By Emily Fox · Editor-in-Chief
If you ask a student from Slippery Rock, Westminster or W&J to describe Grove City College, they’d probably say something like “Grove City? That Christian school? Oh yeah. They’re really strict there,” or “They have a lot of rules,” or “They aren’t allowed to drink on campus,” or maybe even, “They can only have the opposite gender in their room at certain times.”
Grove City College has a distinct reputation for being a Christian school, and not just in name, but also for operating according to Biblical standards. We take pride in providing a conservative Christian environment where students are educated to pursue their God-given callings. They do this all while fostering a tightly knit community where they can live, learn and grow among other believers, who encourage them in their faith as God intended the church to do.
Instead of just training them to “get by,” the college has a legacy of promoting Biblical flourishing.
As we reflect on 150 years, we see that this legacy is the culmination of the work and prayers of many people throughout the college’s history. There was a time when the college drifted from this original mission. In fact, former president Charles MacKenzie was hired in 1971 for the purpose of reorienting the college’s vision and returning it to its Christian foundation.
Fifty-five years later, we see the fruit of that labor. Grove City is more focused on faith than ever before, so much so that we’re known as “that Christian school” to surrounding colleges.
Our foundation and reputation are solid because of the people who came before us and took the time to re-evaluate what the college stands for. Years of administrative effort and the prayers of generations of Grovers shaped our identity today.
What does that mean for us? Sometimes, we tend to bury the past. We’d rather not remember a time when the college lost sight of its first love, but this isn’t a part of our history that should be brushed under the rug.
We shouldn’t be ashamed of needing to reevaluate, instead we should see it as a response to God’s call. Even God’s own people constantly needed to be reminded of what the Lord had done for them and their mission to live as an expression of love and gratitude for their creator.
In reevaluating our priorities, we participate in a long history of prodigals coming home. We should see our history as an example of God’s mercy. Though at times we stray, God calls out to us, and we are expected to respond.
Fifty-five years ago, Grove City answered that call, and now, we’re gifted with a beautiful display of the relationship between a perfect God and a people freely redeemed and continually brought back into the fold, even in our modern age.
