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Congratulations on your acceptance into your MBA program!
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This is a significant step, not just academically and professionally, but spiritually as well. We believe that God has both a calling and an invitation for you during this unique season.
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MBA Ministry created this "Journey of the Christian MBA" resource to support you in three key ways:
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Gain Perspective: Understand where you are in your MBA journey and discern what next steps might look like.
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Integrate Faith and Work: Access practical tools to help you live out your faith meaningfully in your coursework, career planning, and everyday interactions.
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Take Action: Explore ideas and opportunities for engaging your campus, building community, and growing in purpose.
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Above all, our prayer is that you would encounter the Lord in deep and transformative ways throughout your entire MBA experience.
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Have a suggestion? Contact us!
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Drop down to where you are at in your Christian MBA Journey!
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Spiritual Formation | First Year | Leadership | Second Year | Graduation Life | The Journey Complete
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So—you’ve decided to become a student again. That’s exciting!
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You’re stepping into a season full of learning, growth, and new opportunities—but also one that can feel intense and overwhelming. This is a pivotal time to anchor yourself to Jesus! Spiritual Formation is the backbone of our entire Christian journey, including our season as a MBA Student!​
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"We don't practice disciplines to get God to love us; we practice them because God already loves us." -John Mark Comer​
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Being a MBA student is one of the most spiritually formative and disorienting seasons in a Christin's leader life. You are not just learning about business, you're asking deeper questions about who you are and how your faith fits. Our hope within MBA Ministry is to help provide you the tools and resources for you and your fellowship to grow in treasuring Jesus over career achievements and success. Spiritual formation is about deepening intimacy with God and can include:
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Worship
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Spiritual Disciplines
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Prayer
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Disciple Making​
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Worship
Worship reorients the heart toward God amid the pressures of MBA life. By lifting their eyes from performance, comparison, and achievement, students are reminded of who God is and who they are in Christ. Worship forms humility, gratitude, and joy, anchoring identity in God’s worth rather than personal success. Worship is diverse & matters!
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Spiritual Disciplines
Practicing spiritual disciplines forms you from the inside out. Through rhythms of prayer, Scripture, worship, and community, students grow in intimacy with God, anchor their identity in Christ, and develop resilience amid pressure. These practices shape character, deepen trust in God, and cultivate a faith that endures beyond the MBA program. Learn more about each discipline from this helpful resource provided by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
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Prayer
​Prayer anchors students in relationship with God amid the noise and pressure of MBA life. Through prayer, students learn to listen, surrender control, and bring their anxieties, decisions, and ambitions before God. Over time, prayer forms trust, deepens intimacy with God, and reorients the heart toward dependence rather than self-reliance. Learn more on how to cultivate prayer within yourself and your fellowship!
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Disciple Making
Disciple making invites students to participate in God’s work of transformation in others. As students invest relationally—listening, praying, teaching, and walking alongside peers—their own faith deepens. Disciple making forms humility, love, and faithfulness, reminding students that leadership in God’s kingdom is rooted in service and presence. Learn more on how to make disciples!
As you begin your first year, we invite you to reflect not only on what’s ahead academically and professionally, but also on how God might be at work in the midst of it all.
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Let’s take a look at some of the key moments in your First-Year MBA Journey—and consider how God could move through each one.
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Foundations
The first months of the MBA journey are full of change—new city, new rhythms, new expectations, new friendships, and community. Students often arrive searching for grounding and community. This is a season to root your identity in Christ rather than performance, to find a church home, and to build relationships that sustain you both spiritually and professionally throughout your time in business school.
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Purpose
Business school will offer you many options – too many, in fact! To be a good steward of the opportunities, you will need to evaluate numerous demands and desires, wisely saying “no” to many good things to focus on the very best and most productive opportunities. Being clear on your God-given purpose will help guide you prioritize academic interests with personal, networking, recruiting, and relational options. Conferences like Believers in Business offer spiritual refreshment and renewed perspective.​
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Pathfinding
​Recruiting for summer internships brings intense competition. Students wrestle with who they are beyond résumés and outcomes while seeking God’s guidance for internships and long-term calling. This is a moment to practice trusting God amid uncertainty, understanding identity beyond performance, and learning to navigate professional ambition with spiritual integrity, often best done in small groups.
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Leadership Development
As the first year progresses, many students step into leadership roles—within fellowships, clubs, or informal circles of influence. This stage invites students to practice Christ-like leadership: serving others, empowering peers, mentoring younger students, and integrating faith with real responsibilities. Leadership becomes a laboratory for spiritual formation and professional growth.
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Thinking About Stepping into Leadership Over you MBA Fellowship?
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Spiritual leadership is more than just a résumé booster on your LinkedIn account or a feather in your cap. It’s a sacred opportunity to serve—guiding others in your Fellowship to grow deeper in their love for Jesus.
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It’s not always easy. It takes humility, prayer, and perseverance. But it can also be one of the most meaningful and rewarding parts of your MBA journey.
