7 Reasons College Girls Need to be Active in Church
I'm writing this post for two reasons:
1) It's TRUTH.
2) I wasn't active in church when I was in college. I went to church in college, but I wasn't active; I'd go with my parents if I was home, or to a church close to campus if I wasn't. I wasn't "plugged in." And, looking back, I see there is a giant hole in my spiritual development that I so regret.
So learn from my mistake. (I have many mistakes. This is just one of them.)
And before I get to the actual reasons, I need to make two definitions:
[Note: these are MY definitions; you won't find them anywhere official :) ]
ACTIVE: Regularly, (preferably weekly or more) attendance, finding yourself interacting with a familiar group of people in all different stages of life. [Personal note: sliding into the back of a worship service, shaking 3 hands during the welcome, and going home after the last "Amen" does not count. That's what I did. That's not 'active'!]
CHURCH: A body of believers that don't all go to your college. I love college ministry organizations, and I think you should find one to call your own. But that's not church. You'll see why below. A church is not the building, but people who love and follow Christ getting together. If you look up the word "church" every time it appears in Acts (a great idea for a Bible Study, hint, hint), you'll see them making decisions, leading believers, sending missionaries, and taking care of one another. Even though they were persecuted. Even just a few years after the death of Christ. The church was and is the household of God (1 Timothy 3:15). When you accept Jesus as your Lord and God as your Father, you become part of that family. You need to hang out with your family!
#1 It's a Habit.
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another..." (Hebrews 10:25)
You have good habits: brushing your teeth, exercising, praying, etc. And when you get away from your habits, it's easy to stay away from them. Being a Christian involves disciplines (praying, fasting, worship, etc.) that help you progress in your faith, getting more and more mature and closer to Christ. You are an adult. It's time to act like a grown-up Christian, meaning you CHOOSE to do things that Christ did and expects His followers to do. (What are some of those things? Great question! I have a 12-part series that covers those very things below!)
#2 This is where you find women of another generation to pour into you.
"the older women...can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, to be subject to their husbands..." (Titus 2:3-5)
As much as it hurts me to say this, church is where you find someone to replace me. I was in your life and in your business every week for years; hopefully you'll always consider me someone you can reach out to for love and guidance and support. But I am likely not your only lifelong mentor! Currently, I have a solid 4 women I count as mentors and heroes of the faith that I talk to regularly. I couldn't do it without them. You'll find those women in church. And they will show you what your life will look like in the future. That seems a little overwhelming, but you'll learn how to be an adult, a mom, a wife, a leader, a friend, and more from women that are older than you. I hope you've started learning those things from your mom or another woman in your pre-college life. Don't stop learning. Get in their lives, in their homes, and let them teach you by their example so that you'll be wiser when you find yourselves in their shoes.
#3 You need a church body to love you.
"Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother," (Mark 3:35)
Your family means the world to you. But as you make your way out of your parents' home, you'll also find that sometimes there are friends that are closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Though I have an amazing immediate and extended family whom I love dearly, family is not always who I need in trying, exciting, or stressful times. God has blessed me with amazing friends who love me and help me like no one in my family can. And you want this new family to come from a group of people who LOVE JESUS and want to help you love Him, too. As an added benefit, having a family-at-college will make college feel more like home :)
As you grow closer to your church family, they will even "chase after you" even through "awkwardness, pain, or grievous sin," holding you to the standard of holiness you were called to live that is not often something your college friends will do. (Thanks to Tim Call for the quoted parts.)
#4 You need a body that you can love and serve.
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it," (1 Corinthians 12:27)
College is very me-focused. You're focused on your education, your projects, your papers, labs, classes, and GPA. But Christ didn't make us to put ourselves first. We're to put Him first, loving Him as we love others. And while you'll spend tons of time on yourself (your mind and your future) in college, you're still called to love and serve others in Jesus' name. A church body will provide you with training to know how, a group of people to love and serve (hello, preschool Sunday School!), and other Christians around you to support you. A church body will keep you reminded that THERE IS MORE TO THIS WORLD than your campus and your very temporary college life. (See Colossians 3:1-4).
