{"id":2494,"date":"2016-09-08T04:22:43","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T09:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=2494"},"modified":"2016-09-08T04:22:43","modified_gmt":"2016-09-08T09:22:43","slug":"6-tips-navigating-college-christian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2016\/09\/08\/6-tips-navigating-college-christian\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips for Navigating College as a Christian"},"content":{"rendered":"

My biggest passion as a preacher and writer is the work of reversing the church\u2019s catastrophic dropout rate. There are countless people who grew up in the church who simply drop out some time between when they leave high school at 18 and their early to mid 20s, and college is often either a significant factor behind their departure or the excuse they were already looking for to leave behind their religious foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what can be done? Let\u2019s look at 6 actions a college student can take to weather the storms of college and come out spiritually stronger on the other side. <\/span><\/p>\n

Get prepared<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

If a Christian worldview isn\u2019t in place before the journey into the \u201creal world\u201d begins, it\u2019s all the more difficult to establish one later in life. Parents and church leaders, work to make sure your young people are ready to defend their faith well before they graduate high school, because they\u2019re going to face the world\u2019s difficult questions well before they leave for college. If you are that person entering college now, write out your core beliefs about God, the Bible, why you\u2019re a Christian, and the church\u2019s doctrines and then test yourself to see if you know how to defend them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep your guard up – no matter where you go to school<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Plenty of people lose their faith or have it radically altered while living safely in the confines of a Christian college campus (yes, even the \u201cbest\u201d ones). No matter how doctrinally sound a school may appear, go in with your guard up. There\u2019s a very good chance your faith will be challenged on any college campus in America, so don\u2019t let yourself get lulled into thinking that you won\u2019t need to be wary of your teachers and textbooks just because of the name of the school you attend. <\/span><\/p>\n

Get involved with a nearby congregation<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This is such a crucial point. If you are a member of the body of Christ, it\u2019s absolutely necessary for you to be an active part of the congregation you attend. Don\u2019t just join the college group of the biggest church around because it\u2019s the easy way out – look for where you can fit in and be of service. Get in the habit of being a contributor and not just a consumer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find a mentor<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Just about everybody in the church – but especially those who are growing into their adult lives – need older Christians who can serve as mentors. This type of discipleship is one of the most vital principles of the church of the New Testament. You need people you can call and ask questions, people who can pray for you, people who can give you biblically-based advice in your questions. These people will help you remain grounded in your faith and in who you are. <\/span><\/p>\n

Find peers who will help you grow spiritually<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean \u201csurround yourself with people who think exactly like you,\u201d but it does mean that you have to be careful about the spiritual value your group of friends adds to your life. If all of your closes friends are people with whom you can\u2019t go to worship, study the Bible, or discuss spiritual issues they aren\u2019t going to help you solidify your relationship with Christ. <\/span><\/p>\n

Make time for God – if you don\u2019t now, then when?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of truth in the old preacher adage that talks about how people say <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in college, but once I graduate I\u2019ll serve the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m working on getting my career going and getting married, and once I do that, we\u2019ll serve the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once we have kids, then we\u2019ll serve the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once we can just get these kids out of the house, then we\u2019ll spend our time serving the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

If I can just get to retirement, then I\u2019ll have time to serve the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m old and tired, I really can\u2019t serve the Lord.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t start making spiritual disciplines a part of your life now, when is it going to happen? Yes, college is a busy season of life. But so is trying to get a career going, getting married, having kids, and every other season of life. Someday you\u2019ll regret it if you let 4-5 years slip by without growing in your relationship with God. Make time for Him now. Put Him first now. The habits and priorities you build during these years can and will be a part of your life for many, many years.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Jack Wilkie<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My biggest passion as a preacher and writer is the work of reversing the church\u2019s catastrophic dropout rate. There are countless people who grew up in the church who simply drop out some time between when they leave high school at 18 and their early to mid 20s, and college is often either a significant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,59],"tags":[789,139,197,739,23,790],"class_list":["post-2494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-christian-living","tag-campus","tag-christian","tag-college","tag-faithful","tag-jack","tag-university","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n6 Tips for Navigating College as a Christian - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2016\/09\/08\/6-tips-navigating-college-christian\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Tips for Navigating College as a Christian - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My biggest passion as a preacher and writer is the work of reversing the church\u2019s catastrophic dropout rate. 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