- \n
- There is no greater way you can spend your time, energy, and effort than pursuing Christ with all your heart.<\/strong> Education matters. That\u2019s why you\u2019re going to college. But pursuing Christ matters more. Remember, you can make only one thing your central aim in life. Make it the right thing. Ask God for much grace to keep him at the center.<\/li>\n
- Join a church.<\/strong> Find one that preaches the Word, loves worshiping God as a body, and seeks to make Christ known. Once you find it, join it and start building relationships.<\/li>\n
- Make a plan for your first semester about how you are going to be in the Word.<\/strong> If you use a Bible reading plan, put it in your schedule now. If you don\u2019t currently have a plan for reading the Word, make one before you leave.<\/li>\n
- As now so then.<\/strong> Don\u2019t spend your college career talking about how you will follow Christ in the future. Follow him now the way you want to follow him then.<\/li>\n
- Take advantage of the unique opportunity to get to know a wide variety of people from different backgrounds who have all been sovereignly put in the same dorm.<\/strong> Ask people to tell you their story.\u00a0 Sit, listen, and ask follow-up questions. Tell them you like to pray for people you\u2019ve met and ask how you can pray for them.<\/li>\n
- Seek to radically love others as Christ did.<\/strong> Avoid gossips and gossiping. It\u2019s gross. Loving like Christ isn\u2019t.<\/li>\n
- Remember, following passionately after Christ is not going to be the norm<\/strong> (yes, sadly even at Christian colleges this can be true). Look to God\u2019s Word for the standard of what an authentic follower of Christ looks like and seek others who seek him in the same way.<\/li>\n
- Look for opportunities to serve.<\/strong> Serve broadly, serve lovingly, serve faithfully, and serve diligently. Look for where there is a need and dive in.<\/li>\n
- Remember that others are going through the same changes and new experiences.<\/strong> Look for opportunities to speak truth about the gospel to people who want a fresh start in college. Show them the hope in the gospel and forgiveness available to them.<\/li>\n
- Attend every opportunity for biblical teaching that you can.<\/strong> Go to a campus ministry\u2019s weekly meeting and invite someone from your dorm to go with you.<\/li>\n
- Work hard.<\/strong> Remember the privilege that you are afforded and respond appropriately. Fight against laziness by remembering you are seeking to please Christ, not your professor (or mom or dad).<\/li>\n
- When you find someone you are interested in dating, make sure that their one aim in life is the same as yours<\/strong> (see #1 above.)<\/li>\n
- Take advantage of the variety of classes and opportunities that will be available to you only in college<\/strong>. Look for at least one class to take for the sheer love of learning about a subject you have never studied before (or may never have the time to study again).<\/li>\n
- Make a prayer list and pray for the people on it.<\/strong> Start with your roommate and the guys down the hall who don\u2019t give a rip about Christ.<\/li>\n
- Pursue God joyfully.<\/strong> Is there anything greater than knowing Christ? Make the joy of pursuing Christ a hallmark of your life.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sharefaith.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/JeffBrewer.jpg\" "\\"JeffBrewer\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Jeff Brewer is the lead pastor at Hope Fellowship<\/a> in Lombard, Illinois, an Acts 29 church planted by College Church in Wheaton. In addition to reaching\u00a0out to students at Hope Fellowship, he and his wife, Jen, were on staff with CRU, and he has served as a college baseball team chaplain in the Chicago area.<\/p>\n
- Join a church.<\/strong> Find one that preaches the Word, loves worshiping God as a body, and seeks to make Christ known. Once you find it, join it and start building relationships.<\/li>\n