Note: This article has been updated from the print version to correctly reflect the relationship between the colleges and the districts.
Mennonite Brethren in the U.S. took bold, visionary steps when they established Tabor College in 1908 and Pacific Bible Institute, which later became Fresno Pacific University, in 1944. “It is hard to exaggerate the Mennonite Brethren commitment to education,” write Paul Toews and Abe Dueck in For Everything a Season: Mennonite Brethren in North America, 1874-2002 – An Informal History. With over 40,000 combined alumni, these institutions may be the most impactful ministries launched by Mennonite Brethren.
Tabor and FPU alumni expand Christ’s kingdom worldwide. Through business, education, medicine, missions, ministry and more, alumni lead and transform families, organizations and communities thanks to the combination of spiritual formation and professional preparation experienced at our schools.
Our MB churches and agencies reflect the influence of our colleges. Hundreds of FPU and Tabor alumni have served and are serving in MB churches. Alumni have provided key leadership in new and mature church plants such as Renewal in Rapid City, S.D., SouthLife in Wichita, Kan., and Copper Hills in Peoria, Ariz. Nearly all current U.S. Multiply mobilization staff and global workers from the East of the Rockies and the Western U.S. regions attended Tabor or FPU.
Enrollment trends and impacts
Christian colleges face significant challenges, including increased skepticism about the cost/value of a college degree, rising student debt, declining birth rates, diminishing state and federal funding and new educational delivery methods. Additionally, Christian colleges must navigate denominational decline and alumni engagement.
A student’s first year away from home is often critical as they wrestle with identity, beliefs and calling. However, in recent decades, economics have trumped spiritual and character formation. According to Shirley Hoogstra, former president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, “Higher education used to be about developing the whole person for service to the nation. Today the driving question is not, ‘What is my purpose in life?’ but, ‘Will I get a job?’ and, ‘Will I be able to repay my loans?’ The driver is more and more an economic one.”
Culturally, even evangelical Christian families have shifted. Although 75 percent of Christian parents value the “strong spiritual formation” of a Christian college or university, 67 percent of them prefer public institutions for perceived career prospects.
We see this trend reflected in our enrollments and particularly among MB constituents. Among those students who declare a denominational affiliation, Catholics now form the largest represented church background at 12 percent (Tabor) and 18 percent (FPU). These same statistics show the percentage of students from MB churches declined at Tabor from 45 percent in 1986 to 8 percent in 2021 but has recently risen to 11 percent. FPU currently enrolls fewer than 5 percent from MB churches in traditional undergraduate programs.
These cultural shifts correlate with young Christians increasingly leaving the church during their college years. A 2018 Barna survey revealed that 64 percent of students who professed to be Christians in high school had “dropped out of attending church after going regularly.” Barna projects that 80 percent of individuals raised within the church will become “disengaged” from their faith by the age of 29.
Hope for the future
There is hope, and FPU and Tabor are key elements of the solution.
We live in a complex and anxious age. Yet, it is a great time to be alive. Researcher and educator Alexander Astin observes that “while it’s obvious technical knowledge and skill are becoming increasingly important for effective functioning in modern society, better technical knowledge alone will not equip students to deal with many of society’s most pressing problems: violence, poverty, crime, divorce, substance abuse and the religious, national and ethnic conflicts that continue to plague our country and our world. These are problems of the heart, problems that call for greater self-awareness, self-understanding, equanimity, empathy, concern for others and well-being.” Our institutions engage not only the intellect but the heart.
As institutions dedicated to higher education, we navigate the tensions between training for specific careers, more general skills for success such as written and oral communication, and the broader pursuit of wisdom through Christian studies and the liberal arts. In a rapidly changing world, godly wisdom is needed more than ever. Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence have many business leaders calling for a resurrection of the liberal arts.
Combining technical knowledge with the ability to communicate, analyze, interpret and work with integrity, compassion and understanding are our strengths. Faculty and staff are deeply committed to shaping students not only as professionals but as compassionate and wise citizens who engage their communities with faith and purpose.
While FPU and Tabor are not churches, we come alongside the church in fulfilling both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Students come from around the world (39 states and 31 countries at Tabor; 20 states and 19 countries at FPU). Thanks to open enrollment policies, some of these students are not Christians, and every year, many make first-time decisions to follow Jesus.
Students deepen their faith through Bible courses, chapel attendance, faith-integrated learning, mentoring and co-curricular experiences that bring the gospel to life. Alumni spread throughout the world, many taking the good news of Jesus to communities and nations.
What we are doing
Tabor and FPU provide high-quality programs at competitive costs. Students can explore relevant in-demand majors such as business, computer science, education, nursing, pre-health sciences, psychology and social work. Students and families don’t have to choose between spiritual formation or career preparation. They can achieve both at Tabor and FPU.
FPU continues to explore exciting new methods to serve its region and beyond. California’s Central Valley presents rich opportunities by virtue of having one of the state’s lowest bachelor’s degree attainment rates. Residency programs to prepare teachers and school counselors and scholarships for MB students are among the ways Fresno Pacific is strengthening and expanding its traditional, graduate and seminary programs. This includes expanding our adult degree completion program—one of the fastest-growing sectors of higher education—and increasing certificate and course offerings through our Continuing Education Division, which has a national reach. Working with so many student populations helps the university weather demographic shifts and increases institutional stability.
For Tabor, new academic programs are energizing new enrollments. Undergraduate programs in computer and data science, data analytics, entrepreneurship and nursing complement strong existing programs in the sciences, education, psychology, social work and health and human performance. The new M.Ed. in Neuroscience and Trauma along with new concentrations in the MBA have elevated graduate enrollments to record numbers. A novel graduate studies in ministry program is launching in Fall 2025 through a collaborative effort with the Southern and Central districts to prepare more pastors and lay leaders. In 2020, Tabor introduced the generous Tabor 20 scholarship to encourage MB students to enroll. This is working, and the percentage of MB students has consistently increased.
Invitation to participate
We invite you to be part of the solution. Pray for your colleges. Pray for our students and staff. Come visit. Encourage young people to schedule a campus visit. Support FPU and Tabor financially. Together we can continue to expand Christ’s kingdom through Christian higher education.
David Janzen is president of Tabor College and André Stephens is president of Fresno Pacific University. Tabor is governed by the Central, Eastern, LAMB and Southern district conferences. FPU is governed by the Pacific District Conference.
This article has been posted by Christian Leader staff. The Christian Leader is the magazine of U.S. Mennonite Brethren.
