FAITH STATEMENT

Montreat College is a Christ-centered institution of higher learning, grounded in the Presbyterian (Reformed) tradition. While students are welcomed regardless of religious affiliation, all of our trustees, faculty, and staff support the following faith statement:

1. We believe the Triune God is sovereign in all matters of creation, life, salvation, and eternity.

2. We believe that Scripture is the inspired, authoritative, and completely truthful Word of God, and should govern the conduct of Christians in every aspect of their lives.

3. We believe Jesus Christ is God the Son, whom God the Father sent into the world to become a man, to die for sin, and to rise from the dead on the third day for our salvation. Thus, Jesus Christ is the only way to be reconciled to God.

4. We believe that, after the ascension of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit was sent to believers to enable them to walk in obedience to the Word of God as set forth once and for all in the Scriptures.

FOUNDATIONS

We believe humanity is God’s creation in His own image, and therefore persons are thinking, relational, moral, and spiritual beings of dignity and worth. We seek to serve students in all these dimensions. Our aim is to challenge students to become the complete persons a loving God intends them to be and to live in vital relationship with Him. Therefore, we seek to be a faith community as well as an academic community. We see our educational mission as an extension of the great ends of the Church and seek to graduate students who are committed to Christian servant-leadership in the world, promoting personal and social righteousness by God’s grace and to His glory.

As a Christian college in the Presbyterian tradition, we are guided in our pursuit of academic excellence by the framework of Reformed beliefs. We confess the living God as the ultimate foundation of our faith and the source of all truth. We believe God is revealed perfectly in Jesus Christ. We affirm our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the center of history, restoring purpose, order, and value to the whole of life. We believe Jesus Christ to be the focus and culmination of scripture and that God’s written Word is inspired, authoritative and, rightly interpreted by the Holy Spirit, is our infallible rule for faith, conduct, and worship. We study and address a world and humanity which were created good, corrupted by the fall, redeemed through faith in Christ, and are moving toward the final consummation of God’s purposes through the work of the Holy Spirit.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Approaching the integration of faith and learning from an informed, biblical perspective, faculty, staff, and students form a Christian community of learners that seeks to pursue the premise that all truth is God’s truth and explores the significance of this in the various academic disciplines. We are committed to a thorough exploration of and complementary relationship between biblical truth and academic inquiry. We openly embrace students of all cultures, races, and faiths in an atmosphere of academic excellence, intellectual inquiry, and Christian love.

The College provides a broad, rigorous liberal arts curriculum with an emphasis on traditional and selected undergraduate and graduate professional degree programs, including degree programs for adult learners and programs at geographically distant locations. The College’s educational objectives include:

1. That students will develop an informed, biblical world view including the following: 
   - The sovereignty of God over all creation and knowledge; 
   - A lifestyle of Christian service to others and the community; 
   - The recognition of the intrinsic worth of self and all persons; 
   - A genuine critical openness to the ideas and beliefs of others; 
   - The formation of values and ethical reasoning; 
   - An appreciation for what is beautiful, true and good in the arts and literature; 
   - A respect for and attitude of stewardship toward the whole of creation; 
   - An understanding of the past and its interconnectedness with the present and future. 
2. That students will demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills. 
3. That students will demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills. 
4. That students will demonstrate essential computer information systems skills. 
5. That students will demonstrate competency in their academic majors. 
6. That students will develop interpersonal and team skills and an understanding and appreciation of their personal strengths and weaknesses. 
7. That students will become reflective and responsible citizens, effective leaders, and committed laity. 

AFFILIATION

Montreat College is a member institution of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, Appalachian College Association, Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, Council of Independent Colleges, and North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities.