CAN YOU KEEP YOUR FAITH IN COLLEGE?

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Our church launched a location at SDSU this last year.  This process has increased my passion to equip these students with a Biblical worldview and gospel-center as they face the daily challenge of being a Christian at college.  When I went to college at University of Oregon, I know I disregarded my Christian upbringing to pursue the things of the world, which seemed much more appealing.  While I was raised in the church, I had never received a Biblical worldview and ended up seeing faith as a compartment in my life that was much less interesting than the pleasures found on a college campus away from my parents.  Now I can see that I was only a cultural christian at the time, and it was two years later I recognized the bankruptcy of a life without God.  God reached me at my lowest point and it was there I received a saving faith that caused me to repent and follow him.  I am thankful for that season, as now I am convinced that only the joy of God can satisfy my eternal longing.

If you know students about to set-off for college, our worship leader wrote a review of a book that may be helpful to bring up discussion & areas for prayer:

I recently came across a great book by Abbie Smith called Can You Keep Your Faith in College?, Abbie gathers together 50 college students to write essays on college life as a Christian. They openly discuss the ups and downs, pressures, perceptions, and challenges that a Christian college student faces on campus. The fact that this subject is written by actual college students living in the academic trenches helps to give this book credibility. I’m sure parents, pastors or professors could write a helpful book on the “dangers of college life”, but it just wouldn’t carry the weight and urgency that come from hearing from your own peers.
I think most young men and women cannot wait to get out of the house when they graduate from high school. The idea of calling your own shots is alluring, but it also comes with an incredible amount of responsibility – and this is something that is learned by experience. I found most of the writers that shared their experiences in this book to be extremely open about their struggles and sin, and I found this refreshing and not something you read too often in Christian literature.

Read entire article:  Review of Can You Keep Your Faith in College?