Cultivating godliness in college

We've all heard the horror stories. Some of us have been the horror stories. A student grows up in a Bible-believing church where she has professed faith in Christ and participated in numerous programs designed to help nurture her in that faith. By the time she graduates from high school, she has been to church camp a half dozen times, participated in two mission trips, signed a True Love Waits card, and accumulated enough Christian T-shirts to "wear her witness" for a month.

She then goes off to college, where she is faced with a number of temptations, some of which weren't even on her radar in high school. There are the obvious vices like sex and drugs, both of which manage to find their way onto even the most conservative of college campuses. There is also a new sense of freedom; gone are the days of asking for permission to go to a particular event, checking in with mom and dad about changes in plans, or (at many schools) being home in time for curfew. If a collegian isn't careful, this newfound freedom can lead to newfound compromise.

Another more subtle temptation is busyness. There are countless activities to participate in, including clubs, athletics, campus ministries, parties, pep rallies, concerts and informal gatherings with friends. Many of these are worthy pursuits, but if a student is not disciplined, the sheer number of possible activities can choke out her spiritual life by leaving little time to pursue a stronger walk with God.

All too often these and other temptations overcome the Christian student, and before long she has ceased attending a local church, is uninvolved or only half-heartedly involved in a campus ministry, is nurturing habits that are questionable at best and blatantly sinful at worst, and is hanging out with folks whom she would have never considered befriending in high school. And to be clear, she isn't making these new friends so that she can share the Gospel with them.

Every year thousands of Christian students enroll in college and downplay, redefine, or walk away from their faith. It really doesn't matter whether the college is a secular university or a Christian private school; threats to the faith abound at both, though the dangers manifest themselves differently on every campus. But college doesn't have to be the reef upon which one's faith is shipwrecked. There are many ways students can actively cultivate personal godliness on even the most hostile of college campuses. Let me suggest some strategies for cultivating godliness during the college years. To read more, click here.