ABSTRACT

Originally published as a special issue of Christian Higher Education, this volume showcases diverse forms of community engagement work carried out by faith-based colleges and universities throughout the US.

Acknowledging the rise of community engagement as a contemporary expression of a longstanding civic impulse, Community Engagement in Christian Higher Education explores how religious mission and identity animate institutional practice across various forms of Catholic and Protestant Higher Education. Offering perspectives from faculty members, administrators, and community partners at nine different US institutions, chapters highlight effective initiatives that have been actively implemented in rural, urban, and suburban contexts to meet local needs and serve the public good. With a focus on practical community work, the text demonstrates the very concrete ways in which Christian values can inform and foster community engagement.

This volume will be of interest to scholar-practitioners, researchers, and academics in the fields of higher education, sociology of education, religious education, and practical theology. More broadly, the text offers important insights for faith leaders and the faculty of faith-based institutions exploring issues of community, identity, and shared purpose.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

Doing Justice, Loving Kindness, Walking Humbly: Christian Approaches to Community Engagement

chapter 1|22 pages

Mission Animation

Christian Higher Education, the Common Good, and Community Engagement

chapter 2|22 pages

Re-membering the Mission

Institutional Impacts of an Interdisciplinary Community Outreach Project

chapter 4|22 pages

Pursuing Social Justice through Place-Based Community Engagement

Cultivating Applied Creativity, Transdisciplinarity, and Reciprocity in Catholic Higher Education

chapter 5|16 pages

Community Engagement for Student Faith Development

Service-Learning in the Pentecostal Tradition

chapter 6|32 pages

Becoming People for and with Others

Advancing Social Justice through Interdisciplinary Study and Service in the Jesuit Tradition

chapter 7|21 pages

Faith in Action and Community Engagement

Realizing Mission through Immersion Experiences

chapter 8|23 pages

What Does It Mean to Be an Engaged Institutional Neighbor?

A Self-Study of an Undergraduate Program in Ministry and Community Engagement

chapter 9|21 pages

Equipping Students for a “Specific Uprising” Toward Justice

Lessons Learned from a University Prison Initiative

chapter |3 pages

Conclusion

Community Engagement in Christian Higher Education: Purposes & Possibilities