We recognize that academic integration as a worthy goal in and of itself for any Christian scholar, simply as part of their growth as a follower of Christ. However, we see our niche or approach to the issue as revolving around the Church's evangelistic enterprise.

The bedrock belief behind our effort is that the Christian worldview is actually, objectively true. This veracity should therefore do a better job of explaining reality as we find it than any of its competitors. Much of the research being done today, even by nonbelievers, is compatible with, and therefore could be a part of, the Christian worldview. It is what we would expect to find, if the picture of the world painted by the Bible was actually real. Further, such findings can be used to confirm the truthfulness of the Biblical portrait of the world. This, in turn, is part of the overall project of re-describing the world (including, of course, humanity) in particularly Christian terms, which leads as a matter of course, to the need for a Redeemer.

Thus, our desire is to help foster the sort of purposeful academic integration that contributes to this sort of re-description of the world. It is our belief that as Christians who are academics actually become Christian scholars, -- as they begin to think about their fields in theological terms -- their research and publishing will naturally begin to challenge the conventional wisdom and reigning paradigms within their disciplines. Not only will what they write be intellectually viable and true, it will also begin the process of changing what is plausible to the modern/postmodern mind.

We believe that the heart cannot receive what the mind cannot entertain, and therefore a key part of reaching our world for Christ must include helping people first imagine a world where Christianity is real. Christian academics can and must play a key part in demonstrating to a watching world that Christianity is not only true in a religious sense, but is also public truth.

Many Christian academics do not feel equipped to think through the implications of the Christian worldview for their fields. Due to the specialization of their areas of study, they often have not had time to explore theological and Biblical issues as they might relate to their research. AI staff provide input in these areas so that scholars have the resources they need to integrate the public truth of Christianity with their specialized fields.

At a local level, AI staff seeks to help individual professors develop in their ability to integrate the Christian worldview into their research and publishing. This might be through small groups, individual input or other means. AI staff seek to engage in mutual intellectual discipleship with individual professors, learning with them as they explore the theological and worldview implications of their research and writing projects.