PINE MOUNTAIN — Most recently graduated high school students don’t struggle with how to explain their faith to someone immersed in New Age philosophy, existentialism, or nihilism. The fact is many of them have never heard the terms, and can much less spell them on the first try.

But Kurtis Fitz-Ritson of Stone Mountain, immersed in the book “The Universe Next Door,” is not your typical student. Neither is George Argyris of Murrieta, Calif., who is studying “The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind,” or Brad McDonald of Phoenix, Ariz., who is reading “Knowing God.”

But then again, students enrolled in the “gap year” program at IMPACT 360, affiliated with Chick-fil-A, are not your average students. And when they complete their education in May, they will be far ahead of their peers who went right into the college and university setting – many of them ill-prepared for the assault they will encounter for being Christians.

 

Intense study, mentoring

“IMPACT 360 is designed to offset those assaults on faith and prepare students to have a solid Christian worldview when they step on campuses, whether secular or Christian,” explains John Basie, associate director of the program.

A year of intense study and mentoring by some of the nation’s most successful Christian businessmen and thinkers provides those students with role models who prove that Christianity and intellect are not mutually exclusive ideas.

The Bible has recorded many important events in mountainous settings. Abraham had Mount Moriah. Moses had Mount Sinai. Elijah had Mount Carmel.

IMPACT 360 has Pine Mountain. Or, sort of.

Pine Mountain is not as much a mountain as a rise on the horizon. But it does share a remote setting similar to that of the biblical events. Students even joke about being in the middle of nowhere and having to drive 30 minutes to get their java jolt at the LaGrange Starbucks.

But that remote setting, they maintain, is what helps them focus on their studies and not be distracted by the lure of big city entertainment and social options.

The small campus is located on the grounds of the Davis Inn, less than a mile from the entrance to Callaway Gardens. Students attend classes, eat meals, and socialize in an adjacent building that also serves as the program’s administrative headquarters. Several of the Inn’s motel rooms, modified for campus housing, are steps away from the main building.

On a recent morning in early April, students were introduced to the newest guest lecturer who would spend three days with them in the classroom. Del Tackett, president of Focus on the Family Institute, had flown in the night before from the company’s headquarters in Colorado Springs.

Before long, with his relaxed, engaging style, he was involving the students in a detailed yet easy-to-grasp conversation about the wonders of the human body. As he explained the medical processes of how and why blood clots, he drew parallels that showed how such a complicated process could not have come into existence without a creator to direct the process.

After a couple of hours of intense discussion the class was dismissed for lunch. But in the unique setting of IMPACT 360 the instruction continues well outside the classroom – around the lunch table, in the kitchen, and outside when shooting hoops is a favorite way to pass the time.

 

Nationally recognized guest lecturers

Instructors such as Tackett, and others like nationally recognized author Os Guinness, do not isolate themselves from their wards at the end of the day. They live on campus, take their meals with the students, and are ready to discuss any topic as the opportunity presents itself.

More students nationwide are looking into “gap year” programs where they sandwhich an extra year of study between their high school graduation and first year of college. Some are traveling, others are entering the marketplace as interns to explore career options, and some are enrolling in cutting edge academic programs where knowledge gained, rather than grades earned, are the focus.

Adding life experiences to one’s personal resume is the name of the game.

At IMPACT 360 students are mentored in development of a Christian worldview so they can refine what it means to be a believer and be able to articulate that to others from an intellectual perspective. But IMPACT 360 is not about developing intellectual eggheads. What it is about is helping students explore what they believe and why they believe it, and develop a personal way to communicate that to others.

The program was founded in 2006 by John and Trudy White, members of Dogwood Baptist Church in Peachtree City, who were convinced that too many high school students were not adequately prepared to defend their faith as they entered college. IMPACT 360 offers that instruction in a nine-month curriculum that provides 15 hours of credit at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

Basie explains the goal “is to develop critical thinkers and to prepare them for college, whether that is a Christian or secular university. Unfortunately, in many cases today they are one and the same as many Christian universities have diluted their commitment to Scripture.

“We believe that putting on the full armor of God includes equipping them with a foundational worldview for the sake of defending their faith and proclaiming it winsomely.

“We’re not interested in bringing students in here, brainwashing them, and equipping them with a flashy set of pat answers to the questions that atheists and others are tossing at them. We don’t want them to leave here with just an appearance of what they are talking about … we want to train them to be critical thinkers, to understand life at all levels. We want them to attain both the mind of Christ as well as His character.”

Developing that mind and character of Christ does not come easy. While the setting is casual, the program is intense; structured, but not regimented. Argyris says the approach has created “an even greater thirst to learn.”

