Who We Are As Adventists
Owned and operated by Kettering Health, Kettering College is an integral part of the educational mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in the inspiration of the Bible, the record of creation, the divinity of Christ, his saving work at Calvary, and his second coming.
We believe God desires the very best of us and wants us to model our lives after his teaching and will. Here, we emphasize the importance of spiritual, intellectual, and physical growth to ensure well-balanced personal development. God invites us to make a difference in this world. As a health care professional, the difference you can make for people will be very significant.
While at Kettering College, you may experience some campus practices that are new to you.
In your classes you will have opportunities to discuss spiritual issues relating to healing, ethics, and personal growth.
Your faculty may lead devotional thoughts and/or prayer as you begin class.
You will be expected to join corporate worship experiences during convocations and monthly Assembly.
You are strongly encouraged to abstain from illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, and you are strictly prohibited from possessing and/or using them on campus and at College-sponsored events.
You will notice that the biblical Sabbath, a prominent belief of the Seventh-day Adventist faith, is observed from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Campus activities are different and ministry opportunities more plentiful during Sabbath hours.
You will find opportunities to serve others in local communities or in distant mission outposts.
We encourage you to ask questions and to keep an open mind to the religious diversity that you will experience here. Inquire about the different faith expressions of our student body, faculty, and staff. Make spiritual learning an important area of growth as you become a health professional.
We pray for and desire that you will find a place where you feel loved and valued, and where you are encouraged to seek God and grow into the men and women he intended us to be.
Our Spiritual Identity
Our spiritual identity serves as the foundation of our mission and touches upon every aspect of college life. It is essential that those considering Kettering College understand our spiritual heritage and beliefs.
Four themes guide our spiritual understandings.
Theme I: A Relationship with God through Jesus
Our world began perfectly. Humans were created by a loving God who desired that we be in a relationship with him. We were also created with the power of choice. We have chosen rebellion and separation. Yet, in the midst of pain, suffering and death, Christ came to renew our relationship with God.
Through Jesus, God made his deep love for us real, tangible and compelling. Jesus’ death and resurrection removed the barriers separating us from God and opened the path for complete and full restoration to God. God’s character, evidenced by Jesus’ life, is recorded in the Bible. God inspired this book so we could know him intimately. It is a privilege to know God, and to bring his healing and restoration to a broken world.
Theme II: Character Formation
Jesus was a perfect model of how to live a life of integrity, trustworthiness and commitment to Godly purposes. By knowing God, we can be increasingly free from damaging patterns, habits, and genetic influences. Through him we can transform our character into a noble, and Godly one.
Thinking and behaving more like God, makes us caring custodians of our communities, devoted health care professionals, and healthy, vibrant human beings.
Theme III: Service to Others
Jesus also was a perfect model of how to love others. We are incapable of loving perfectly without our connection to God. With God our lives are characterized by service. We want to share the love that God shares with us. Because Jesus lived for us, we are now free from guilt, fear, sin and death and we are empowered to lovingly serve others in the name of God.
Theme IV: A Whole Person View
Our mind, body and spirit must be whole to serve others. God created our bodies and spirits to be inseparable. Therefore, a healthy spirit affects our body, and an ill body affects our spirit. Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness is important for us, and for those whom we care.
One way God makes us whole is through the Sabbath. God created the Sabbath to remind us to connect with him and to restore wholeness to our lives. We strive for wholeness and can effectively serve others when we model wholeness in our own lives.
