Legatus Christi Award

Legatus Christi Standards

Each student receiving the designation of Legatus Christi—Ambassador for Christ—will have completed a challenging course of study in areas of Christian apologetics, worldview analysis, evangelism, and Christian thinking that has better equipped them to be leaders in the Christian community, disciple makers, and evangelists for Jesus Christ. In order to earn this title the Ratio Christi member will:

1. Demonstrate greater biblical and philosophical understanding, Christian commitment, spiritual discernment, and more effective evangelism, at the end of their involvement than at the beginning.
2. Be better equipped to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and defend its truth claims against objections.
3. Develop a better understanding of the cultural milieu in which they live and better know how to engage that culture with love, respect, and humility.
4. Gain a better understanding of the religious alternatives in their community and in the world by investigating such items as various world religions, religious sects, and cults and know how to respond in an effective manner.
5. Defend the concept of truth, its nature, and its application against contrary claims.
6. Develop the skills to accurately interpret the scriptures using solid hermeneutical principles.
7. Articulate the arguments for God’s existence, the validity of miracles, the reliability of the Bible, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
8. Apply scriptural principles of love, gentleness, and respect in engagement with non-Christians.
9. Grow deeper into the Sacred Romance, resulting in a lifestyle commended by the Scriptures.
10. Better integrate their thinking and lives in line with the Ratio Christi mission statement and the historic Christian faith.
11. Be able to identify some basic challenges in apologetics related to God, miracles, Christ, and the Bible. They will be able to defend the Faith from the challenges in these areas and be able to present a logical, systematic approach to apologetics.
12. Be able to teach the things learned to other faithful men and women who will be able to teach others also.
13. Understand and apply the principles of servant leadership.
14. Be able to show a heart of compassion to everyone, whether believer or non-believer, in the exercise of the evangelistic and apologetic effort and be able to skillfully apply God’s grace and truth to areas of sin and misunderstanding both in their own lives and in the lives of others.
15. Be better able to engage both Christians and non-Christians in conversation concerning humanity’s fallen nature and the provision of grace via Jesus’ atonement on humanity’s behalf to all that trust in Christ.

These can also be summed up in four core values:

1. Academic rigor. Someone who has pursued God with their mind.
2. Demonstrated, Christ-like character (integrity).
3. Enthusiastic evangelism. Engages others with compassion and respect.
4. Willing to teach others which leads to exponential impact.