In Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus tells his followers that they are the "salt of the earth." The metaphor is every bit as meaningful to followers of Christ today as it was to its original hearers: Even the best gourmet meal falls flat without salt. The same applies to the metaphor of light. When in darkness, people are confused, fearful, lacking direction. But with the light comes clarity, understanding, confidence, wisdom, and truth.

Some who graduate from Christian colleges and universities follow a call to professional ministry. But the mission of the Christian college movement has sought to integrate faith and learning, regardless of the chosen vocation or academic field. Each year, young men and women go into the world as teachers; others are police officers, musicians, businesspersons, doctors, or government workers. But all are salt and light.

Two dozen schools responded to Christianity Today's request for information on how their graduates are providing salt and light to the world. These are only a small sample.

The events of September 11, 2001 turned Pistole's FBI career in a new direction. In 2002 he was appointed Deputy Assistant Director for the Counterterrorism Division. In December of 2003, he became executive assistant director for counterterrorism and counterintelligence, overseeing all FBI investigations in both areas. In these roles, he has grown the FBI's counterterrorism division from under 200 staff to more than 1,000.

In August of 2004, Pistole was appointed to the agency's number two position as deputy director. This is the highest level to which an agent can rise without a presidential appointment.

Pistole says his alma mater fostered "a sense of service" and "encouraged the idea that we should be doing our work for a higher purpose."

In this area of rampant poverty and isolated neighborhoods, he works on a project called Cuidado de la Tierra, established by a community development organization supported and staffed by women who live in the Valley. Its mission is to experiment with and implement energy-efficient and earth-friendly technology that can improve quality of life.

"God has given us the gift of sunlight, wind, rain, photosynthesizing plants, composting microorganisms, the growth and healing of animals, and the urge to explore creation," Garland says. "We are hoping, with Cuidado de la Tierra, to unleash these gifts in ways that will touch the lives of the poor in the Valley with care and grace."

This unique clinic employs eight fulltime dentists and 27 staff members. It serves more than 16,000 patients, including South Asian and African people groups, as well as other disadvantaged patients. During its 22-year history, the Peterson Dental Clinic has served more than 50,000 patients, most of whom receive public assistance.

Community education is a core service of Peterson's clinic. Bilingual dental assistants visit schools, day care facilities, and community centers to promote oral hygiene, especially for refugees and recent immigrants.

In 1992 she led a team of dental workers to Mooban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand to teach refugees the fundamentals of dental care and to collaborate with university students from Thailand's Campus Crusade for Christ to provide an evangelistic outreach. "I didn't know that the Lord would put me in this role," says Peterson. "I am a low-key person, but I don't mind speaking for the needs of these people."

After serving three terms in the House of Representatives, the congressman hoped to run for governor—a position for which he was considered a shoe-in. But Thune changed his mind when President Bush asked him to run for the Senate in South Dakota. When asked about his faith, Thune said, "I think God is looking for people who can apply their faith in a very relevant way to their professions."

Thune says his faith is integral to the decisions he makes and the way he conducts himself in public life. "Whether it's politics, business, education, healthcare, or ministry, I think the challenge is to put our gifts to their highest and best use as a witness for the kingdom."

As vice director of the defense logistics agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Reno lives by the principles of Micah 6:8: "to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."

As second in command, Reno helps lead about 23,300 people who provide vital logistics, acquisition, and technical services to federal agencies in peacetime and in war. "I am proud to serve in the military that our civilian leadership is using to preserve our freedom and liberty while exporting both to others," he says.

Reno recalls, "My days in the classrooms of Cedarville … certainly gave me the academic preparation I needed to succeed. But I learned so much more than academics while a student." He learned "that service before self was honorable and that doing what God led was better than doing what man expected."

Dunton, who graduated in 2003, cites his Christian college education at Crown College as being a solid foundation for his teaching career. He has built on that foundation and is now pouring himself into the lives of students at the growing high school on the western edge of the Twin Cities. As a teacher, he says, "I try to offer a life perspective that they may not get somewhere else."

