An associate vice president at a Christian university told Fox News Digital that he believes college students today are hungry for a robust spiritual life — and it is up to schools to ensure that their needs are being met.
"For a lot of students that come to college and really struggle spiritually, we want to do everything we can to make sure that this is a place where they find their faith, if they're open to it, or maybe return to the faith, if they've kind of strayed from it," Tim Spivey told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.
Spivey is the assistant vice president of spiritual life at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles County, California.
Alternatively, students who are already Christians can use college "to build a stronger, more vibrant faith," he said.
Spivey said he "believes that what we offer our students here in terms of spiritual life is second to none — and the Worship Summit is a key piece of that." Pepperdine recently hosted its annual Worship Summit, an event that drew more than 3,000 people to the school's Malibu campus for a night of worship, music and spirituality. …
Spivey said he's hesitant to believe popular claims that the current generation of college students is rapidly losing faith. "We're seeing the next generation is very hungry and thirsty for spiritual life on this campus," he said — something he found extremely encouraging. …
Pepperdine, he said, is "unabashedly Christ-centered," something that University President Jim Gash expressed as a goal when he assumed the role in 2019. Gash wanted a commitment to Christianity "to be known as something that was going to be a cornerstone of his presidency," said Spivey. Christianity, "is not ancillary — it's not a hobby that we have or something like that. It's central to what we do here at Pepperdine."
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