Christian College Advice: How to Keep Your Faith Strong

Today on the blog, we have a little bit of wisdom to share with you from my husband.

He isn’t writing from a place of having done everything perfectly, but from experience and hindsight. 

College can be an exciting season of freedom, new friendships, big decisions, and growing independence. It can also be a season where our faith is tested and our influences change dramatically.

My husband lived through both sides of this. As college began, he wandered from the Lord. Yet, the Lord graciously used those years to shape the man he is today and show him his need for a Savior.

Below, you’ll find some of the wisdom and practical advice he wishes he had known during those years. Our prayer is that these words point you to the Lord, encourage you in your faith, and remind you that our responsibility as Christians does not change simply because our circumstances do.

We are never too far gone, too insignificant, or without purpose when we are in Christ. He can redeem what is broken and use even our mistakes for His glory. Without Him, we are nothing.

The Power of Influence

College is a season of tremendous freedom, but also tremendous influence. Who and what you allow to influence you matters.

Family

The influence of family is huge. This became especially apparent during teenage years, when I began to pick-up on different qualities in my family members. Looking at my dad and my two grandfathers, for example, I learned what it looked like to live like Jesus in every area of life. 

Whether it was loving their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25), working with integrity (Colossians 3:23), or living generously (Acts 20:35), their faithfulness planted seeds in me that would one day grow.  

Although I did not appreciate it at the time, the values my family instilled in me at a young age, gave me a sense of discernment as I went through the college years. Often, I realized these things after making a mistake or two. 

Making Friends in College

Friends are another big influence in all stages of life. This becomes especially apparent in college, when you may be living away from family and spending significantly more time with your friends. 

When I was younger, I didn’t think about how my friends would influence me. My desire was to have “good friends,” but often they were not good influences. 

The Lord opened my eyes after my second year of college. I was transferring schools and realized only with distance that I was not proud of the choices I made with my friends. 

We should be a friend who calls higher, tells the truth, and loves like Jesus. 

I also learned that it’s not the amount of friends you have but the quality of the friends.

Relationships in College

Relationships are not about self-fulfillment or what we can get out of them. We should enter into relationships with the goal of marriage. It’s God’s design, and it is good. 

So many mistakes happen when we try to please ourselves and fail to consider the bigger picture. The Lord tells us that “it is not good for man to be alone,” but we have to realize that another person cannot satisfy us. Christ alone can satisfy.

When we stop trying to fill the Christ-sized hole with other people, realize the call of marriage, and accept the responsibility, we can really consider the value of marriage. 

It’s important to remember that you are not looking for a perfect person… there was only One.

You are looking for someone who has surrendered to Christ, is abiding in Him, repenting, and bearing fruit for the King.

Finding Christian Community in College

While not everyone is a student athlete, we can all be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Finding a Bible study, small group, or other organization on or off of campus can be a blessing to your walk with the Lord. 

Finding a local church to serve in is essential. All throughout the New Testament, we see the need for the body of believers. Christians are even warned against “neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,” but that we are instead to be “encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). 

We need one another. In this pivotal season of life when we are stepping into adulthood and making decisions, we need the wisdom of older and wiser counsel (Proverbs 12:15). We need to be using our gifts to build-up others as well. Whether it be baking, cleaning, encouraging, or simply being willing, we all have a part to play (1 Peter 4:10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). 

Influencers

In a day and age with social media, it’s very easy to be influenced by others. We need to ask ourselves who we are listening to. Who is discipling you?

We also need to ask ourselves how we are spending our time. Is social media even worth it? 

I love this psalm, 

Is what we are reading or listening to actually worth the time? Are they teaching us to live the risen life in Christ? Do we desire to build His Kingdom or our own after listening?

Costi Hinn is one person I have enjoyed learning from. The Lord has done incredible things in his life, and now he has used that to bless others in their faith. One thing he does that challenges me is pushing his listeners to seek the Scriptures themselves. 

We can’t just take what anyone says as true. We should be encouraged to search the Scriptures ourselves and bring our questions before the Lord and wiser followers of Jesus. 

Acts chapter 17 has a great example of people who hear the Word and “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

For the Young Man in College

Live with purpose. Pray daily. Love your friends. Don’t forget your family. Be honest. Fix your eyes on Jesus, and remember that this world is not your home. The Lord has you in this place for a season and for a reason. Use it for His glory.  

Final Encouragement

While we hope these words inspired you in some way, the greatest takeaway of all is our need for a Savior, for “all fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Knowing Jesus is not about getting something out of it for ourselves, it is about surrendering, dying to ourselves, and living a life on a mission for Christ. 

It’s not about fitting in or being a “better person.” We should be preparing to become men and women of valor. 

This is not about being a “good Christian college student,” —it is about Christ, your relationship with Him, and the fruit that produces. 

You are loved!