Dunton is in his third year at Waconia High. His marching band is known for excellence. A personal highlight for Dunton has been writing and designing the marching band show. Despite the record of excellence, Dunton is quick to point out, "This isn't about music, it's about how to become a better person."

The Iowa native worked his way up to writer and producer of "Touched By An Angel" during a six-year stint with the CBS drama, which had as many as 20 million viewers per episode. When that series concluded its nine-year run, Schelhaas was hired at "Smallville"—a WB series that chronicles the youth of Clark Kent, future Superman. He recently accepted a job as writer-producer on a new detective drama that will be airing on Fox in the fall.

"My goal is to use my talents as best as I can to do good in the world, to glorify God," says Schelhaas. "Collectively, the entertainment industries are said to have more influence across the globe than anything else in the world," Schelhaas said recently at his alma mater. "One way you can have a positive effect on its influence is to turn off your TVs. Another way is to change what's on them."

Schelhaas said his vision is to use the power of TV to tell good stories "that tell the truth: to be honest about the way things are, but to show, too, that there is hope, light, life."

When Sarah came to Gordon she says she had no clear career trajectory. But after working with her faculty instructors and campus mentors she found her voice. Then she found her calling.

Located in a culturally diverse neighborhood of Buffalo in which refugees from many countries are resettling, JRFP provides compassionate holistic care that builds relationships, in turn providing opportunities for evangelism. Working in partnership with the faith based refugee program Journey's End Refugee Resettlement Service and with area churches, JRFP serves more than 7,000 patients from over 50 countries, including Belarus, Bosnia, Congo, Cuba, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, Russia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, and the Ukraine.

Dr. Glick received the 2004 Distinguished Service Award from Houghton College and in 1999 was honored to receive the Buffalo Business First Forty Under Forty Business Award.

Houghton President Daniel Chamberlain says Myron "personifies humility and seeks to find ways to help those in need, not for personal recognition, but for the benefit of others."

"My primary responsibilities were doing grassroots recruiting of volunteers and putting county organizations together," recalls Kelly, a 1993 Indiana Wesleyan University graduate.

Ryun won the election and asked Kelly to join his staff as a legislative assistant. Kelly moved up the ladder and, in March 2001, became Ryun's chief of staff. Kelly doesn't have a long-term career plan, choosing instead to set two-year goals. "Maybe the next job will sort of just pop up like my current job did," he says. He hasn't ruled out running for political office himself someday. "In the meantime, I'll keep trying to do my current job a little better each day."

Rick Denny ('88) has a family history in law enforcement that spans three generations. As a special agent for the FBI, Denny's unique position allows him to practice justice, equity, and even compassion.

Since the FBI accepted him in large part due to his computer skills, Denny initially served in a computer crime and investigations unit. Over time he began to work on other assignments, including violent crime, fraud, kidnapping, crimes against children, and counter-terrorism.

Denny seeks to exemplify godly character through his vocation. He naturally enjoys being a peacemaker, and his pursuit of justice helps to bring peace to the situations in which he is involved.

Denny has also welcomed opportunities to share the gospel. On one occasion he extended the compassion of the Lord by witnessing to someone he had just arrested. Though the man had been involved in some heinous activities, Denny and his Christian partner shared Christ with him after their official duties were completed.

After teaching in a California school for a year, Snavely was able to combine her passion for travel and learning about other cultures with her teaching skills through Project 300, a program developed by a Biola University student. In October of 2003, Snavely journeyed to Vietnam to inaugurate the program, which helps Vietnamese postgraduate students with their English skills in order to prepare them for studying in the United States.

Because the Vietnamese government highly favors this program, Snavely also has the rare opportunity to teach English to theology students and other Vietnamese Christians. Although she traveled to Vietnam to teach, she has found that the Christians in Vietnam have made her into a student as well, transforming her vision of Christianity by teaching her what it means to have enduring faith and hope through their perseverance.

During her student years, Cook was a residence hall assistant and president of the social work club, Diakonia. She came to be regarded as a committed Christian dedicated to improving the lives of others.

