In the Department of Lifespan & Family Studies, students learn how people grow, form families, and age within communities, and how the church and its partners can accompany them through every stage of life. Through study of gerontology and of youth and family studies, students gain an understanding of human development across the lifespan, family systems and culture, family stress, crisis, and recovery, the health, economic, and social realities of aging, risks facing children, youth, and older adults, and the service agencies, programs, and long-term care settings that respond to them. Students also learn the ethical, administrative, and cross-cultural practices that help families, youth, and older adults be heard, protected, and well served.
Through study of lifespan and family studies, Christian believers are prepared to serve in the mission of God in family ministry and support, youth and at-risk youth ministry, ministry with and advocacy for older adults, and the administration of aging and family service programs. Building on principles of dignity, intergenerational relationship, protection of the vulnerable, and cultural humility, missional service may extend to walking with families through crisis and recovery, mentoring young people whom others have overlooked, guarding older adults against neglect and abuse, or helping congregations and communities plan and lead services across the generations together.
Why Lifespan & Family Studies?
As a missional university, lifespan and family studies build on several faith commitments: that every person bears the image of God from childhood through old age, that the family is a God-given context for nurture, belonging, and gospel witness, and that the compassion of Christ extends to those whom others overlook, from the child welcomed into his arms (Mark 10:13–16) to the aged who ask not to be forsaken (Psalm 71:17–18). This means that students in the Department of Lifespan & Family Studies study human development, family life, and aging with professional rigor and with a commitment that every stage of life be honored and protected, and that no generation be treated as a burden or set aside. The study is framed within a theological discussion of shalom, compassion care, and intergenerational faithfulness, and the Christian’s role in the mission of God.
