"I'm in!"
said Dustin, when asked again about his response to the good news about Jesus. Dustin was a student who had been raised in church up to his teenage years and then walked away from God and the church. When I (Derek) met him on campus in Boulder, he was a self-identified agnostic/atheist and happily so. After much conversation and time looking at Scripture together, Dustin began to put the things Jesus said into practice. And just last month, he was baptized in front of his peers and gladly surrendered to Jesus.
I share this story to encourage you, as parents, that college campuses are not to be feared abjectly but can be great places and seasons for your children to begin to thrive in their faith as they experience the reality of Jesus in their lives and pursue him for themselves. So “Be courageous. He has conquered the world” – John 16:33. (CSB). This article is to encourage you and give you some ideas of how to prepare your student to thrive.
Many parents ask me (Joe) how or if their child’s faith will survive at college, especially at state school. The question is often asked during a campus visit when I meet them the spring before their student’s freshman year. Sometimes it is asked as late as when they drop their student off for the fall semester or after a rough first month. It is common for many parents to be thinking about higher education long before this time. Many have been saving money since their child was born. They have been making sure their child’s grades have been good for the previous 13 years, in hopes of giving their child a leg up for scholarships and acceptance to the right university. It often seems like parents are thinking, “oh yeah I want them to keep their faith as well.”
Hopefully, parents have been engaging in their child’s faith journey long before the last semester of their senior year of high school. However, I have met many parents who hope I have a special plan to help their child. The good news is my colleagues and I do have a plan. However, it is not a guarantee their child will join in. College is a time when young people will be making their own decisions for the first time in their lives. They do not always make the best decisions. So what can a parent do to help their student make this transition and not fall away from God?
1
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” As a parent you need to be involved in your students’ spiritual life. Start before they are even born. Pray daily for your child. It is your job to disciple your child. Sunday school teachers and youth leaders are simply supporting what you are already teaching them about God. If you have not been doing this, start now. Tell them who Jesus is, connect them in church, help them grow in Christ, teach them to multiply their lives of faith.
2
Plan campus visits to include attending a campus ministry weekly meeting. Call campus ministry staff ahead and make an appointment to meet with them. They will typically bring current students your student can meet.
3
Suggest local churches for them to be a part of. Do research. What do these churches believe and teach? Is it in line with scripture?
4
Teach them the law of cause and effect. Every decision carries an effect. If they choose friends poorly, it will have a negative effect. If they choose friends who pursue God, they will most likely choose to pursue God. My children’s Sunday school teacher, a woman in her late 70’s, taught them “you win or lose by what you choose!” My oldest son had that statement posted in his dorm room his freshman year, and he did his best to pursue God. So help them to choose well.
5
Some have asked me about Christian higher education options for ensuring their child will continue to walk with God. Christian Universities have a lot to offer and may be the best choice for your child. Just keep in mind that it is not a guarantee that your child will walk with God. I have seen both sides of this choice. I had two family members attend the same Christian university. One grew in their faith and had a great experience. The other chose to walk away from God for a season. Both credited or blamed the Christian university environment for their outcome. Just remember young people are making their own decisions for the first time, even at a Christian university, and they may choose poorly. Pushing them toward a Christian university may be a great choice. Just help them get connected with church and a campus ministry organization. Don’t rely on the name on the sign to take care of their spiritual growth.
6
Once at college, encourage them in their faith. My number one concern for my children in college was their walk with God…not their grades or career. My daughter attended a Christian university for 3 semesters. The academic rigor was challenging. She was very academically driven. When I talked to her on the phone and she would talk about grades and major choice, I would often remind her that my concern was not grades or career, but her walk with God. She transferred to a state school due to cost. She still is academically driven, and I still challenge her to walk with God…and she does. Ask them about their church, campus ministry and Bible studies. Be inquisitive, not nagging. Ask questions that are about the things that matter.
7
Young people of faith often have a crisis of faith during the college years. A crisis of faith is a period of time when they are making God their God. They no longer are relying on the faith of their parents, but are attempting to make their faith their own. This comes as they are challenged by people and organizations(university) that don’t believe what they believe. This is a journey only they can take. As a parent we will be concerned. What should we do? Pray! Pray! Pray! Pray that God will reveal Himself to them in a new and unique way. This is one time they have to take the journey, and we cannot take it for them. During this time they will lean on their foundations of faith that have been laid. What if they chose poorly? Pray that God will come to them and make Himself real. I know about this journey, because I faced it in college, my children have faced it, and I have walked with hundreds of students as they faced it. Your job as parents is to keep praying and point to the true north, Christ.
8
Know the Story. The Gospel is not only good news through which we can be saved in the life to come, but also powerful truth that enables us to withstand the onslaught of ideas and persuasive arguments our kids will face on a college campus. The Gospel is also more than a short list of true statements or a simple illustration, it is a comprehensive story that provides a framework for all of life and the true lens through which to see to world and its problems and solutions (read 1 Timothy 4:7-8, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5). So, another important way to prepare our kids for college is to help them know the story of the gospel, the biblical worldview, well enough to use it in conversation with their peers and even teachers. I don’t mean merely proclaiming “the Bible says…”, but discussing how the elements of the biblical story contrast with the elements of the worldview stories they will hear (and have most likely already heard). This will enable your kids to not only survive in their faith, but to grow and flourish in their walk with Christ and their trust in God during their college career and the rest of their life.
All of our Challenge staff across the state and nation have countless stories of students coming to know Christ, continuing to walk with Christ, and becoming well established in their faith during college (Colossians 2:6-7). And while we cannot guarantee that every student who claims Christ will remain faithful in college, we can say that it is a place and time where students can grow in Christ and establish or build on a firm foundation of faith and of serving God for the rest of their lives.
So as our students prepare for the university campus, let’s prepare them completely. Emotionally, physically, academically, financially and most importantly spiritually. The number one reason God wants Christian students on university campuses is to Glorify Him and “Go and make disciples…”. Our students will have a chance to impact the world for Christ as they go to university. He will use them, and by extension us, as we support and teach them.
Check out next week’s article to see what churches can do to help prepare students for college.
Christian Challenge is the Baptist representation of collegiate ministries throughout Colorado. We exist to help college students come to know Jesus, learn to live like Him, and change the world the way He did. We absolutely love college students and want to be there to help them experience Christ daily as they pursue their degrees. We create communities on campus for students to explore the Christian faith, grow in their walk with Jesus, and learn how they can help reach the nations with the gospel. Each Christian Challenge ministry is unique and tailored to meet the needs of the campus in which it is located, but we all share the same love of God and love of people.
Joe Ricks is the Director of Christian Challenge Collegiate Ministry at Western Colorado University (30 years) and Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church Gunnison, CO.
Derek Gregory is the Director of Christian Challenge at the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
