I thought long and hard about what I wanted my first article to be about, and I decided on something very important to me: my faith. Statistically, of all students who identified as being Christian upon entering college, only 1 in 4 still practice the faith. I was born and raised in a Catholic family, went to catholic school for the majority of my life, and was very involved in my youth group in High School. So going from a constant support system of those who share the same beliefs to a small liberal arts college with no religious affiliation was a challenge for me, as I’m sure it is for some of you. So, today, I would love to give you all some tips on how to keep the faith in college. It is by no means easy, but so worth it!
1. Find a home church
This is the most important advice I can give you. During your first few weeks of college (or now), try and do some research or walk around the town and find some great perspective churches. Then, try them out! (Or if you’re like me, you can make your mom google search all of the Catholic Churches in a 5-mile radius of the school and then go searching on your college visits.) The longer you wait to search for a church, the easier it will be to tell yourself you don’t need to go. I found a great Catholic Church and a great Non-Denominational church that I go to during my time at college.
2. Find friends with similar beliefs
I cannot stress enough that you become like the people you hang out with. This is especially true at college, since you spend so much time with one another. Luckily, I was put on the same dorm floor as my two best college friends, who also happen to be Christians. It is so much easier to say no to that party where you know bad things are going on or to get up for church on Sunday mornings when you have people to hold you accountable. They also make for good prayer partners! I have had numerous heart to hearts about faith and religion on my dorm room floor at 2 am on a Friday night, which to me is much more memorable than most things other people were doing.
3. Find the Christian clubs, or start your own
During the activities fair on campus, I located the two Christian clubs on my campus. I went to both of them, and they are a good way to find other friends with similar beliefs. My friend Becca and I have also decided to start a Bible study club this semester. So if you don’t have any of these clubs, or feel called to start one, don’t be afraid! Chances are other people are hoping someone starts one!
4. Find quiet time to pray daily
This is especially hard because it seems like we are around people every second in college. I found that taking 10 minutes before bed to spend time in scripture made a huge difference in my prayer life. Now, I’m not saying you have to spend all of your night locked up in your room with a Bible, but before you go to sleep or in between classes is a great time to unwind and fix our minds on what is really important in life. If your roommate has the television on, or you have people in your room, the dorm lounge or even a park bench outside are some awesome places to pray.
5. Realize that it is okay to make mistakes
No one is perfect, especially in college. College is definitely the time where most people try new things and take risks – which ultimately means some mistakes will be made. But, it is important to realize that one or two mistakes doesn’t make you a bad person, and we should not judge ourselves or others just because they sin in a different way than us. A lot of people feel that since they made these mistakes, that they can never be loved by Jesus again. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, for it is in our weakest times that God wants to love us most.
These are just a few of many ways that you can keep the faith in college. Ultimately, God always desires us, but the question is how much do we desire his love?
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, make your requests known to him. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard you hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” ~ Philippians 4: 6-7
