Institute for Faith,
Work, & Culture
ENGAGING STUDENTS AND THE WIDER CHURCH IN THE FAITH AND WORK MOVEMENT
Reading Groups
Teaching Women to Teach
Institute for Faith, Work, & Culture
THE RTS ORLANDO FACULTY SHAPED MY THEOLOGICAL VISION FOR THE MARKETPLACE BY INSTILLING IN ME AN APPRECIATION FOR THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD AND THE GLORY OF HIS KINGDOM.
There is a great need to integrate our work and faith, and because we believe in the priesthood of all believers, there is also a need to learn from our brothers and sisters in the marketplace. I am hopeful that the IFWC will further these conversations and shape future leaders to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in word and deed, into their workplaces.
— REV. BRYAN FOWLER, MDIV ‘21
Corporate Chaplain at AGI
What is the Faith and Work Movement?
Initially focused solely on Faith and Work (FAW), the movement’s main goal was to help Christians cultivate an integrated approach to their faith and occupations. The FAW movement acknowledged the God-given nature of work and sought to order work to God’s glory and human flourishing.
In its current phase, the movement has broadened to address issues of economics, ethics, and culture, as well as faith and work. The IFWC seeks to equip our campus community and the wider church in these areas and to serve as a thought incubator for broader theological conversations on these topics.
Why an Institute for Faith, Work, & Culture at RTS Orlando?
Situated amidst a vibrant faith and work community in Central Florida, RTS Orlando is uniquely positioned to engage in the faith and work conversation. RTS Orlando formed the IFWC to facilitate the development of a biblically grounded, God-centered vision for integrating faith and work in both its current students and the wider church.
RTS ORLANDO FORMED THE IFWC WITH THREE GOALS IN MIND:
Integrating Faith & Work
The IFWC provides seminary students and the wider church opportunities to cultivate a Reformed vision of faith, work, and culture.
PARTICIPANTS WILL GAIN
IFWC Offerings
THE IFWC OFFERS THE FOLLOWING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SEMINARY STUDENTS, PASTORS, AND CHRISTIANS WHO DESIRE TO INTEGRATE THEIR FAITH AND WORK.
Bavinck Lectures
Listen to leading scholars address a wide array of topics related to faith, work, and culture from a Reformed theological perspective.
Faith and Work Classes
Attend classes available for credit or audit that equip students to cultivate a discipleship culture of faith and work integration.
Certificate in Faith, Work,
& Culture
This 12-credit hour certificate combines courses specifically tailored to address work and culture with broader preparation in theology and ethics.
Bavinck
Lecture Series
Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) was a Dutch theologian and ethicist who sought to apply the riches of Reformed theology to all spheres of life in the modern world. Following in the tradition of Bavinck’s work, the Bavinck Lectures will host leading scholars from across the globe to address a wide array of topics related to faith, work, and culture from a Reformed theological perspective.
The 2024 lecture details:
- SPEAKER: John Swinton
- WHEN: October 2, 2024
- WHERE: RTS Orlando
- TITLE: What does it mean to work when you “can’t work"?
This year's lecture explores the theological meaning of work and vocation for individuals with profound intellectual disabilities, challenging views that equate human worth with productivity. Drawing on Bavinck’s theology of vocation and the image of God, it argues that dignity is rooted in relational presence and participation in God’s creation. The lecture offers a transformative vision of vocation centred on being rather than doing and in so doing, affirms that every person, regardless of ability, contributes meaningfully to God's ongoing work.
BIO: John Swinton is Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care and Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. For more than a decade John worked as a registered mental health nurse. He also worked for a number of years as a hospital and community mental health Chaplain alongside of people with severe mental health challenges who were moving from the hospital into the community. In 2004, he founded the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. He has published widely within the area of mental health, dementia, disability theology, spirituality and healthcare, end of life care, qualitative research and pastoral care. John is the author of a number of monographs including his recent book: Finding Jesus in the Storm: The spiritual lives of people with mental health challenges. (Eerdmans 2020) His book Dementia: Living in the memories of God won the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Ramsey Prize for excellence in theological writing.
Forming Disciples for Faith and Work
TAUGHT BY DR. DAMEIN SCHITTER
This course explores the process of forming disciples for faith and work integration. We will discuss the foundations of faith and work theology as it relates to disciple-making and pastoral practices that cultivate a discipleship culture of faith and work integration.
January 13-17, 2025
1pm - 4pm Monday-Friday
RTS Orlando
*Additionally, students will listen to lectures in the weeks prior to the first class.
Certificate in Faith, Work, & Culture
By completing the Certificate in Faith, Work, and Culture, a student will be prepared to responsibly fulfill their various callings, in the workplace and in other avenues of culture-making, and to equip others to do so with a biblical formation.
Required Courses:
- Forming Disciples for Faith and Work
- Christ, Culture, and Contextualization
- Pastoral and Social Ethics
"The Faith and Work class by Dr. Damein Schitter showed us the critical value and importance of work in the story of redemption. The readings, lectures, discussion groups, and assignments all served to help us disciple our people in the areas of faith, work, and culture through the local church."
— WILL WITHERINGTON, CAMPUS OUTREACH, LEXINGTON, KY
Free eBook
from the Paideia Center
Reformed Theological Seminary exists to train men and women to see the beauty of Jesus in all of Scripture and to commend his beauty to others.
This little booklet is designed to give you a taste of the kind of Christ-honoring teaching that our faculty engages in both inside and outside the classroom.
