Were you starting college and scared to death about life on your own and making your way in a new world? Were you driven by social activity and looking for kegs or for where the boys/girls were? Were you lost and not sure what you wanted to do with your life? Right now there are thousands of newly christened young adults in this country that the above descriptions describe.
Whether you went to college or not, you can probably remember what it was like to be 18 or 19 with all of the questions about identity (Who am I?), purpose and meaning (Why am I here? What am I going to do in my life), and about acceptance (Do people see me? Am I known? Am I loved? Am I accepted?). Right now hundreds of thousands of freshman are either starting their first couple of weeks at school or they are getting ready for their first weeks. Maybe you know one – , daughter, niece, nephew, friend?
I just saw the following quote in Christianity Today:
“The Barna Group reports that 70% of Christians who enter college move away from their faith before graduation. Fear, doubt and confusion stir the hearts and minds of young people and even adults as they come into situations where they’re faced with opposition to their spiritual beliefs.”
The college environment is a wild confluence of forces and ideas that can challenge anyone’s assumptions about life and faith – and that does take its toll on some young believers.
BUT DOESN’T THAT SOUND LIKE THE BEST PLACE TO BE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLES LIVES?
! It’s a challenging environment, but there are great opportunities to come alongside young seekers and invite them to faith and to come alongside young followers of Jesus and equip them to make an impact for Him both among their friends and natural communities during those years AS WELL AS for having an impact in their field of choice for their lifetimes? What better place to be than where the ideas are? Where communities are so active? Where activism is alive and well! Where people are going to decide the trajectory of their life both spiritually and vocationally?
While Christine and I don’t spend as much time on campus as we did in our early days of ministry, there’s one thing that still motivates and fuels our vision for ministry – that the college campus is still the best place to reach, build, and send leaders who can make a difference for Christ where they are now and where they will be throughout their lifetimes!
Did you know most decisions for Christ that take place on a college campus every year take place in the first 6-8 weeks of the school year?
Right now, one of the best things you can do as it relates to being a part of what God is doing in the Kingdom at large is to pray that students, especially freshman, encounter authentic believers on campus and have a relevant and powerful encounter with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray that they encounter Christ and vibrant Christ followers and that those ministries and movements on campus, including Epic, step out in faith with these students in a personal and connecting way.
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