The Bethlehem House System enriches college student life by fostering a community that promotes spiritual growth, academic flourishing, and leadership development. Each incoming college student is assigned to a gender-specific, non-residential “house,” which meets regularly to deepen friendships and strengthen each other’s faith through life together, events, and competition with other houses. We are trying to shape you into a certain kind of person. These houses were named by student founders after historic figures who exemplify the life of Christian witness—with wisdom and wonder—that we aim to inspire.
Augustine
(354—430)
Theologian and Philosopher
Ordered Love, Chastity, and Friendship
Jonathan Edwards
(1703—1758)
Revivalist Preacher
Steadfastness, Honor, and Joyful Service
C. S. Lewis
(1898—1963)
Author and Christian Apologist
Courage, Meekness, and Joy
Anne Dutton
(1692—1765)
Poet and Calvinist Writer on Religion
Honesty, Humility, and Hospitality
Perpetua
(182—203)
Martyr
Honesty, Confidence, and Faithfulness
Elisabeth Elliot
(1926—2015)
Missionary and Author
Wholeheartedness, Modesty, and Grit
The College House System exists to serve the mission of Bethlehem College & Seminary by fostering a community that promotes spiritual growth, academic flourishing, and leadership development. Or, to put it another way, the aim of the House System is to promote Christian discipleship, the formation of mature Christian adults in the college programs.
In the spring of 2017, a group of Bethlehem College & Seminary faculty and staff met with a team of college students to dream about how to improve the college experience at Bethlehem. By the summer of 2018, the first six houses were created and the House System officially launched in the fall of the same year.
The House System is a group of six gender-specific, non-residential “houses” of 15—20 students per house. Each house is a coherent identity, not a physical residence, associated with a historical figure who represents values and ethos cherished at Bethlehem.
Houses meet regularly to deepen relationships, encourage academic and spiritual flourishing, and compete with the other houses in a variety of athletic, artistic, and academic competitions. While participating in college-wide events and competitions, each house aims to develop its own unique life together.
Every spring each house elects its own officers: Head of House, Steward, and Advocate. At least one invested mentor (or couple) connected to the college serves as House Advisor, offering additional guidance and training. The House Advance Team, a group of faculty and staff, oversees the entire House System providing vision and long-term planning.
Since every incoming student is sorted into a house for the duration of their college career at Bethlehem, the House System is at the heart of student life. During the college years, houses provide a consistent community, offer a sense of identity, and cultivate a delight in friendly competition.
