I attended the greatest church in all of Minnesota, maybe America. Westwood Community Church absolutely blew my mind. As a child who had grown up with my mom in and out of rehab, I drew near to the solace and community my church provided. Westwood put on crazy fun events about once a month, and I made sure I could attend every single one. Church was, dare I say, FUN.
I know that shatters stereotypes. Church should be boring, and we should read the bible and sing the whole time, right? Wrong. Westwood breaks the stigma surrounding churches. Many people feel turned off towards church, or even shudder at the word. This particularly applies to college students, something I have learned in my time at school.
As you can probably tell, I adored my church. From age 8-18, I made sure I could always go twice a week. My relationship not only with my church, but with God, felt so strong in those years! Then came college. My focus became new friends, socializing, and finding my way around. A little voice in the back of my mind kept reminding me, “you need to find a church!” Every time I answered “yeah I know, I will,” as I continued going out, meeting people, and occasionally studying. I tried a few here and there, but never stuck with it. Life felt pretty jam-packed that first year of college. I focused on getting my bearings, and kept saying “next year.” Sophomore year of college came, and I told myself the same thing. Then it became “I have work,” or “I’m taking 18 credits.”
I still went to Westwood whenever I got a chance to go home. Church still excited me, my relationship with God remained, I just did not feel the same passion as I did when I attended regularly.
When asked, a girl from my small group at Westwood agreed that “I wasn't as eager to seek out a church I loved, yet alone a church at all really. I tried out a couple here and there but wasn't consistent. I love Westwood, so when I come home I go, but at college I really struggle.”
Junior year I attempted a change. Westwood records their services live online, and my boyfriend and I began catching the feed when we could. This simple addition in my routine and my devotion to God already made me feel a slight change. Unfortunately, I’m still not doing my best to watch online frequently. I struggle.
Just this past week, I drove home for a whole month of church attendance. Day one completely re-opened my eyes. Brian, the pastor I grew up adoring for his words of praise, explained:
“In our journey of faith there are moments, perhaps even prolonged seasons in which we get stuck. It is not God’s desire for us to hang out in a stagnant faith that is okay with the mediocre. God calls us to be stirred up with Him. Just like a smartphone that gets glitchy or unresponsive, sometimes we need a restart.”
Is that not perfect for me and all the other struggling college students, or what?
That morning felt like my restart, or at least inspired me to go find one. We all face glitches in our faith due to bumps in life, and we all may need to find our way back at some point. Friends from school have told me they too have looked around many different churches, and I think it’s perfectly normal. College serves as a time to explore, try new things, and find yourself. Sometimes that may even apply to your faith.
That morning, Brian explained The Parable of the Lost Son that Jesus shares in Luke 15. In summation, a young man asks his rich father for his cut of the estate, then runs off and spends it all. He returns to his father, penniless and full of regret, ready to apologize. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” That’s how God reacts when we return to him! And we college students are making our way there.
You don’t have to be Christian. Whatever religion you may be, you may stray. What’s important is knowing you get a restart – a do-over. We all glitch, but we can all find our way back.
