Vocational Formation

for ACU Online Students

At ACU, we believe the work we do matters. It matters to the world. It matters to God. God longs for the world to be a place of human flourishing – a place of wholeness, peace, joy, rest, and hope. Whether you are a teacher, therapist, business person, non-profit leader, healthcare professional or find your work in another profession, your work is not disconnected from the life of God, but the very place that God longs for you, your colleagues, your clients, and your community to experience human flourishing.
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At ACU, we believe the work we do matters. It matters to the world. It matters to God. God longs for the world to be a place of human flourishing – a place of wholeness, peace, joy, rest, and hope. Whether you are a teacher, therapist, business person, non-profit leader, healthcare professional or find your work in another profession, your work is not disconnected from the life of God, but the very place that God longs for you, your colleagues, your clients, and your community to experience human flourishing.

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HOW ACU HELPS WITH VOCATIONAL FORMATION

Vocational formation is all about finding your life’s calling, learning how God is shaping you into the person you were born to be. You likely have a career goal or the spark of an idea of what you’d like to do professionally. Vocational formation takes this a step further by helping you understand your deeper desire to serve others, no matter what the job title or duties entail.

In addition to offering innovative and industry-leading undergraduate and graduate degrees, ACU Online is committed to the vocational formation of every student helping them understand and experience their work as meaningful, life-giving, and significant.

This includes:

  • Curriculum that focuses on the formation of students’ vocational identity
  • Co-curricular opportunities that deepen students’ capacity to experience meaningful work
  • Faculty and staff committed and willing to help students understand and experience the many ways that their work contributes to the common good.

 

Vocatio Talks

ACU Online began offering a webinar series called Vocatio Talks in March 2017. These online meetings allow students to gather for lively conversations about what it means to find your authentic self. The webinars offer plenty of time for audience questions, and the webinars are recorded and posted online for later viewing.

What is Vocational Formation?

We believe the work you do matters, and that this world is a better place because of it. One of the things we want to help you do in your time at ACU is nurture practices and postures that help you continually attend to your own life, the world around you, and the ways that your work matters. We call this work “vocational formation.”

Throughout your educational experience with us you will have opportunity to participate in webinars that explore further how we might experience our work in more meaningful ways. You’ll have opportunity to engage in resources that might serve as an encouragement or inspire you to pursue longings or passions that you hold deep inside. You’ll be invited during the off-weeks between terms -when you don’t have any school work – to truly rest, be still, and hopefully find the renewal you need to jump back into the next term. We want to provide multiple opportunities, through different kinds of mediums to do what we think is really important work, that is, attend to your own vocational identity. To discover or re-discover the ways in which your work brings joy, hope, and possibility into your life. 

Vocational Formation News

Two ACU students receive $40,000 Sumners scholarships

Abilene Christian University sophomores Eric Vergane and Haylee Newman have each been awarded $40,000 scholarships by The Sumners Foundation. They are among 36 undergraduate students nationally to receive a Sumners scholarship in 2025. Vergane is a government major with minors in legal studies and public service from Miami, Oklahoma. He is a Pope Fellow, a … Continued

ACU partners with Lurleen B Wallace Community College

ACU Partners with Lurleen B Wallace Community College to Provide Employee Tuition Discount

Abilene Christian University (ACU) is delighted to announce a partnership with Lurleen B. Wallace (LBW) Community College by offering an employee tuition discount on all ACU Online undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs. With three public community college campuses across Alabama, LBW Community College provides affordable academic and workforce programs with flexible formats to hundreds of … Continued

University Credit Union and ACU Credit Union join forces to enhance financial services for the ACU community

A new era of financial empowerment is underway for the Abilene Christian University community, as the ACU Credit Union and University Credit Union (UCU) officially unite to expand financial services, resources and benefits for members. This strategic merger strengthens both institutions’ shared commitment to providing personalized, community-focused banking while integrating industry-leading financial solutions for members. … Continued

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