As part of her senior year program at ONU, Katie served a 450-hour social work field placement at The Baby Fold, a child welfare agency. Located in Normal, Illinois, it was founded by United Methodist pastors who were seeking to improve the safety and well-being of children.

Upon graduating in 2003, she took a position with The Baby Fold because she felt God's call to the field of child welfare. Since graduating, Cook, a residential treatment specialist, has been providing salt and light to behaviorally disordered children and adolescents. She is an integral part of a team of specialists who treat children with severe behavior disorders, helping them to become useful citizens.

Rothschild earned a master's degree at Florida Atlantic University and holds a doctoral degree from Florida State. He graduated magna cum laude from Palm Beach Atlantic University with a degree in business administration, receiving the Outstanding Business Student Award and Outstanding Male Graduate Award. Rothschild was awarded the University's Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2002.

Born and raised in Côte d'Ivoire, Adjibly has lived in the United States since 1991. At Seattle Pacific University, he earned a degree in electrical engineering and is now an aerospace engineer for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He is also executive director of the ICMRT, an entirely volunteer-run organization.

Since its founding, the nonprofit has shipped $2 million in medical supplies—antibiotics, vitamins, bandages, crutches, and more—to Côte d'Ivoire in three huge containers. "We are committed to sending ten containers," says Adjibly. ICMRT also wants to send anti-retroviral medicines to treat the growing number of Ivorians with HIV/AIDS. The AIDS crisis, explains Adjibly, "threatens to devastate the economy and destabilize the region if a sustained effort to bring ARV treatment is not undertaken immediately."

"I count on Steve to manage the day-to-day operations," says EPA administrator Michael Leavitt. "He does this with tremendous talent and grace, applying his leadership skills, knowledge of the issues, and appreciation for EPA employees."

Prior to serving as Acting Deputy Administrator, Johnson was the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. He has more than 20 years of service at the EPA, principally in the area of pesticide programs. Prior to joining the EPA, Johnson held positions as the Director of Operations at Hazelton Laboratories Corporation and Litton Bionetics, Inc.

"It is an honor to serve the American people and to work with my EPA colleagues as we strengthen public health and the environment while growing the nation's economy," says Johnson.

Dr. Carey has worked with World Relief for 21 years. He has experienced war-torn Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Rwanda, and has witnessed the devastation of volcanoes in Congo and floods in Mozambique. Yet, as he arrived in Indonesia, Carey said he had never seen a disaster of this magnitude.

Since January 2005, Carey has worked as Country Director for World Relief in Indonesia from his base sites in two of the worst hit areas, Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, with additional offices in Medan and Jakarta. From there he oversees the logistics of relief work, which includes training volunteers in relief response, finding and hiring Indonesian experts in water purification and health care, and communicating with officials from the government, the United Nations, and other nongovernmental organizations.

Trent says Union prepared him for adult life. It was there where he learned what it means to have a Christian worldview. "A biblical worldview says all Christians should be full-time," says Trent. "There's no division between secular and Christ."

Trent relates that Union, because of its emphasis on servant leadership and excellence, specifically prepared him for his work at the White House, where he is regularly reminded of the importance of excellence and servanthood.

Carmichael is especially known for his Big Band music and for his influence in the Christian music industry for nearly 60 years. During the '60s, he composed a number of classic church musicals. Built around modern folk and folk/rock, the Carmichael musicals almost singlehandedly introduced contemporary music to the church.

In 2001, Pearson provided volunteer legal assistance to families affected by the tragedies of September 11. In 2003, she felt called to a career that would allow her to give back to her community in a more meaningful way. She accepted a job with the New York District Attorney's Office, where she continues to serve as an assistant district attorney for New York County.

Says Pearson, "Westmont was an ideal place for me to figure out what I believed and the kind of person I wanted to be in my life." She adds, "I also gained the solid academic foundation that enabled me to excel in law school while competing with students from Ivy League schools."

Those who serve at or support Christian institutions of higher learning ought to feel of sense of pride and accomplishment. Their mission goes far beyond distributing degrees. We can all be glad that many graduates are marching boldly into the world and providing salt and light.