When students choose a college major, they often think about what they enjoy, what they are good at and what kind of career they want in the future. But for Christian students, there is another question: How does my faith fit into the work I will eventually do, and how can I integrate my faith into my career?
Some careers may seem to have an obvious connection to faith. Working in ministry may make that connection easier to recognize. But what about careers such as accounting, business, engineering or technology? Does faith become less important?
The answer may depend less on what a person does and more on how and why they do it.
College is not only preparation for getting a job; it also prepares students to understand their responsibilities and use their abilities in the world.
Gateway professor Rob Rostoni believes that God can be honored through many different paths.
“Our faith transforms ‘work’ into a meaningful, purposeful and redemptive opportunity,” Rostoni said.
That does not necessarily mean talking about Christianity every time someone goes to work. He explained that Christians can live consistently with their faith in every part of life, including how they treat coworkers, customers and other people.
This can be especially important in careers that do not appear connected to faith at first.
Accounting, for example, is largely technical. It involves numbers, financial information, taxes and auditing. Yet Gerald Reimer, who worked in professional accounting for more than 12 years before becoming a professor, sees opportunities to serve others through the profession.
For Reimer, faith can influence an accountant's work through ethics and integrity. It does not mean turning the workplace into a church. Instead, faith can shape how accountants handle responsibilities, communicate with clients and make difficult decisions.
“Your faith will motivate you to act with ethics and integrity while serving your clients’ needs,” Reimer said.
The same principle can apply to almost any profession. A businessperson can practice honesty. A teacher can serve students. An engineer can consider how their work affects others. A healthcare worker can treat patients with dignity. Even a sanitation worker can serve a community through work that protects public health.
Faith does not necessarily have to change the profession itself. It can change the way a person approaches it.
For a student, this means that choosing a major is not about finding the one career that is most obviously connected to God. It is about discovering the abilities, interests and opportunities God has given them and considering how they can use those things to serve others.
A career may be the place where we work, but faith can shape how we work, how we treat people and what we believe our work is ultimately for.
