The Blue
Tribune
The Blue Tribune is your place to learn about all things Covenant and keep up with stories from campus and beyond. By guiding you through the different aspects of Covenant, we'll help you decide if you want to pursue your very own Covenant experience.
Do You Have to Be a Christian to Attend Covenant?
Many Christian colleges operate with an evangelistic mission, meaning they might require students to provide a statement of faith for admissions, but will not turn students away who are not believers or come from varying faith backgrounds. In contrast, Covenant College operates with a discipleship based mission. This undertaking requires applicants to be professing Christians, and they should be able to articulate their faith clearly by answering the questions 鈥淲ho is Jesus?鈥� and 鈥淲hat does Jesus mean to you?鈥� in order to be considered for admission.
How We Fulfill Our Mission
Covenant cultivates a spiritually rich community through the requirement of a personal testimony and church reference. The testimony is an individual's description of who Jesus Christ is and why they are a Christian. Confession and belief go hand in hand and is why it's important for Covenant students to make a statement of faith. Our admissions office is faithful in gauging whether a student is the right fit for Covenant based on their written personal testimony and the conversations they鈥檝e had with the student.
The spiritual growth of our students continues and is centered around mentorship led by other disciples of Christ. Whether studying, competing in sports, participating in student clubs, or living in a residential building, our students are rooting themselves in communion with Christ while walking alongside faculty, staff, and students who not only profess faith, but live it out as they lean into their own sanctification.
Why Require a Testimony?
It is crucial knowing that the people on your left and right are, just like you, children of God. The testimony lets Covenant know how well you can write, and lets us know where you are in your walk with Christ. The requirement of a testimony shows students that our school is serious about their faith and wants to see them grow in their relationship with God. Although we cannot truly know the heart of each student, we can say that all of our students have 鈥減rofessed with their mouths that Jesus is Lord鈥� (Romans 10:9) and that the vast majority of students are striving after our motto: 鈥淚n all things Christ preeminent.鈥� The people our students are engaging with everyday, whether faculty or staff, classmates or roommates, are brothers and sisters in Christ. That鈥檚 rare鈥攖hat's a gift.
Equipping to Evangelize
We train graduates who are able to competently evangelize non-believers within their workplaces, neighborhoods, and in other countries. We are growing disciples of Christ in spiritually rich soil within the greenhouse that is our campus. Moreover, we equip courageous Christlike characters who are sown into their communities to pursue extraordinary callings in ordinary places. Students look forward to chapel three times a week, student-led Bible studies, weekly talks on difficult topics with wise men and women in the Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga area, and rigorous, biblically cultivated lectures by Christian faculty. We are blessed to have the resources found in the local church and our faculty members who desire to help with the growth of Covenant鈥檚 students.
An Eternal Impact
We pursue knowledge in faith鈥攗nderstanding the world through a Christian perspective鈥攁ll with a unique joy. There is a depth of Christian community here on campus. The environment that so many students say was the reason they chose Covenant is all because of the faithful actions that our past and present administration, faculty, staff, and students have poured into this college.
We understand that the best Christian growth comes through a deep connection with other like-minded believers who are striving after callings in service to the King. An exponentially larger difference is made when students know that their fellow students, roommates, coaches, and professors all follow Christ鈥攃reating a flourishing atmosphere in which they can take root and grow. Through sanctification and restoration, students are given support when they stumble, and they are able to learn from it as peers and faculty help them up in Christlike love. May we seek His face at all times, and 鈥済aze upon the beauty of the LORD鈥� (Psalm 27:4).