The Recipe for Restoration
The mission of the Christian Higher Education Foundation (CHEF)
is to help churches promote and provide scholarships for Christian higher education within their respective communities.
Our vision is that God’s people would work together in harmony to retain our youth and share the gospel through fostering Christian higher education.
Who We Are
The Christian Higher Education Foundation® (CHEF) increases access to Christian higher education by promoting and providing scholarships, ensuring that more students can attend Church of Christ-associated Christian colleges and stay grounded in their faith into adulthood. With a board of former university presidents and current university decision-makers, we bring together churches, alumni networks, and Christian institutions to make these opportunities more affordable, accessible, and attractive.
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Our initiatives include the Christian College Contact Form, which awards a $7,500 scholarship to randomly selected students, and creative projects like the Church of Christ Cookbook, where proceeds fund scholarships. We also host regional Christian College Days to connect students with recruiters and organize our flagship event, the National Potluck Benefit, which encourages congregations to gather for food, fellowship, and fundraising for scholarships to support their youth. Through these efforts, CHEF plays a vital role in uniting the church and equipping the next generation to live out their faith.
How We Help
CHEF in Numbers
120+
Churches w/ Scholarship Funds
$500k+
Scholarships Awarded
by Churches
300+
Volunteers Raising Awareness and Funds
Donate to make Christian higher education possible for Christian youth across the world
Why We Exist
I have been a wandering soul, much like the Israelites, throughout my life. In high school, I struggled to understand why Christianity was true while other religions were not. In college, I became angry at the church for dictating how I should interpret scripture. During law school, tragedy struck my family. Praise God that through each of these crises of faith, I had friends, faculty, and curriculum at every Christian school to help me continue placing my hope and trust in Christ.
I founded CHEF—the Christian Higher Education Foundation®—while in college, after seeing two of my closest friends from church struggle with similar challenges and questions. They eventually embraced the values offered by the world at their large state universities. The big idea behind CHEF is that if our home church had accessible ways to reduce barriers to Christian higher education, their stories might have been different. Moreover, if CHEF can unite multiple churches to address the high attrition rate of young people leaving their faith in college, we might just discover the recipe to restore a divided and dwindling church.
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- J. Tyler Clark
Founder/CAO
We Need Restoration
This can't be the end of the story for the Churches of Christ
- The Churches of Christ in the U.S. will shrink from 1.1 million in 2016 to 250k by 2050 at the present rate of decline.*
- Most of this loss happens in the young adult years where 2/3rds of young believers leave their faith.**
- Among faith drop with a college degree, 47% say that college directly played a role in them leaving church!***
But there is hope.
The key ingredient lies in strengthening access to our Christian colleges & universities.
* Empty Church by Stan Granberg
** Faith For Exiles by David Kinnaman & Mark Matlock
*** Lifeway Research 2019
Our
Heritage
Why the Churches of Christ?
CHEF primarily support colleges and universities affiliated with the Churches of Christ, while recognizing the valuable work done by other Christian institutions.
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Rooted in the heritage of the Restoration Movement, the Churches of Christ emphasize biblical faithfulness, unity, and service to God’s Kingdom. However, the autonomous nature of these churches often requires unique strategies for collaboration. CHEF seeks to foster cooperation among these institutions, churches, and communities to promote Christian education for future generations.
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By providing scholarships and facilitating partnerships, we aim to pass on the legacy of faith, scholarship, and leadership that these institutions have nurtured, ensuring they continue to shape men and women committed to Christ and equipped to serve both the church and the world.
History
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit Harmonize Community Inc. (now The Christian Higher Education Foundation®) began as an idea from Oklahoma Christian University freshman J. Tyler Clark, who wanted to determine which Church of Christ-affiliated college hosted the best Spring Sing event. Tyler enlisted 20 friends and set to work. In March 2019, seven sister colleges came together to promote Christian higher education at the Harmony 2019 event. 450 people tuned in to the live performances from around the globe. The student team awarded a $500 scholarship to a random high school student watching live.
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The Harmony Event continued for two more years, hosted by Pepperdine students in 2020 and Abilene Christian students in 2021. Each year, the team raised additional funds to award as scholarships to student viewers.
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In 2022, the board made a strategic decision to pivot away from an annual show and instead focus on enabling churches to promote and provide scholarships for Christian higher education.