#5 We are blessed
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth," (3 John 4)
I've had dozens, maybe hundreds, of kids in my life over the past 10 years of teaching Youth Sunday School. It's a tough calling. I pour my heart and soul into you week after week, praying that at least some of it sticks and crying out to God for you to believe Him. I honestly don't know what happens to most of the kids after they graduate from high school. I know some of them leave behind all I taught, all I believe, all I stand for and it breaks my heart. But every now and then, I get a girl who heard me in high school, deepens that passion in college, and loves Jesus with her entire life. And let me tell you this: THERE IS NOTHING SWEETER.
I'm not saying you go to church to make me (or anybody else) happy. I'm saying that when you love Jesus enough to be active in church, we who poured into you are truly blessed.
#6 You need the Word
"My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips," (Isaiah 59:21)
You need to hear God's Word preached and taught by different people and in different situations frequently. A new congregation, new preacher, and new environment will continue to develop the faith that started in your home church.
#7 You need to be Holy
"Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all that you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy,'" (1 Peter 1:13-16)
College is PIVOTAL in determining your course for life. And no matter what anyone else tells you, Christ calls you to live a holy life. In every stage. Not a "typical" life, even in college. (I'm so sick of hearing people say, "We all do things we regret in college." NOT TRUE!) You need a church to hold you accountable, to speak the truth to you, and to keep your focus on Jesus alone.
Your church won't be perfect. They won't meet all your needs. But you were made for a church and a church was made for you.
And, the next time you're home, I'd love to hear about the church you found in college.
Love!
Leslie
Oh, and STOP THE PRESSES! Ms. Leslie is on Twitter! So favorite this post! Or even better, tweet me! (Or whatever you call it.)
(Don't worry; I'm not becoming technologically cool. I still have a dumb phone.)
@leslienotebook
Or, for you stone-agers like me out there, you can get this by email by signing up in the top right corner.
Or email me personally at myleslienotebook@gmail.com
1) It's TRUTH.
2) I wasn't active in church when I was in college. I went to church in college, but I wasn't active; I'd go with my parents if I was home, or to a church close to campus if I wasn't. I wasn't "plugged in." And, looking back, I see there is a giant hole in my spiritual development that I so regret.
So learn from my mistake. (I have many mistakes. This is just one of them.)
And before I get to the actual reasons, I need to make two definitions:
[Note: these are MY definitions; you won't find them anywhere official :) ]
ACTIVE: Regularly, (preferably weekly or more) attendance, finding yourself interacting with a familiar group of people in all different stages of life. [Personal note: sliding into the back of a worship service, shaking 3 hands during the welcome, and going home after the last "Amen" does not count. That's what I did. That's not 'active'!]
CHURCH: A body of believers that don't all go to your college. I love college ministry organizations, and I think you should find one to call your own. But that's not church. You'll see why below. A church is not the building, but people who love and follow Christ getting together. If you look up the word "church" every time it appears in Acts (a great idea for a Bible Study, hint, hint), you'll see them making decisions, leading believers, sending missionaries, and taking care of one another. Even though they were persecuted. Even just a few years after the death of Christ. The church was and is the household of God (1 Timothy 3:15). When you accept Jesus as your Lord and God as your Father, you become part of that family. You need to hang out with your family!
#1 It's a Habit.
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another..." (Hebrews 10:25)
You have good habits: brushing your teeth, exercising, praying, etc. And when you get away from your habits, it's easy to stay away from them. Being a Christian involves disciplines (praying, fasting, worship, etc.) that help you progress in your faith, getting more and more mature and closer to Christ. You are an adult. It's time to act like a grown-up Christian, meaning you CHOOSE to do things that Christ did and expects His followers to do. (What are some of those things? Great question! I have a 12-part series that covers those very things below!)
#2 This is where you find women of another generation to pour into you.
