[1]WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)–We’ve all heard the horror stories. Some of us have been the horror stories. A student grows up in a Bible-believing church where she has professed faith in Christ and participated in numerous programs designed to help nurture her in that faith. By the time she graduates from high school, she has been to church camp a half dozen times, participated in two mission trips, signed a True Love Waits card, and accumulated enough Christian T-shirts to “wear her witness” for a month.
She then goes off to college, where she is faced with a number of temptations, some of which weren’t even on her radar in high school. There are the obvious vices like sex and drugs, both of which manage to find their way onto even the most conservative of college campuses. There is also a new sense of freedom; gone are the days of asking for permission to go to a particular event, checking in with mom and dad about changes in plans, or (at many schools) being home in time for curfew. If a collegian isn’t careful, this newfound freedom can lead to newfound compromise.
Another more subtle temptation is busyness. There are countless activities to participate in, including clubs, athletics, campus ministries, parties, pep rallies, concerts and informal gatherings with friends. Many of these are worthy pursuits, but if a student is not disciplined, the sheer number of possible activities can choke out her spiritual life by leaving little time to pursue a stronger walk with God.
All too often these and other temptations overcome the Christian student, and before long she has ceased attending a local church, is uninvolved or only half-heartedly involved in a campus ministry, is nurturing habits that are questionable at best and blatantly sinful at worst, and is hanging out with folks whom she would have never considered befriending in high school. And to be clear, she isn’t making these new friends so that she can share the Gospel with them.
Every year thousands of Christian students enroll in college and downplay, redefine, or walk away from their faith. It really doesn’t matter whether the college is a secular university or a Christian private school; threats to the faith abound at both, though the dangers manifest themselves differently on every campus. But college doesn’t have to be the reef upon which one’s faith is shipwrecked. There are many ways students can actively cultivate personal godliness on even the most hostile of college campuses. Let me suggest some strategies for cultivating godliness during the college years.
First and foremost, every student needs to cultivate his or her personal walk with God through spiritual disciplines such as regular personal Bible study, Scripture memorization, private prayer, fasting and personal evangelism. None of these other suggestions will get very far if a student is unconcerned with personal spiritual growth, even when nobody but God is watching.
[2]Second, collegians need to become vitally involved in a local church. This may seem obvious to many readers, but it’s surprising how counter-cultural a notion church membership is to some young adults. But there is almost nothing as important as committed involvement in a Bible-believing church. The vast majority of the time that the word “ekklesia” appears in the New Testament, it’s referring to a local congregation of believers. It’s within local churches that Christians covenant with each other and commit to hold each other accountable. It’s within local churches that the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are observed. It’s within local churches that seasoned believers are able to mentor and encourage younger Christ-followers. I greatly appreciate parachurch campus ministries and dorm Bible studies (as will be clear below), but there is simply no substitute for active membership in a local church.
Third, many students should consider becoming involved in a campus ministry devoted to reaching and discipling collegians. This is especially true of students attending a college where none of the nearby local churches are interested in having a meaningful ministry among college-aged adults (unfortunately, it happens). The quality of campus ministries varies from school to school, so students should do their homework before signing on with a particular group.
Fourth, collegians need to establish a network of accountability. This network can come from a local church or a campus ministry, and ideally it involves two different levels. The first level is a peer group, whether it is a Sunday School class, dorm Bible study or a campus ministry-sponsored small group. What matters is that the student feels the freedom to confess his struggles and commit to receiving godly counsel from fellow believers. The second level is a mentoring relationship with an older Christian who has “been in the shoes” of a college student. All too often this type of relationship is missing in the lives of Christian students. Many churches offer the opportunity for interested collegians to be pared with a mature believer who can combine biblical counsel and a good free meal from time to time.
Fifth, students need to read good, edifying books. Fortunately, most college students are in the habit of reading anyway, so they’re often open to reading edifying books, even if they only have time to read a couple of extra books a year.
Finally, collegians need to maintain as close contact as possible with their families and home churches (assuming they’ve moved away to attend school). It’s easy to virtually walk away from your pre-college life when you move off to a new community and begin school. But students need to continue to nurture close relationships with their parents (especially those with Christian parents) and their childhood churches. These relationships are reminders of God’s past grace, and during difficult times in college, can be reminders of God’s faithfulness and future grace.
College doesn’t have to be a roadblock to Christian growth or the end of faith itself; in fact, many non-Christian students first meet Jesus Christ during their college years. But there is no denying that for many young believers, college is anything but a means of grace in their Christian lives. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be the case. If collegians are willing to take the initiative in actively cultivating godliness during their college years, then this period of life can be filled with spiritual milestones, greatly influencing the type of Christian man or woman the student is becoming.
So if you are a Christian collegian, let me urge you to pursue a stronger walk with God, even as you pursue your degree. And if you are the parent of a Christian student (or future student), encourage him to make the most of his college years for the sake of the Gospel and not squander this critically important season of his life. I’d also recommend that all Christian college students or future collegians (and parents!) read J. Budziszewski’s How To Stay Christian in College (NavPress, 2004).
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Nathan Finn is assistant professor of church history and Baptist studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. This column first appeared at NathanFinn.com.