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How to make your faith your own

You probably can’t wait for the independence you’ll experience at college! Most of us really crave the freedom to make our own choices and figure out who we truly are.  Independence teaches us responsibility and how to make good decisions. It helps us learn what we like and don’t like, and helps us grow in our identity in Jesus. 

When you head to college, you might discover you hold beliefs about your faith that you haven’t ever examined on your own. When Shelley was in college, one particular guy on her dorm floor bombarded her with hard questions like:

  • How do you know the Bible is true?
  • Can you prove God exists?
  • Why would a good God let bad things happen?

Instead of throwing out her faith because she couldn’t answer those questions, Shelley used those unexamined beliefs as a launch pad to make her faith her own. 

1 Corinthians 13:11 says, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, and I reasoned like a child. But when grew up, I put away childish things.”  As adults we must learn to think about and discover truth for ourselves, including spiritual truth.

These 5 Things will set you up well to make your faith your own in college:

  1. Kingdom Vision: What’s your vision for expanding the kingdom of Jesus? Reaching out to people in your dorm or classes, family or friends?
  2. Team: You can’t maintain vision on your own. Is there someone on your campus that attends the same church? How can you meet other incoming Freshmen who share your Kingdom Vision?  Where can you find a group of people who are committed to the same things you are?
  3. Plan: Make a plan to make a difference.   Set a goal and determine next steps with your Team.  Those  might be planning to examine and strengthen your unexamined beliefs, or to spend regular time with God.
  4. Ongoing Equipping: Anything we want to do well requires ongoing equipping and training. Cru offers practical training in things like how to share your faith and how to apply the Bible to life. Is there a Cru movement or a solid local church community you can plug into to help with that?
  5. Coach: Find a mentor from Cru or church, someone just a little older and further down the path.
     

What can you do today to set up these 5 things so you’ll be ready the moment you step foot onto campus?

Our concierge is here to help.

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