How to Stay Christian in College

by Tim Hunter

It’s no secret.

College is not necessarily the breeding ground for deep discipleship to Jesus and renewed faith.

In an age of deconstruction and doubt, with post-modernity thrown in for good measure, staying committed to Jesus in a secular university can be a struggle.

Whether the beer-guzzling party scene tempts you, or the social media obsessed-sexually saturated materialistic culture that can often take place, or just flat-out the “I am too tired from studying, and intramural sports, my part-time job, and the pressures of living on my own.”

Regardless - I get it. It’s not easy being a Christian in college. But here’s the thing - following Jesus has never been about comfort and ease; it has always happened in the middle of the struggle, sin, pain, and ordinary life. Jesus has never cloaked his invitation to follow Him with promises of easy, no-risk discipleship. But He has promised real joy and deep meaning and a soul-level rest.

So I write to the college student who desires to tack on church attendance semi-regularly or the student who only views Jesus as a comfortable cultural add-on. I write for the guy or girl who kind of, maybe, but not really believes in Jesus. I write for the girl hurt by the church, disillusioned by Jesus, and doubting the goodness of God in a world of pain. I write for the guy who is convinced that the essence of meaning right now is how many parties he can attend or how many girls he can sleep with.

There is more. But mostly - I am writing to the college student who goes: but how??

I am writing for the guy or the girl who loves Jesus and desires to follow Him but in the face of pressures, temptations, and friend-groups, and more alluring and entertaining (let's be honest) options - says, “I love Jesus but how do I not become a statistic who lost their faith in college?”

So allow me to ask the question from my desk and Dell laptop - what if your college years were not a time of losing your faith but of deepening it? What if you could look back at the four or five or maybe six (no shame) years you spent in college as the catalyst for a life lived on mission for Jesus and discipleship to him?

What if?

Allow me to humbly wager that many who walk away from the faith in college or simply view it with a dismissive shrug are not walking away from the real Jesus or the church in all its beauty but simply a cheap substitute that they have constructed from convenience and ease.

A discipleship that is easy and costs little is easy to walk away from.

I am convinced that encountering the Jesus of the Bible, believing the Gospel in all its depth and beauty, and stepping into deep discipleship with Him can raise up a generation of college students in world-changing ways.

So - but how.

Let me offer four cornerstones that I believe, if stepped into, will deepen your faith in college to the point where you are not on the fringe of the community of Jesus but rather deeply committed to Jesus and His people.

Follow Jesus Together

Here’s the thing - if you make it all about church attendance or checking a box - you probably will lose your faith. Checklists are easy to walk away from - Jesus isn’t. Take your college years as an opportunity to work out what it means to take Jesus at His invitation to “Follow Me” (Mark 1:17).

Following Jesus is not an individual sport. It is not a “Jesus and Me” kind of thing. It is a deeply communal journey of experiencing the grace of God through Christ in the gospel, inheriting a new family, and then spending the rest of your life following the Jesus who set you free.

It’s not: just going to church or trying out a few different college groups.

Dream with me. What would it look like to follow Jesus - the real Jesus - the Jesus of the Bible, the one who is the perfect image of God the Father, the one who gave His life for his friends, the one who was more comfortable with the sinners and the sick then with the self-righteous and the elite. The Jesus who offers the kind of water that if you would take a drink, you would never thirst again, the Jesus who is the bread of life, the Jesus who restores to you what it means to live as a son or a daughter fully accepted by the God of the universe?

The Jesus who says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29)

That Jesus.

To stay Christian - you must keep the journey about Christ. And then to keep the journey of following Jesus as something that is pursued alongside others.

Cultivate Community

I am convinced that our generation is hard-wired for community. I see it in coffee shops and online, and at the amazing college and young adults' weekly gathering I have the privilege of leading. (shout out to Crossroads - you guys are the best)

We are a deeply relational generation. We desire deep connectivity. But here’s the thing. If this desire is not rooted in a deep, biblical community - the sin-confessing, celebrating-together, fighting injustice, gospel-sharing, bible-studying, good works doing, disciple-making, and family living - biblical community, we will simply find it in all the wrong places.

We will settle for cheap substitutes for community built on sinking sand. Or maybe we will just scroll Instagram enough to make our thumbs ache.

Either way.

If you want to stay a Christian and stay committed to Jesus during your college years, I beg you to find and cultivate a deep community centered around Jesus.

If you want a picture of what this looks like - check out Acts 2:42-47.

Serve the Church

We are also a justice-loving generation. And this is a good thing! However, I truly believe that the number one way to care for the widows, reach the poor, serve the sick and suffering, fight for the kind of racial reconciliation that is rooted in the all-inclusive gospel, care for mothers, you name it, is found in the local church.

I know - that might not be the trendiest answer there.

But it’s true.

Imagine using your college years to roll up your sleeves and serve the church. To not simply roll in and out of Sunday morning service, but to give of yourself? To find joy in serving those in need and standing shoulder to shoulder with men and women from all generations in this broken but beautiful family we call the church?

Try it. It might be the most fulfilling thing you can spend your college years doing.

Reach the World

When we trust Jesus as Savior and follow Him as Lord, we are swept up into a global initiative to bless the nations. This goes all the way back to Genesis 12, is commissioned by Jesus in Matthew 28, and will culminate one day with the picture given in Revelation 7 with people from all nations, tongues, and people groups praising the Lamb of God for all He is worth.

But meanwhile, we have the marching orders given by Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

There is an adventure to this, and there is a purpose to this; there is meaning to this and a mission to this.

I dream of a generation so caught up in this all-encompassing mission of Jesus that we start to make decisions about college classes, majors, summer breaks, and weekends around how we can step into it. When our lives are consumed with reaching the city we live in and the nations of the world with the good news of Jesus - well, it’s a little harder to walk away from that kind of Christianity than it is to walk away from twice-monthly church attendance and trying not to get drunk.

Try it. Follow Jesus together, cultivate community, serve the church, and reach the world.

That kind of Christianity is hard not to be all in for.

I believe in you.