Family – def. group of people who share common attitudes, interests, and goals.
The original instruction of the Lord in beginning this institution was to “go . . . buy this property for you must build a university.” This was in 1989, and Family of Faith Church had entered into a relationship with a handful of churches in this geographical area in order to work together to fulfill the Great Commission. In obedience, the church opened Family of Faith Christian University in 1992 to provide training for the members of these churches while maintaining the pastoral and apostolic covering that the local church provides. The name had to change to Family of Faith College because the institution only offered baccalaureate degrees. We complied – but we wondered at the specific original direction of the Lord.
We did not know that we would develop into a university offering on campus, modular and distance education programs and that the apostolic network served by the university would grow to include over 8,000 churches spanning the globe. A Kingdom-ordained relationship with another worldwide ministry, Global Awakening, has led to the founding of the graduate degree programs through Global Awakening Theological Seminary. A further relationship with the Rock Tribe International led to the development of All Nations College which offers four degree programs through FFCU. More relationships are developing, and the vision of “the university” has crystallized.
University – def. n. institution of the highest level, having a university of liberal arts and a program of graduate studies together with several professional schools . . . and authorized to confer both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
A university is a collection of schools offering a variety of degrees. The element of “universe” is reflected in its comprehensive array of options for study. Traditional universities are a group of schools distinguished by subject matter. However, the FAMILY of colleges within FFCU are to be distinguished by the essence of the global apostolic network from which each one was birthed.