In the mid-1970s a group of new believers with intellectual fervor for the study of Christianity rented a house just beyond Grounds at the University of Virginia to host
lectures, fellowship meetings, and other events. As fellowships grew in size and number, the Center for Christian Study grew as well. Year long programs were developed for educating laypeople to think theologically. The Center is now a host to seminary classes, fellowships, a library, and even housing for students in the Elzinga Residential Scholars Program. As the staff and Board look toward the future, they remain focused upon the essentials that brought about the Center’s founding: historic, biblical Christianity; a concern for understanding the juncture of culture and faith; and the desire to spread the gospel through “wise discussion of the Truth.”
The central purpose of the University of Virginia is to enrich the mind by stimulating and sustaining a spirit of free inquiry directed to understanding the nature of the universe and the role of mankind in it. Activities designed to quicken, discipline, and enlarge the intellectual and creative capacities, as well as the aesthetic and ethical awareness, of the members of the University and to record, preserve, and disseminate the results of intellectual discovery and creative endeavor serve this purpose. In fulfilling it, the University places the highest priority on achieving eminence as a center of higher learning.