The Most Important Question for College Freshmen
College freshmen are 8 weeks into their new adventure. Most are living away from home for the first time. You may be a college student reading this post, or perhaps you are a parent of one of those freshmen. Let me suggest a question that may be the most important question to consider at this moment:
“Have you found and committed yourself to a Bible-teaching, discipleship-centered local church?”
If you are a follower of Christ, your primary mission as a college student is not to get good grades, play sports, and hang out with friends. Your primary mission is to grow as a woman or man of God! That will not happen apart from a local church that boldly proclaims all the truth of the Bible. Perhaps you are at a Christian school with chapels and small groups. These great discipleship environments can’t (and are not designed to) replace the local church.
Make it your top priority to find and connect with a strong Bible teaching church. Then engage in that church as a man or woman, not as a child or a student. You have transitioned from childhood to adulthood. It is time to leave childish ways and patterns behind you. Don’t just go to the college group. Go to the women’s ministry. Go to the men’s ministry. Look to where you can serve the church as a full adult, engaging in fellowship with people of all ages.
Perhaps you have been searching for a church but have not found one yet. Keep searching. Try a new one this Sunday, and another one next Sunday. Go with a group. Go by yourself. God wants you to be a “church man” or a “church woman.” Now is the time to take this critical step into your adult Christian life.
Rob,
Good advice! Is there a directory available anywhere on churches that are discipleship centered and not age segregated?
Thanks,
John
John I don’t think a directory exists like that. Finding a Bible-teaching denomination may be a good start if one wants to explore an area and being sure to look at each church’s statement of faith are good places to begin. It is also helpful to look for churches that lean toward an expository (book by book, verse by verse) preaching approach.
John, as far as a directory for age integrated churches, one place to start is NCFIC.org – and you can also find this at a lot of the d6 family of churches, but there is no network site that I am aware.
Rob,
Thank you for your ministry!! I agree with your blog here, but, also, besides a local church to get involved in, are the Christian campus ministries. The student can connect with other Christian kids and there is an accountability there with their peers on campus. Way back, when I was in college, my campus ministry was so good for me. I did not have a car and could not get to a local church. Campus ministries such a CRU, Navigators, Intervarsity Fellowship, etc. Thanks, Rob!!
Thank you for this reminder! Those of us who know a high school senior or college freshman (and most of us do) should be asking this question even before we engage in the “what classes are you taking?” question. I received counsel before my freshman year to plan to go to A church, ANY church my first Sunday away from home, because the longer I waited to find a church, the harder it would be to go. That counsel at least sparked a thought that encouraged me to not neglect the assembling together of the Body.
What I saw a lot of in Christian classmates (at a secular university) was a stumbling of sorts. They didn’t know what to look for in a church and so they ended up at the “feel good” church where their friends were. We need to encourage parents to talk with their kids about what Scripture says in this area so that the kids are not carried about by every wind of doctrine, so they value and hold high what Scripture holds high when it comes to faith community worship.
Sharing this with my Facebook friends!
Rob,
Great words of wisdom. Thanks for helping us teach our kids the importance of staying involved in the church. We also want to thank you for teaching us the importance of worshiping together as a family on Sunday morning.
Blessings