The National Association of Evangelicals reaffirms its support of evangelical institutions of higher education. We commend our members for maintaining standards of excellence in their institutions which were founded as arms of the church to prepare Christian workers for the church and to educate Christian leaders for society in general. Since the spiritual vitality of such institutions is related to that of their sponsoring churches, it follows that evangelical churches and denominations must strengthen their spiritual influence upon their schools. Christian higher education was conceived in the womb of the church. It must be spiritually nurtured by the churches through their concern for the doctrine taught and the lifestyle modeled on evangelical campuses of America.

Evangelical institutions of higher education need to maintain and reaffirm their commitment to Jesus Christ, to the infallibility and authority the Bible and to service to the church, while at the same time providing quality higher education. Christian institutions of higher education must constantly work to integrate faith with learning and living. To do this, they need the continued encouragement of the churches and denominations.

The National Association of Evangelicals believes that essential to the ministry of the church in the world, and to its future leadership, is the provision of Christian training and instruction for Christian young people. From the beginning of this nation, educational institutions, with evangelical moral and spiritual commitment, were deemed necessary for our country’s well-being. Therefore, we call on the evangelical community to rally behind these evangelical institutions and to provide the spiritual, moral and financial support so urgently needed in the face of current critical challenges.

This call is made in light of the opportunities open to evangelicals between now and the end of the twentieth century to make a difference to the moral and spiritual direction of this nation and the world. Unless timely encouragement is given to evangelical institutions of higher education, some will go out of business before the turn of the century and the preparation of future leaders will increasingly be left to secular humanistic institutions. Now is the time for action.