The Need for CFI

The kingdom of God does not end where the marketplace begins. Jesus Christ is Lord of every area of life, and he calls his followers to vocations in the world of business as well as the church. Millions of people follow Christ’s call by going to work each day in businesses around the globe. There they face difficult decisions, complex problems, and new opportunities. They also seek to live in a manner worthy of the gospel they proclaim. They want to represent Christ faithfully, love their neighbors as themselves, and serve the cause of justice. The Wheaton Center for Faith and Innovation exists to help Christians do all these things better.

As a Christian liberal arts college, Wheaton College has helped generations of students learn how to integrate their faith with the best insights of academic learning. Yet the need for this kind of instruction extends far beyond the college classroom. Followers of Christ want to apply theological wisdom to the specific problems they face in a competitive marketplace. They want to be empowered to seek purpose alongside profit, to pursue eternal values as well as monetary ones, and to make a difference that goes beyond the bottom line. They need training to learn how to integrate their faith with the work they are pursuing in the marketplace.

The Wheaton Center for Faith & Innovation addresses this need by serving as the bridge between the classroom and the workplace. As an academic center, we facilitate research and teaching at the intersection of theology, practice, and marketplace knowledge. Faculty and students work collaboratively to address pressing problems in innovative ways by drawing on the wisdom of the liberal arts. These insights are brought to the world of business with the goal of helping disciples of Jesus pursue their vocations faithfully. And at every turn, Christ’s call to his disciples remains the focus: “Follow me.”