Why Faith College International Is Worth A Look
Many pastors and parents are troubled as they watch their young adults struggle to maintain a vital walk with God in secular colleges and universities. Many are looking for something else to help their high school graduates get a firm scriptural grounding first. Of the hundreds of fine options available, Faith College International (FCI) deserves serious consideration for those in search of an institution which focuses on personal spiritual development as its number one priority.
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FCI is an integral part of the overall ministry of Saskatoon Christian Centre (SCC) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. SCC is a vibrant, family-oriented church. Home and family, faith, righteous living, total biblical prosperity, personal revival, and harvest-urgency are the foundation stones of SCC. Pastor Keith Johnson has spent close to 30 years patiently building a church based on the uncompromised Word of God, excellence in ministry, personal integrity, and spiritual maturity. FCI is a close reflection of those priorities in all its programs and curriculum.
FCI programs are not primarily designed with a doctrinal focus, although doctrine, understandably, is clearly visible throughout.
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At its core, FCI is dedicated to bringing each student to a place of high respect and value for the local church – his/her local church – as the means whereby God is working in the world today, and the place where each member must be actively enlisting his/her energy, giftings, and training. FCI has taken on the task of assisting churches, pastors, and parents to equip young people for works of committed service in their local assembly. We consider this to be part of our “high calling.”
FCI’s Vision Statement highlights four areas of intense training with which we seek to impact each student personally.
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Passion – for God and an intimate relationship with Him
Personal – discipline and maturity through teaching and individual counseling
Potential – developing gifts and leadership abilities to serve the kingdom of God
Purpose – discovering God’s individual plan and discerning His leading
This is not a merely a philosophical statement; it forms the core of all the active influences that touches each student’s life. Constant stress is placed on individual growth, spiritual accountability, and a passionate demonstration of the overflowing life of the Holy Spirit.
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At its heart, FCI strives vigorously to help each student grow in their personal, intimate walk with God, and to express it through faithful, dedicated service in their local church. Our zeal is to instill in each student an uninhibited pursuit of the Holy Spirit, and a tender receptivity to His leading and moving in their hearts.
To accomplish these objectives, a personal counselor is assigned to each student from among FCI staff and administration. Each student has a mature, adult presence in their life to draw from for whatever issues arise in the course of the year. As a part of this presence, along with the emphasis on personal growth, FCI exerts considerable effort to assist each student in managing their personal time, finances, spiritual maturity, and relationships.
Relationships include the student’s interaction with the opposite gender. While FCI does not want to play God in a student’s life, we do not believe that God sends students to us to focus on flirtatious or romantic interaction, particularly in their first year. We exert considerable energy to assist students to circumvent the focus on soulish and emotional expression typical among teens and young adults, but rather attend to discovering God’s purpose for their lives. A statement regarding this standard is available to all pastors on request.
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In its curriculum, FCI places its focus on four main streams, in addition to its core curriculum: local church, leadership and personal development, outreach, and music. Those students desiring more in-depth training in music may choose, in addition to Faith College classes, to enroll in Rejoice! School of Music. Rejoice! is a music training school which is part of FCI, but functions in its own right in a largely autonomous fashion, providing in-depth training in various aspects of music as it applies to the local church. Rejoice! has seen many of its graduates return home and provide a tremendous boost to their local church’s music department due to individual training in both instrumental and vocal skills. Other training enables students to greatly assist their home church in various areas such as leading praise & worship, sound, writing and arranging music, etc. |
The instructors are all qualified Christian professionals who are dedicated to seeing the students develop their intimate, personal walk with God as a prerequisite to focusing on their talents and gifts.
Our standard appeal to a prospective student is: “Set aside two years of your life to prepare for the rest of your life.” Two years pass very quickly. The discipline, the close fellowship, the personal accountability, the spiritual passion, and the dedicated lives of the administration and instructors, all within the context of a local church, have produced excellence in the lives of many graduates from across Canada, the United States, and other parts of the world. We welcome the opportunity to partner with churches and pastors who have a vision for young people who are passionately sold out to God and his call. FCI’s objective is not to produce graduates who will “enter the ministry,” but rather graduates who will “do the ministry” to which all believers are called (Eph. 4:12).
If we can be of any assistance to you, or if what you’ve read strikes a chord in your heart, we welcome your call, email, or fax. We look forward to hearing from you.