OUR MISSION

renewing culture through faith & learning

Eighth Day Institute is an ecumenical nonprofit organization dedicated to renewing Christian culture. We do this by reconnecting Christians to the heart of the Early Church, fostering a dialogue of love across denominations, and encouraging Christians to thoughtfully engage with the broader culture of our world today.

Eighth Day Institute serves as an approachable yet theologically rich intersection of the Christian Church and our world today, but we recognize that Christians can help our culture grow into the image of Christ only as far as we ourselves are united. Healing culture at large comes first from Christ healing the wounds in His own Body, the Church, and all the work this requires of us. 


It is for this reason we aim to foster genuine Christian friendships across denominational lines by educating and reconnecting Christians to the heart of our shared heritage, the Early Church, offering regular speaking engagements for Christians to engage with world-class thought leaders of the Church today, and hosting community-building events to simply feast and delight in one another.

THE CHURCH AS THE TRUEST

CULTURE-MAKER

For centuries, Christianity was a robust and enlivening culture of its own. The Scriptures and the liturgical rhythms and seasons of the Church not just dictated how Christians were to pray and worship, but every aspect of their day-to-day lives. When Christians put Christ and His Church at the center of their lives, the Church taught them how to eat, learn, grieve, celebrate, go to work, raise their children, and even simply see one another. 


Christians of the past also knew, created, and drew from great art, literature, music, philosophy–whatever was true and good and beautiful–to deepen their sense of the sacred. The Churchwas culture, and the Church brought people together.


While individual churches or denominations today might still maintain some degree of the culture-making character of the Church of the past, this essential aspect of the Church overall has been greatly diminished. The Church of today is pressured to be subservient or apart from culture at large, but neither of these temptations fulfills Christ's command to be the light of the world. 


As an ecumenical organization, Eighth Day Institute cannot be a catechetical or worshiping community in its strictest sense. Only churches can train Christians in the practice of their faith and worship. 


But the Institute aims to renew everything else.


Through the heart of the Early Church, re-learn with us how to live our lives together in Christ.

RECONNECTING CHRISTIANS TO THE HEART OF THE EARLY CHURCH THROUGH A DIALOGUE OF LOVE

Until 1054 AD, the Christian Church was united as one Body. Learning the prayers and priorities of the Early Church gives us the character of the Church before She was divided and our best picture of what Christian unity could look like today. 


However, “reconnecting” to the heart of the Early Church does not mean forgetting or dismissing all that has happened across the Church since 1054 AD. “Faith,” as understood and taught by the Fathers of the Early Church, requires every part of your life, both individually and corporally. Our faith is shown by how we live our lives with one another. Today, growing closer together in Christ will likewise require us to honestly and compassionately engage with the Church of every generation, not only before the Church was divided.

culture formed in Christ

In the Incarnation, we believe Christ was fully God and fully man. The fullest picture of what it means to be a human being is in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the most human human, or as the Early Church would often put it, “Truth is a Person.” The Incarnation has everything to say with how Christians are to best engage culture at large, and this can be more easily understood in three ways.

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE

Because Christ is the most human human, there is no part of human experience He does not understand. As different pockets of culture at large disagree with each other on even fundamental ideas of what it means to be a human being, Christ already understands each side, each interpretation, because He is our fullest image of humanity and because every human person is made in His image.

CHALLENGING CULTURE

However, as shown over and over again in the Gospels, our ideas of what it means to be a person and how to shape our human culture are often wrong. Like the Holy Apostles, Christ is still challenging us today to reframe our culture to be more like His Kingdom.

DWELLING IN CULTURE

Finally, no matter how closely we may feel personally aligned to the culture of today, Christ asks us to remain in our culture that we may continue to serve others. We are not called to be “of the world,” but we are called to be in it.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is Eighth Day Institute only for Wichita residents?

    While we do host a number of community events that are geared more toward Wichita residents, our publications and our featured events (i.e. Symposium and Inklings Festival) are for folks from near and far. We encourage people who have never visited Wichita to make a pilgrimage to one of our featured events so you can experience the Eighth Day community.

  • What is your relationship to Eighth Day Books?

    Although Eighth Day Institute and Eighth Day Books have no formal affiliation or financial relationship, our support for each other is mutual and enthusiastic. Our mission is carried out through nonprofit educational endeavors that seek to accomplish what Eighth Day Books does as a for-profit business: connect people to the teachings of the Early Church and classics (ancient and contemporary) to renew our culture of today.

  • How do I get involved?

    The best way to experience the Eighth Day community is by becoming a member. Different membership levels offer different discounts for our events and publications throughout the year.

let's become friends

Check out our calendar to see what's happening next around the Institute, and let's get to know each other.