How to Thrive in College (as a Christian)
Updated: 5 days ago
College is an exciting time of independence and learning a lot of new things. Whether that's doing laundry for the first time or struggling through higher level math courses, there's always something new to learn through the college experience. But the journey isn't always easy, and as a Christian on the college campus, this can be especially true. The college campus is a great place to meet tons of new people and provides a lot of opportunities to share your faith with them, but there are also a lot of opportunities for your faith to be challenged and even looked down on.
It's not easy
We asked some of our college students and mentors if their faith has ever been challenged on campus:
"[My friends] were driven by academics and constantly looking for an internship… I felt [like] the odd one out and wanted to be like them — strive and invest in my future. The more I spent time with them, I did not want to share about Christianity or how to live out the gospel." — Elise, Rutgers
"I [had] friends who told me, 'Aren't you supposed to believe facts, not superstition?'" — Xunkai, UC Berkeley
"My floormates gave me a hard time about how I went to Bible study instead of joining their planned hangouts on Friday nights. They often made comments about it and eventually stopped inviting me." — Lily, UC Berkeley
"[I've had] engineering friends scoffing at faith [and felt] peer pressure to go back into the party/frat culture." — Nick, UC Berkeley
"I would be told to loosen up a bit and go to parties by the people around me." — Maria, Rutgers
In Luke 10, when Jesus sends out the 72 disciples two by two to the towns He Himself was about to go, He told them:
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves." — Luke 10:2-3 (ESV)
Jesus never said that preaching the gospel would be easy. In fact, He warns us of the opposite. It can often feel like you're a lamb among wolves on the college campus.
According to Paul Worcester, National Collegiate Director at the North American Mission Board (NAMB), in his book The Fuel and the Flame, it's estimated that less than 5% of the average college campus is Christian. Rutgers isn't much different. There are about 40 faith organizations here, and not all of them are Christian. Even with a generous estimate of 100 students per org, that's roughly 4,000 professing Christians — out of about 71,000 undergrad and grad students. That's under 6% of campus, and that's a very generous estimate.
What does this mean for Christians on campus? We are a minority, and it can often feel like we're all alone in our faith. As a Christian on campus, you're going to feel intimidated about remaining faithful to God, especially as you try to navigate the regular stresses of being new to campus and college life.
So what will help?
"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go." — Luke 10:1 (ESV)
Jesus did not send out His disciples alone. He sent them two by two. Jesus gave them a community, and He does the same for us. Christian life was never meant to be lived out alone — we can see that through the ministry performed in the New Testament (see Acts 8:14, 13:2-3, 15:39-40). We need other believers to walk with in our Christian faith. God's gift to us is a community that holds onto the same values and beliefs, focused on Jesus Christ.
We asked our college students and mentors how having a like-minded friend has helped them keep their faith in college:
"One of the ways it helps is being able to have sober-minded fun… being around [Christian friends] helps me stay on top of prayers and devotionals because they are also doing it." — Maria, Rutgers
"[My mentor] would help me to realize that God is there and cares for me, even when trusting God is difficult through harder parts of life." — Marcelo, Rutgers
"So many things I would not have done if I was doing [it] alone — waking up for [devotionals], going on mission trips, and how to concretely live out loving your neighbors as yourself." — Jun, UC Berkeley
"Having a close [Christian] friend continuously challenged my behavior and encouraged me to see my inconsistent and dishonest ways." — Nathan, Purdue
"Having [Christian] friends helped me not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord as we tried to reach out to our [non-Christian] friends and love people together." — Marvy, UC Berkeley
"I was really new to Christianity… but [my friend] was a couple years into her faith, and the way she stuck to commitments to go to midweek Bible studies or prayer meetings, prioritize friendships with girls, not engage in the party lifestyle, and go to church on Sundays helped me to stick to basic spiritual disciplines even when I was surrounded by a [secular] environment." — Janice, UC Berkeley
God's gift to us is the church — friends who also want to live out Christian life together. Whether that's at Campus Light Church (we'd love to have you join us!) or at another fellowship on campus, we encourage you to find your community of believers and hold on tight to those relationships. College life won't get easier, and holding onto your faith alone will feel impossible — so don't do it alone. Do it alongside like-minded believers of Jesus Christ.
Want to connect with us? Find out where and when we meet at campuslight.org/connect.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few other Christian student organizations at Rutgers worth checking out:
Wherever you land, don't walk through college alone!
