You don’t have to be an Olympian to know that a gymnast isn’t done after her in-air activity. No matter how many twists or flips happen in the air, landing is a make-or-break moment.
A similar dynamic is at play for the college freshman. Getting to the first semester of college was hard work; it required preparation and discernment. Now, after all the college applications, placement exams, scholarship essays, and FAFSA forms, you’re finally on campus. Will the “in-air” work you’ve done up to this point pay off? Will you land well?
Here’s how a Christian college student can stick the landing first semester.
1. Quickly find a healthy church.
If college has taken you away from your childhood church, look for a new church family right away. First, do some research. Ask a pastor at your home church if he can recommend churches near your college. If he doesn’t know of any personally, ask him if the denomination or network your church is affiliated with has a church directory, or look up local churches in the TGC church directory.
Second, limit the time you spend “church shopping.” Check out two to four of the top churches you discover in your research. Don’t waste a Sunday. Visit with purpose. Talk to the people in the pews and the people behind the welcome desk if the church has one. Ask them what they love about their church, and listen intently to their answers.
Listen for how each church talks about the Bible, making sure they see it as God’s authoritative Word and “rightly [handle] the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Listen to the preaching. Does the pastor jet ski over the surface of the Word or dive in deep? Does the sermon merely entertain, or does it clearly explain and apply the Bible passage? Aside from the teaching, pay attention to the culture of the place. Do people seem to know each other? Is there an air of humility and honesty? Do the people seem to enjoy God and one another?
Know ahead of time that you won’t find a perfect church. There are no perfect churches. You’re just looking for a healthy and faithful one. So after your short church-shopping phase, make the pivot from evaluation to participation. Pursue membership. Look for opportunities to serve. Bring some friends. And resist the urge to church shop indefinitely. Plants don’t grow well when they’re constantly uprooted and transplanted. Neither do Christians.
2. Anticipate loneliness.
One of the great paradoxes of college is that you’re around so many people but, as a freshman, you still may feel alone, unseen, and unsettled.
There are no perfect churches. You’re just looking for a healthy and faithful one.
My first few months of college were a blur of new friendships, adventure, and discovery, but one day in that first semester, the bottom fell out. It dawned on me that none of these new friends really knew me. My life consisted of four-week-old friendships. My new friends knew nothing about my hometown, my siblings, and 99 percent of my story. Eight hundred miles from home, I felt so alone. There will be moments this semester when you’ll feel alone too.
See that inevitable loneliness as an invitation into deeper intimacy with God. Take refuge in and grow your friendship with Jesus Christ. Read and study his Word. Pray daily. And know that the Lord’s presence is no less available to you than it was to Paul when he was alone: “No one came to stand by me. . . . But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me” (2 Tim. 4:16–17). God’s friendship is no less available to you than it was to David, who wrote, “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him” (Ps. 25:14). Loneliness will come. When it does, lean on the Lord. He’s your refuge. He’s the God of all comfort. He’s near.
3. Live on mission.
The Lord brought you to college—a specific season in a particular place (Acts 17:26–27). Embrace it with intention by living on mission. In Colossians 4, Paul outlines what this looks like:
Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (vv. 3–6)
Notice three activities Paul models in the text: how to pray, how to walk, and how to talk. First, pray for open doors. In God’s sovereignty, there are no random roommate assignments. Pray expectantly for the people around you. Pray that God would give you an opportunity to talk to them about the gospel. Second, walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Campus life in a pluralistic society is complicated. Learn to listen before you speak. Then read books that model wise evangelism. Through reading, you can learn to walk with the boldness of Spurgeon and the winsomeness of a modern-day apologist like Rebecca McLaughlin. Finally, speak with gracious clarity, shaping your message for each person you encounter.
Perhaps your wise words in a brief encounter will help to prepare the soil of an unbeliever’s heart for the next time he meets a Christian. And perhaps the Lord will allow you to cultivate a meaningful friendship and give you a front-row seat as he draws a lost sinner to himself.
The Lord brought you to college—a specific season in a particular place. Embrace it with intention by living on mission.
Believing college freshman, be encouraged. I’m confident you’re going to land well because of the gospel. Paul says that if you’ve trusted Christ, “your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). This means your life is no longer measured by your capabilities, your successes, or even your sins. The next four years aren’t about finding yourself, because God has already found you. College isn’t about proving yourself, because Christ’s perfect righteousness has been given to you. You are his.
So as you begin your freshman year, be intentional about community, devotion, and mission. But also know he holds you while you’re “in the air” and will uphold you as you stick the landing.
The Gospel Coalition