Benjamin Groenewold and Tricia Van Dyk

Vision and Mission

We have been called to be philosophy professors at LCC International University in Klaipėda, Lithuania, as witnesses to the words, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” LCC is a Christian liberal arts university that is uniquely placed to develop future leaders in a region of the world that has been deeply damaged by Soviet rule and struggles with corruption, alcoholism, and despair. Students come to LCC from more than 30 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Albania, Kyrgyzstan, and many other countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

These students, more than three-quarters of whom are not familiar with the gospel when they arrive, long for meaningful relationships and answers to their deepest questions. Through our commitment to Christian hospitality and conversation inside and outside of the classroom, we participate in the work God is doing at LCC of transforming and equipping students to be servant leaders in their own countries.

Mission Work

Our role at LCC includes teaching courses in ethics and philosophy, as well as working with other professors to express how faith is relevant to our disciplines. We teach courses such as Peacemaking and Justice, Moral Philosophy, and Worldview and Christian Faith. These courses seek to develop students’ critical thinking and conflict transformation skills while engaging them within a multicultural perspective and Christian worldview.

We also host a weekly Philosophy Night, opening our home to students as a safe place for them to ask big questions. In all these activities, we strive first to listen to students as they come to terms with the strengths and weaknesses in their own and other perspectives. We seek to guide them toward a place of integrity in how they live in the world, and to enable them to taste the goodness of the Lord through their participation in the LCC community.