Grace Christian University’s Mission

Grace Christian University’s mission is Graduating Courageous Ambassadors for Christ Who Make an Eternal Impact Wherever They Go. To prepare students to make that impact, they engage in biblically-integrated learning experiences and key transformational relationships with faculty, staff, and other students on campus and online.

Our academic courses and programs play a pivotal role in the Grace experience, and overseeing all of those programs presents a unique challenge and responsibility that I take very seriously.

Refreshed Learning Outcomes

Without apology, we want the education Grace offers to students to be biblically distinctive. So in the Spring of 2025, the faculty approved these new learning outcomes.

We want our graduates to:

LEARN: Cultivate Bible-centered wisdom in every area of academic learning and professional skill.

GROW: Reflect the love of God and Christian character through transformational relationships.

SERVE: Engage in Christ-centered service in church, career, and community.

Moreover, we want every graduate to display these things with excellence and character that is reflective of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every area of life.

Biblical Integration in Every Course

The “biblical integration” we strive for is the intentional, holistic blending of biblical truths, rooted in Scripture’s narrative of creation, fall, and redemption, with insights from the natural and social sciences.

In every class, Scripture serves as the authoritative lens for evaluating and critiquing ideas, values, and culture. Affirming that “all truth is God’s truth,” this approach gives a privileged place to the Bible as God’s normative authority, guiding a dialogue with human reason and experience both inside and outside of the classroom.

It also helps students develop a biblical imagination, engaging learning with their emotions, senses, and creativity, so that Scripture shapes how they think, feel, act, and respond as courageous ambassadors for Christ.

Academic Programs

I’m happy to say that Grace continues to offer degree program majors that clearly reflect our mission and identity as a biblical university. In the Online campus, our Leadership & Ministry major continues to lead the way, with Psychology, Human Services, and Business degrees going strong.

On Campus, our most popular majors are Business, Leadership & Ministry together with Biblical Studies, Sports Communication and Management, with Psychology and Criminal Justice programs as well. As of 2025, students who take our 30-credit Bible Core can also be eligible for a second major in Christian Studies alongside their professional degree. Grace also offers the two-year Associate of Arts degree, as well as four Master’s degrees in Ministry, Organizational Leadership, Higher Education Leadership, and Business Administration (MBA).

As I lead Academics at Grace, we continue to examine the marketplace for degrees that will be attractive to prospective students. A recent survey indicated that one of the most important things we do for our students is develop degree programs that lead to meaningful jobs in the future.

Artificial Intelligence & Higher Education

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field and higher education is consistently challenged to keep up. I, along with Associate Provost Dr. Scott Shaw, have been named to the national Higher Education Artificial Intelligence Council sponsored by the Center for Digital Education, a division of eRepublic.

This gathering of higher education leaders is meeting several times through the 2025-26 academic year to discuss how AI is affecting colleges and universities in the areas of teaching and learning, student success, and process efficiencies. We hope to both learn a lot from this group, and represent faith-based and biblical higher education well.

Here on campus, I am currently leading the Grace AI Guidance Council, a group composed of a wide array of faculty, staff, students, administrators and board members. Our task is twofold. First, to assemble as much relevant information as possible from the current trends in AI and higher education in order to inform our decision making here at Grace, especially as it pertains to our biblical worldview.

Second, to develop guidance and recommendations for decision-makers on campus when it comes to any and all implementations of AI: we want any interaction with this emerging technology to be reflective of our mission, vision, and core values, in short, our identity, as a biblical university.

Rooted in Mission

At Grace Christian University we remain unwavering in our purpose, which remains essentially unchanged since our founding as Milwaukee Bible Institute in 1939.

I can remember when I was a student attending Grace Bible College from 1994 to 1998 and a “new” mission statement was established: Graduating Godly Individuals Prepared to Serve Christ in Church and Society. I remember thinking at the time, “Wow! That’s a pretty succinct statement of what this place is all about. ”I am so grateful to be a graduate of Grace Bible College; this experience made me who I am and is such a key part of my story.

Today, as a biblical university, our mission statement is refreshed once again to reflect both our heritage and the unique brokenness of a fallen world that needs the truth of the Gospel as much as ever before. I am excited to lead Academics as we navigate the changing landscape of higher education.

We are cultivating a learning environment where a new generation of students will understand and experience what it means to be rooted in a biblical identity and to be transformed into courageous ambassadors for Christ.

About the Author: Dr. Mat Loverin ’98 has served Grace Christian University as Professor, Director of Assessment, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Dean of the School of Bible & Ministry, and since June of 2025, has served as the Provost and Chief Academic Officer. Here he shares his vision for Academics at Grace and key plans for moving forward.