The Archie W. Dunham College of Business (DCOB) will launch a new course named Financial Literacy and Generosity (FLAG) in the Fall 2026 semester to equip business students with the knowledge and principles to be financial stewards in both the marketplace and the kingdom.
“Financial literacy and generosity is foundational for students because it prepares them to manage, budget and invest, while at the same time we are fostering ethical, prosocial habits early in life. The DCOB is a perfect place for the students to learn these habits which will in turn reduce high stress, debt driven and poor financial decisions in the future. I see it as our responsibility to educate students in this area knowing, for most, the first time they have to manage their finances will be after they graduate. Also, I think of it as part of their college education that prepares them for the real world,” shared Michael Rome, Dean of the DCOB and Director of Academic and Corporate Partnerships.
“As we thought about the foundational way to go about teaching students Financial Literacy and Generosity, it seemed like a natural fit for HCU to team up with Blue Trust, a financial advisory services company that brings almost five decades of biblical wealth management experience,” he said. “It is great to work with Blue Trust and others on this mission.”
With nearly $60 billion in assets under advisement and a nationwide network of 19 offices, Blue Trust advisors apply biblical wisdom and technical expertise to help their nearly 11,000 clients across the wealth spectrum in all 50 states.
“Christian universities have a unique role in our country, as they train the next generation to see the world through a biblical lens. One of the most important arenas that a Christian university can impact the kingdom is relative to the topic of money,” said Randy Schroeder, Sr., Private Wealth Advisor at Blue Trust.
Blue Trust has developed a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Kingdom Advisor combination program that is currently being offered in over 10 Christian universities in the country. The partnership with HCU will make it the first university in Texas to incorporate components of each of these programs in its new Financial Literacy and Generosity course.
“The college recognized that our students arrive to HCU from a wide variety of backgrounds and educational experiences. The main desired outcome of this course is for the students to be empowered. This is through the confluence of macroeconomic, technical and behavioral aspects of financial literacy and generosity,” said Dr. Greggory Keiffer, Executive Associate Dean of the DCOB.
All incoming freshman business school students will be required to take the FLAG course for graduation. The structure of the course and areas of study are being developed in collaboration with Blue Trust.
THE BIBLE AND THE ROLE OF MONEY
What is the role of money in our lives as believers and business professionals? There are approximately two thousand verses about money in the Bible. Clearly, God has something to say about our finances. In 1 Timothy 6:17, Paul gives Timothy a clear direction: “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God.” We see that there are two things we can put our hope in: money or God. Matthew 6:24 backs this up by stating that we cannot serve two masters: God and money.
This is where biblical financial principles come in. The Bible speaks to every financial decision we will make. There are five ways we can use our money: spending it, saving it, paying our taxes, paying our debts and giving it away. The Bible gives us principles for each of these uses but there is only one that will break the power it has over us: giving it away. We see that generosity is at the center of God’s heart.
Scripture does not clearly state the reason why so much space in the Bible is dedicated to the topic of money, but one reason could be that humans are prone to look to money to fulfill areas for which God has promised to be our primary provider: security, comfort, identity, contentment, self-worth, success, rewards and more. God and money will compete for space in our hearts and lives to fill these legitimate needs. However, the stewardship journey of every believer—and the goal of this new course—is to help students learn to place their hope more fully in God, not in money.