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InterVarsity has prepared an extensive Ministry Playbook to support your leadership, as well as additional MBA Ministry specific recommendations in our Leader Resources Section.
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Still unsure if you’re the “leadership type”? Consider who Jesus called to lead.
Additional, MBA Ministry offers several opportunities to "Meet-Up" and brainstorm ideas together! We also have a database of speakers, mentors, and disciples to help for you and your fellowships growth. Find out more by contacting us or join the student leader monthly newsletter!​​
Creating Community
​The fall of each academic year is pivotal for building fellowship. Students lead efforts to welcome incoming MBAs, host events, and help others find church homes. This season is about extending hospitality, creating spaces where people can be known and supported, and shaping a culture that reflects God’s heart for community and connection. Small Groups are usually a crucial component of deepening community.
Growth
As the semester unfolds, fellowship grows through small groups, retreats, prayer gatherings, and shared life. Students build rhythms of accountability, encouragement, and honest conversation. This is where spiritual family is formed—supporting one another through coursework, stress, and personal growth while learning to walk with Christ in all areas of life. Additionally, Campus Ministers are committed to helping you grow both personally and professionally.
MBA students often interact with diverse worldviews and peers who may be curious or skeptical about faith. This stage invites students to model Christ through relationships, invitations, and thoughtful conversations. Outreach is not a program—it is a posture of hospitality and witness, reflecting Jesus through empathy, excellence, and everyday interactions.
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Handoff
As graduation nears, leadership responsibilities shift to identifying and encouraging new leaders. This is a chance for you to learn more about leadership succession. Students identify, encourage, and equip the next generation of fellowship leaders. This is a time to invest in others, share wisdom, and celebrate God’s work. A faithful handoff ensures the community continues to flourish long after you leave campus.
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One year down, another year to go!
Whether you’re coming off a meaningful summer internship or feeling the pressure of still searching for the right opportunity, take heart—God is at work in this season.
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As you head into your final year, we invite you to seek Him intentionally and invite Him into the everyday moments—your classes, your job search, your relationships, and your rest.
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This year is not just about finishing strong—it’s about walking with God through it all.
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Deepening
Year 2 often brings deeper stability—and deeper questions. Students face another round of recruiting, consider long-term plans, and reflect on what kind of leaders they are becoming. Many also mentor first-years or take on greater fellowship responsibilities. This season invites spiritual and professional maturity and a renewed dependence on God. Additionally, you will want to deepen relationships so that you exit school with life-long friendships and not simply a large but shallow professional network.
Now that you know what to expect from business school, staying grounded in your faith and rooted in Christian community will help you keep perspective. Being centered in Christ guards against overvaluing the brand equity of companies extending offers and reminds you that your first role after business school will not determine the trajectory of your entire life. This is a critical season to discern the work–life rhythms you are called to before making final job decisions, as spiritual disciplines like solitude and prayer create space to “get into the balcony,” evaluate options wisely, and navigate disappointment with grace. Christian community reinforces your true worth and identity in Christ, while discernment in this season extends beyond job offers to questions of where you will live, with whom you will do life, and how you will carry forward what God has taught you into the workplace.
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Discernment
As graduation approaches, students pause to reflect on how they have grown—spiritually, relationally, and professionally. This is a season of gratitude, celebration, and honest evaluation. Students consider what God has taught them, how their identity has been shaped, and how they hope to carry these lessons into the workplace.
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Launch into vocation
Graduation is not just an ending—it is a commissioning. Students are sent into the marketplace to embody Christ-like leadership, steward their gifts, and make redemptive impact in their companies and communities. This is the moment when faith and vocation meet, shaping the trajectory of a lifetime.
You've done it! You have completed your program!
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While the journey to your MBA is complete, the journey of seeing God work through your life and vocation is just beginning.
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And best of all—you’re not alone. You may be leaving one community, but others are ready to walk with you. Whether it’s a local church, a workplace fellowship, or the broader Christian MBA Network, community and support are still within reach.
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Step forward in faith, knowing that God goes with you—and so does a network cheering you on.
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Faith Community
After graduation, students transition into new cities and new careers. Finding a church community becomes essential for continued spiritual formation. Worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship provide stability, support, and guidance during major transitions and early career challenges.
Finding Mentorship
Mentors play a crucial role in helping graduates navigate early career decisions, spiritual questions, and life transitions. Alumni and Christian professionals offer perspective, accountability, and encouragement—walking alongside new graduates as they grow in faith, character, and leadership.
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The Alumni Network provides ongoing connection, learning, and relational support across cities, industries, and life stages. Graduates stay connected through events, newsletters, speaker series, and relationships with other Christian MBAs who share their commitment to faithful leadership.
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Graduates join a broader movement of Christians integrating faith and work—organizations like Praxis, Faith Driven Entrepreneur, Generous Giving, and more. This stage is about sustained influence: shaping organizations with integrity, stewarding resources for God’s purposes, and making long-term kingdom impact through your vocation.
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