"the older women...can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, to be subject to their husbands..." (Titus 2:3-5)
As much as it hurts me to say this, church is where you find someone to replace me. I was in your life and in your business every week for years; hopefully you'll always consider me someone you can reach out to for love and guidance and support. But I am likely not your only lifelong mentor! Currently, I have a solid 4 women I count as mentors and heroes of the faith that I talk to regularly. I couldn't do it without them. You'll find those women in church. And they will show you what your life will look like in the future. That seems a little overwhelming, but you'll learn how to be an adult, a mom, a wife, a leader, a friend, and more from women that are older than you. I hope you've started learning those things from your mom or another woman in your pre-college life. Don't stop learning. Get in their lives, in their homes, and let them teach you by their example so that you'll be wiser when you find yourselves in their shoes.
#3 You need a church body to love you.
"Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother," (Mark 3:35)
Your family means the world to you. But as you make your way out of your parents' home, you'll also find that sometimes there are friends that are closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Though I have an amazing immediate and extended family whom I love dearly, family is not always who I need in trying, exciting, or stressful times. God has blessed me with amazing friends who love me and help me like no one in my family can. And you want this new family to come from a group of people who LOVE JESUS and want to help you love Him, too. As an added benefit, having a family-at-college will make college feel more like home :)
As you grow closer to your church family, they will even "chase after you" even through "awkwardness, pain, or grievous sin," holding you to the standard of holiness you were called to live that is not often something your college friends will do. (Thanks to Tim Call for the quoted parts.)
#4 You need a body that you can love and serve.
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it," (1 Corinthians 12:27)
College is very me-focused. You're focused on your education, your projects, your papers, labs, classes, and GPA. But Christ didn't make us to put ourselves first. We're to put Him first, loving Him as we love others. And while you'll spend tons of time on yourself (your mind and your future) in college, you're still called to love and serve others in Jesus' name. A church body will provide you with training to know how, a group of people to love and serve (hello, preschool Sunday School!), and other Christians around you to support you. A church body will keep you reminded that THERE IS MORE TO THIS WORLD than your campus and your very temporary college life. (See Colossians 3:1-4).
#5 We are blessed
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth," (3 John 4)
I've had dozens, maybe hundreds, of kids in my life over the past 10 years of teaching Youth Sunday School. It's a tough calling. I pour my heart and soul into you week after week, praying that at least some of it sticks and crying out to God for you to believe Him. I honestly don't know what happens to most of the kids after they graduate from high school. I know some of them leave behind all I taught, all I believe, all I stand for and it breaks my heart. But every now and then, I get a girl who heard me in high school, deepens that passion in college, and loves Jesus with her entire life. And let me tell you this: THERE IS NOTHING SWEETER.
I'm not saying you go to church to make me (or anybody else) happy. I'm saying that when you love Jesus enough to be active in church, we who poured into you are truly blessed.
#6 You need the Word
"My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips," (Isaiah 59:21)
You need to hear God's Word preached and taught by different people and in different situations frequently. A new congregation, new preacher, and new environment will continue to develop the faith that started in your home church.
#7 You need to be Holy
"Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all that you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy,'" (1 Peter 1:13-16)
College is PIVOTAL in determining your course for life. And no matter what anyone else tells you, Christ calls you to live a holy life. In every stage. Not a "typical" life, even in college. (I'm so sick of hearing people say, "We all do things we regret in college." NOT TRUE!) You need a church to hold you accountable, to speak the truth to you, and to keep your focus on Jesus alone.
Your church won't be perfect. They won't meet all your needs. But you were made for a church and a church was made for you.
And, the next time you're home, I'd love to hear about the church you found in college.
Love!
Leslie
Oh, and STOP THE PRESSES! Ms. Leslie is on Twitter! So favorite this post! Or even better, tweet me! (Or whatever you call it.)
(Don't worry; I'm not becoming technologically cool. I still have a dumb phone.)
@leslienotebook
Or, for you stone-agers like me out there, you can get this by email by signing up in the top right corner.
Or email me personally at myleslienotebook@gmail.com
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