Students average reading a book a week on topics such as faith and culture, God’s design for the social order, the authority and reliability of the Bible, and spiritual formation. The first three days are spent in the classroom and by Thursday, students discuss a four-page paper they wrote evaluating what they learned that week.

“The first page is a reflection of class time and summarizing whether we agreed or disagreed with the professor, and why. The second page is a book review, the third is a discussion where we relate what we learned to the Christian worldview, and the fourth addresses how we exhibit the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves to the 360 community or the community of Pine Mountain.

“That’s basically where we put our faith to the test, a real-life application,” Argyris explains.

“At first it was pretty difficult but this program is so focused … you concentrate on your studies because you are not distracted by employment … that you become more disciplined. You learn to develop the ability to think critically on a variety of topics; it just becomes second nature.

The 360 experience comes into sharp focus when students such as Argyris return home for a quick visit.

“I’ve been back to southern California once and I was really surprised at how I was observing and evaluating what was happening around me. I would never have thought in those terms before I came to IMPACT 360,” he says.

“Before you get here you think you know what you believe but after you get here and study under John Basie and the guest professors you come to realize that much of what you believed you were spoon fed and didn’t really come up with your own worldview.

“I think that’s why so many Christians fall way from the faith when they enroll in college. They are challenged with different views by new friends and professors and they have no real foundation on which to stand.”

Basie says statistics bear out that observation. He cites a recent study by the Barna Research Group that says most twentysomethings put Christianity on the shelf following spiritually active teen years.

The study reveals that while churches do an adequate job of instilling faith during the high school years, a significant “disengagement” occurs after graduation – and in some instances is accelerated by the attacks their faith encounters on the college campuses.

IMPACT 360 is not just focused on book learning. It’s simple motto of “Know. Be. Live.” serves as the foundation for a holistic approach to faith.

The “know” element stresses the biblical knowledge that is important to life; the “be” focuses on developing character; and the “live” provides an emphasis on service to others.

The “live” is the crucible where the previous two elements are put into play; it’s where faith is put into action through ministry and community service. For example, students are involved in projects in Pine Mountain, participate in ministry opportunities in Atlanta, and spend a month on an international mission trip to eastern Europe where they serve alongside International Mission Board personnel.

It’s where service to others takes precedence over self-gratification.

An important part of the program is developing leadership skills. Students attend Chick-fil-A University, an in-house training program where managers nationwide learn the servant mentality on which founder Truett Cathy used to fuel the company’s growth.

In addition to receiving a behind-the-scenes look at how the company operates, students also have the opportunity to develop personal relationships with members of the company’s top leadership. For example, Argyris was invited to fly on Chick-fil-A’s corporate jet for a rigorous three-day schedule of grand openings with Dan Cathey.

“That tour was so important because I was able to observe Dan living out the philosophy that we learned in the university. I helped open two stores in Texas, one in Arizona, and two in California; it was amazing to watch Dan because he was never too busy to bus tables or pick up trash that had fallen on the floor. He was demonstrating the ‘second mile, second nature’ attitude in ways I’ll never forget.”

Basie says that is exactly what the program is designed to do.

“In a nutshell, everything we are doing is equipping students to be servants in whatever walk of life where God calls them. We believe that they will lead in a fundamentally different way, a better way, if their motivation is to serve others rather than promoting themselves,” he explains.

Larry Cox, program director of both IMPACT 360 and WinShape International, also founded by the Whites and part of the Chick-Fil-A culture, says the motto defines the school’s curriculum.

“We teach our students that there is no difference between secular and sacred. We teach them that it is all sacred.

“We are not here to teach them how to go into full-time Christian service. We are not here to teach them how to get a job at a Christian agency or denomination or on a church staff. We want them to know that wherever they work vocationally, it will be full-time Christian service.

“IMPACT 360 is not about segregating yourself from the world; rather, it is about integrating yourself fully into that society we want to claim for Christ. It’s about nurturing change throughout society in order to advance the Kingdom of God.”

 

 
 

Related story: • The 411 on IMPACT 360

 

 

Developing a Christian worldview In addition to receiving leadership training through Chick-fil-A University, Impact 360 students are mentored in a variety of topics through guest speakers such as Os Guinness of the Trinity Forum, J.P. Moreland of Biola University, and Del Takett of Focus on the Family. Students were introduced to the following topics in the 2007-08 program:   • Introduction to Biblical Worldview • Evidence for God’s Existence • The Call • Faith and Science • The Authority and Reliability of the Bible • Faith and Culture • Student Life During the College Years • Spiritual Formation • God’s Design for the Social Order • The Church in God’s Mission • Bioethics Enrollment applications are now being accepted for the 2008-2009 program. Visit www.impact360.net to download an application or receive additional information.