Fides Quaerens Intellectum

I was at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America last week in Dallas. Had a great time catching up with old friends and acquaintances while having the opportunity to share about IMPACT 360. One thing I’m always challenged by in talking with interested parents, prospective students, and pastors is what kind of language best describes the kind of education IMPACT 360 delivers. What DO we deliver? Biblical worldview education, intensive leadership training, and vocational (in the Reformational sense) understanding–all in 9 short months before students head off to their respective four-year institutions. The rhetoric of “gap-year” has been used for a number of years by outside-the-box educators, including homeschoolers, who typically are very quick to pick up on what IMPACT 360 is trying to accomplish. So does that make us a Christian gap-year program by default? How much should the market define our parameters vs. principles setting those boundaries? I find myself sitting on the fence on this one, frankly. Princeton University is rolling out a gap-year program as well, although they will use the nomenclature of “bridge year,” according to a February Princeton news release. Whatever we want to call this particular “gap” between high school and college, it’s pretty significant that the elite institution is jumping on the bandwagon. USA Today just ran a gap year story as well. Seems that we Americans are finally picking up on what the Europeans have been doing for quite some time now.