There’s no shortage of gloom and doom when people talk about the state of Christian education. But Karl Johnson, founder of Chesterton House and Executive Director of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers, is decidedly optimistic.
In fact, he believes that things are better for Christians on secular campuses now than they were a generation ago.
How could that be?
On March 10th, 2026, Karl was featured on The Stone Chapel Podcast with host David Capes to share about the rapidly growing study center movement and its massive influence on campus culture.
Karl told David that he “caught a vision” for Christian scholarship in the late 90s and early 2000s. At that time, there was really only one established study center and a handful of fledgling centers. Today, that number has grown to three dozen member centers in the Consortium, with another dozen in the planning stage. Karl also says there are new inquiries coming in from the website “almost faster than [he] can respond to them.”
Because of this movement, students can have a “Christian liberal arts education layered on top of their major.” These centers have become a core hub of Christian intellectual thought in higher education. Karl says that a generation ago it was common to think all the smartest people at universities were atheists, but now with places like Chesterton House, that’s no longer the case.
These hubs don’t exist in isolation. “We are seeking a collaborative relationship with the campus ministry ecosystem. Collaboration is part of the DNA.” This collaboration includes everything from allowing other groups to utilize study center buildings, to co-sponsoring events, to facilitating prayer groups for local ministries.
At these centers, Karl has seen hundreds—sometimes thousands—of students walk through the doors and discover a vibrant, faith-filled intellectual community to call home. They come from all over the country, all walks of life, and all different denominations to join together in one unifying purpose—to pursue Christ together in the midst of university life.
And it’s the kind of movement that gives good reason for optimism about the future of faith on the university campus.
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