The mission of ACU is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. ACU Study Abroad supports this mission through interaction with the global Christian community, academic excellence, the pursuit of wisdom, the practice of humility, and through giving and receiving hospitality.

• Interaction With the Global Christian Community: Students will gain a deeper understanding of the Christian faith by exploring the diverse nature of the global Christian community (Acts 10:34-48).

  • Students will learn about the historic/contemporary expressions of Christianity in their host countries and how they contribute to the global Christian movement.

  • Participate in the life and worship of local Christian communities, reflect on how these communities understand their calling as disciples of Christ, and consider how these experiences influence their own faith.

  • Identify significant historical and contemporary issues shaping Christian communities in their host countries.

  • Recognize important developments within global Christianity and consider how they may shape the future of the Christian faith.
    

• Academic Excellence: Students will engage in academic learning which meets the highest standards of excellence at ACU.

  • Although coursework in a study abroad setting may differ from coursework offered on ACU’s home campus in its learning outcomes, instructional methods, or cultural context, all international courses will be held to the same academic standards as courses offered in Abilene.
    

• Pursuing Wisdom. Students will strengthen their critical-thinking skills through rigorous academic learning in cross-cultural settings. They will learn to apply their knowledge and experiences responsibly within complex, uncertain, and morally significant contexts (Proverbs 3:1–35).

  • Describe major political and social characteristics and challenges within their host societies and identify relevant connections to their home context.

  • Apply their learning within the freedom and independence of the study abroad experience to make sound and ethical decisions.

  • Engage in guided reflection and faculty or staff mentorship to consider how their faith commitments shape their understanding of the world and inform their vocational calling.
    

• Practicing Humility. Students will develop humility through the struggle of cross-cultural living and the intentional, refining rhythms of life together in community (Romans 12:3-8).

  • Explain how shared community life reflects the heart of the Christian faith and God’s desire for humanity.

  • Recognize how living in community challenges self-centeredness and deepens their awareness of themselves, others, and their own limitations.

  • Describe how humility is modeled in the life of Christ, how it informs cross-cultural engagement, and why it is a central Christian virtue.
    

• Giving and Receiving Hospitality. By cultivating an inclusive ACU community and engaging meaningfully with their host communities, students will develop the compassion, welcome, and care that form the foundation of Christian hospitality (Luke 15:11–32).

  • Students will interact with other religious faiths and be challenged to “love their neighbors as themselves” (Matt. 22:39) by seeking to understand and respect other believers outside of the Christian faith.

  • Students will be able to describe the importance of hospitality within the Christian tradition.

  • Students will participate in projects that seek to serve and extend hospitality to their local communities.

  • Students will be able to articulate why hospitality is at the heart of all successful cross-cultural interactions.

  • Students will be challenged to extend hospitality in the context of their living/learning community and apply Christ’s example of compassion, welcome, and care to their neighbors throughout their study abroad experience.