learning is pursued in the context of how it might be used to serve God and humankind. 

The mixture of worship and service we have at Northwestern creates a strong sense of community. It is not something we can manufacture ourselves. It is a gift that can only be attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit. And it’s a beautiful thing to be part of.