Cultural Reformation

Teach your children well: Summit Institute

By J. Wesley ⋅ April 16, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

College life is a gauntlet of Leftist professors and radical chic activists who do their best to undermine the faith and values of conservative Christian students. At eighteen, the average Christian conservative has a basic understanding of what he or she believes, but often hasn’t internalized or systematized those beliefs.

If you’re the parent of a high school student, I really recommend the Summit Institute for them. Located near Colorado Springs, this Christian worldview camp really is life-changing. Over a two-week period, it lays out a Christian approach to politics, history, economics, activism, law, philosophy and several other fields of knowledge in a way that makes sense to young people. I went twice, both at 15 and 16 years of age, and it was a huge shaping influence on my life.

The classes were influential, of course, but the camp is so much more than that. The Summit Institute is housed in a fantastic old Gold Rush hotel in a small, artsy mountain town. The director of Summit Ministries is a genial, witty old fellow named David Noebel, whom everyone just calls “Doc.” You’re surrounded by a hundred bright, creative peers who are just as engaged with the material as you are and stay up late into the night debating it. The instructors care about their subjects and will take the time to discuss them with you in the off-hours. When not in class, there are opportunities to climb Pike’s Peak or go whitewater rafting.

I have a particular reason to love the Summit Institute — I met my wife there. This was back in the waning days of the Cold War. Our first movie date was the camp’s graduation film, Red Dawn.

In recent years Summit Ministries has expanded to include international conferences in Australia and Canada, student conferences around the country, adult conferences, and even a Summit Ministries / Oxford University program. Definitely worth checking out!