Navigating College as a Christian: Advice for Students and Parents

As a Christian college professor on a secular campus, I can speak to the concerns some Christian parents and college students

I recently started this Substack to cross-post contents from my PierPoints blog on Word Press. This is my most recent post on that platform, which proved to be popular. In the future all posts will be on both platforms. Thanks for reading.

In recent years the value of college has been increasingly a subject of debate. There are books that call it an outright scam, and others point to college as a necessity for a successful career and stable lifestyle. One of the better recent articles with an objective outline of pros and cons of college was in Forbes.

For the Christian, concerns about college are not just about cost and career preparation. Parents and students wonder about the wisdom of paying to have their faith values denigrated and secular values pushed in the name of education.

I can relate to these concerns. As a Christian college professor on a secular campus, I have felt everything from slight insult (micro aggressions) to broad attack for expressing my personal faith. These happened on my campus and in society at large.

But as a college professor I would say the question is not only whether or not to go to college. It may not be for everyone, and as the Forbes article outlines, there are other alternatives to college. For those who are Christian and decide to go to college, the question becomes how to navigate the experience and maintain your faith.

I recently spoke to a group of parents and students about this topic. I share the basics here.

The College Landscape

Before navigating, it’s important to understand the landscape of college. In doing so, you can identify the specific areas where challenges to faith may arise. These challenges can be in or outside the classroom, from faculty, staff or peer students.

Most four-year colleges require a form of general education. These are groups of courses grouped into categories that could be art, science, history, world cultures and so on. The point is to give every student a broad education in a variety of subjects. Then students select a major and possibly a minor, which are a set of courses focused on a subject or career, such as nursing, communication, business, engineering and others.

Outside of class there is what is commonly called student life. There are a number of student organizations that range from professional in focus, like an accounting association, to a hobby or personal interest, such as the backpacking club. There are hundreds of these, and they are a great way to provide students productive and fun activities and a way to meet like-minded students outside the classroom. (See my list of Christian student organizations at the end of this post).

After class and formal extra-curricular activities there is just the informal college experience. This means friends chosen to “hang out” with as well as roommates in campus housing or an off-campus apartment.

In all of the above, a Christian student could be confronted with assertions and behaviors by professors, college staff, or peer students that is in direct opposition to what they believe and how they would choose to act in accordance with the Bible. But, if a young person goes into the trades and does not attend college, they will also face the same contrary beliefs from bosses, customers, co-workers and others.

So, some of the fears we have about college are unavoidable in the culture at large. And a college degree still offers many benefits for those who attend. What college students–and their parents–need is a compass to navigate college. A typical compass or weathervane has four letters indicating the four directions: north, south, east and west. I have come up with a way for Christians to navigate college that has four Ws: worldview, wonder, weather, witness.

Worldview

You can’t navigate without a map or a course setting. You need to know where you’ve come from and where you want to go, and where the obstacles and dangers are. For the Christian, this is called a biblical worldview. It’s important for students to have this embedded so they can recognize views contrary to the gospel and be able to stay the course.

It is especially important to know what you believe, and how it is rooted in the Bible, because that is extremely rare in our culture. Arizona Christian University’s American Worldview Inventory 2023 shows an alarming drift from basic Bible truths in terms of what people believe:

7 cornerstones of Biblical worldview that a Christian should believe and the percent who actually say they do. Be prepared to be a minority in college. But that’s ok–you would rather have the truth of God than the assertions of people.

• Believing God is perfect and just creator and eternal ruler of the world (50%)

• Realizing that all humans are not basically good; everyone, including you, is a sinner (27%)

• Knowing Jesus Christ is the only means to salvation, through our confession of sin and reliance on His forgiveness (35%)

• Believing the Bible to be the true, relevant, and reliable words of God that serve as a moral guide (46%)

• Accepting the existence of absolute moral truth (25%)

• Acknowledging your purpose in life: knowing, loving and serving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind (36%)

• Understanding genuine success in life: consistent obedience to God (23%)

Wonder

In spite of the fact that college will challenge personal Christian views, students should still see college as a learning opportunity. It is valuable to learn what others think, what those alternative views are. It should not be a shock or cause fear to know that not everyone believes the Bible as it is written, especially when the Bible is full of evidence of that.

College, and life, is about understanding if not always adopting non-Christian views. As I noted earlier, everyone will encounter this in the workplace, in the news, in entertainment, from neighbors and everywhere. In other words, wonder what others think and why they do.

In this way college can be seen as a training for how to navigate culture as a Christian. Christians should not be alarmed at the culture, but prepare to be in the world but not of the world.

And, most of the topics of study in college will be non-confrontational. They will focus on business, engineering, art, communication, or whatever a student has chosen to study to prepare for a career and life.

Weather

In addition to navigating with clear direction, a Christian in college needs to be able to weather storms. I spend a lot of time outdoors and I like the idea that there is no bad weather, just bad gear. So have the right gear!

For a Christian that means staying in touch with parents and a church–either a home church or one near campus. Read the Bible daily, and even memorize scripture that bolsters faith and speaks to a present situation. Pray often, not just at meals and bedtime. Pray specifically for current struggles and opportunities, and for other people.

Another key piece of gear to weather attacks on faith are to choose friends wisely. If you can choose roommates who are also believers that is an asset. Choosing which students to spend time with also matters. A really strong protection for your faith is to join a Christian student organization (again see the list below).

Finally, just be ready. The Bible warns us we will be attacked for our faith. Don’t be surprised, afraid, or think you need to change to “blend in.” As Paul writes, “do not conform to this world” (Romans 12:2) , and “be patient in tribulation” (Romans 12:12).

Witness

Finally, consider that being in college is not a threat, it’s an opportunity. Don’t be shy to express your Christian perspective in college environment that claims it welcomes and explores all ideas.

Here are some thoughts about how to be a witness:

• Don’t be influenced; BE the influence. Don’t feel outnumbered into silence. You know the truth of God and that is powerful. Share it humbly when you have occasion.

• Don’t argue or try to persuade. Share what God has done in your life, that is what it means to “witness.” No one can contradict your experience. Also, give the basis for your statements, explain that your values are based on the Bible and not popular culture.

• Acknowledge that multiple views exist, but also in that spirit insist on respect for yours.

• Finally, pray. No one can change someone’s heart and persuade them to believe in Jesus. Leave that to the Holy Spirit.

Here is that list of Christian student organizations on my campus. Many are chapters of national organizations so they could be present on other college campuses as well. There may be others not on this list.

1. Revive – Valley Church’s ministry (United Methodist)

2. Campus Lutherans – St John’s Ministry (Missouri Synod)

3. International Student Ministry (Lutheran St. Johns)

4. Cru

5. Bridges (Cru’s International Student Ministry)

6. Destino (Cru’s Latino Ministry)

7. Impact (Cru’s Black Campus Ministry)

8. Athlete’s In Action (Cru’s Athlete’s Ministry)

9. Intervarsity

10. Greek Intervarsity

11. Athletes Intervarsity

12. Black Campus Ministry (Intervarsity)

13. LaFe (Intervarsity’s Latino Ministry)

14. Ratio Christi (apologetics group)

15. International Friendships (International Helps focused ministry)

16. Met By Love (Charismatic Worship Focused Ministry)

17. Delight (Women’s specific ministry)

18. Moriah Ministries (Sports Chaplaincy Ministry)

19. Young Life

20. His House

21. Neighbors International (Calvary Church International Student Host Family Ministry)

22. Campus Ministry (CRC Origins)

23. University Christian Outreach (Charismatic Ministry)

24. Alpha Omega (Christian Frat)

25. Reach GV (A local church ministry)

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