Global Kingdom Citizenship: A Model of Holistic Intercultural Competence Development

In this article, we provide Christian higher education administrators and faculty with an emerging conceptual model for the development of global kingdom citizens. Cultivating global kingdom citizens requires intentionality in both the curricular and co-curricular realms of Christian higher education, utilizing a holistic intercultural competence development framework as a heuristic. While some institutions may be focused on developing the intercultural competence (IC) of their constituents, others have rejected that term in favor of a more biblical-sounding term-cultural humility (CH). Still others, following the frameworks of a popular Christian businessperson, have preferred to employ the construct of cultural intelligence (CQ). In comparing the philosophical underpinnings and components of these three widely used intercultural competence frameworks, we posit that the cultivation of global kingdom citizens can best be achieved by combining current models into a holistic model entitled Global Kingdom Citizenship (GKC). We likewise propose that this holistic approach is better aligned with the spiritual objectives of Christian higher education, as it appropriately addresses the development of intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes for today's students.