Summer Reflections

Dear friends,

Summer provides those of us in academia with an opportunity to pause from our usual routine, reflect on the previous year, and plan for the year to come. So as the month draws to a close, I wanted to provide a brief update on the MCSC and the Christian Study Center Movement in general.

Annual Fund exceeds goal

Thanks to your generous support, our gifts and pledges for the Annual Fund campaign totaled $202,405. I continue to be amazed at God’s abundant blessings on the Center, and I am excited about the potential for continued growth that these funds will provide.

Christian Study Centers:  A growing national movement

Last month, Lonnie and I attended the Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers at the Center for Christian Study based at the University of Virginia.  This is my third Annual Meeting, and I continue to be impressed with the vibrancy and growth of this important new model of Christian higher education. There are now 36 Christian Study Centers, and the Annual Meeting attracted 150 attendees from the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Great Britain. The universities containing Christian Study Centers collectively enroll over one million students.

Just as impressive as the growth of the national CSC movement is the extraordinary growth of the Michigan Christian Study Center within that movement. In just three years, we have gone from a new organization to one of the leading CSCs in the nation in terms of programs, participation, and annual budget. The MCSC is regularly highlighted as the model of a “zero-to-sixty” launch of a Center, and I continue to talk with prospective leaders of new Centers (including, most recently, individuals interested in launching a Center in the fine community of East Lansing).

An event in the UVA Rotunda

Along with colleagues from Minnesota and Wisconsin, I presented a session, "Putting the 'Christian' in Christian Study Centers"

Lonnie doing ecumenical outreach

Looking ahead

Those of us here at the MCSC are already getting excited about the launch of the 2025-26 academic year at the Center and at the University.  Some opening activities posted on our Events page include:

• Open Houses for new students and parents during Move-In Week

• A Friday lunch featuring prominent evangelist and UM Law alum Abdu Murray

• The launch of Module #3 of our Program in Christian Studies, “The History of Christianity”

• An opening public event, “The University and the Pursuit of Truth,” featuring UM law professor Dan Crane and and staff member Valerie Johnson, with opening remarks by Provost Laurie McCauley

Advancing our Christian mission

Recently, after a family vacation largely consisting of chasing around six grandchildren under the age of five, I had a day to catch my breath and reflect on what the Center has done since Summer 2022. I figured that a review of our Strategic Vision, penned by MCSC Board member Josh Welch and me three years ago, would be a good way to do that. And while there are some parts of that document that need updating, in general I was impressed with how relevant that document remains, and how it continues to describe well our ministry at the U of M. Here are some particularly relevant passages:

• The MCSC is truly functioning as “a new form of Christian academic community where relationships can flourish among those who seek to take the life of faith and the life of the mind seriously.”

• Christian community remains our core commitment, and hundreds of students have indeed experienced “the hospitality of a home that provides a true sense of belonging.”

• One of our initial goals was to “create a hub where ministries can unite around the common goals of promoting a vibrant Christian presence that helps to foster a flourishing university,” and it has been rewarding to see the level of Christian cooperation that our building has made possible.

Finally, the Strategic Vision aptly summarizes the source of our passion for seeing the Center continue to grow and flourish: “There has never been a greater need for the wisdom and ways of Christ to take root in leading universities such as Michigan.”

Thanks for your part in bringing a redemptive Christian presence to the University of Michigan,

Rick