Your parents raised to you to lean on your faith and give God your all, but nothing they taught you could’ve prepared you for college. Being a college student gives you a level of freedom and independence you’ve never experienced, and there’s so much you have to pick up on the fly.
College life is like an avalanche of choices and new experiences. Not to mention you have academics to attend to, new friends to keep and new trends to keep up with, and by the way, laundry to do. All of those distractions—while not all bad—make it harder to keep your faith, which is the thing that’s most worth keeping. Continue reading to learn how to make time for faith in your hectic college schedule.
Find a Church or Campus Group
One of the exciting things about going to college is that you get the chance to explore yourself spiritually. You get to try out different churches and places of worship.
As you do, you’ll see different styles of services and even various interpretations of the bible. Some of them will use NIV, The Message, or NRSV Bibles instead of the King James Version. Don’t judge the differences but talk to the pastor or leader and ask them to help you understand their culture. If you still have questions, then talk to your parents or pastor about them.
You may find that you feel more at home in a different ministry on or around the campus, and that’s great as well. Don’t feel guilty about finding a place of worship away from home that fulfills your spiritual needs. Part of leaving the nest is growing into who you are on a spiritual level.
Make the Right Friends
One thing that doesn’t really change much as you age is the desire to spend time with your friends. The best way to make sure that you carve out significant time to strengthen for your faith is to make friends who are also serious about their faith. Remember: “Iron sharpens iron.” Being surrounded by other young Christians means you’ll have a positive influence on each other.
It’s always best to have someone who’s been there before to help you avoid common mistakes and see trials coming before they arrive. Look for an upperclassman who’s willing to take you under their wing. Their experience in balancing faith and college life will be valuable to you.
Make the Bible Part of Your Study Time
The old rule of thumb is that for every one hour you spend in the classroom you should spend two hours studying. If you do what professors have been saying works for ages, then you’ll be doing a lot of studying. Make the most of this by making your bible a part of your study time.
You need to develop a reading plan that will motivate you to stay on track with your bible study and give you a reading guideline to follow. It doesn’t take much—15-20 minutes of time in your bible before cracking open your textbook will make a world of difference.
Make Your Faith a Part of Your Career
One of the best ways to make time for your faith as a college student is to make faith a part of your career plans. A lot of Christian college students use their online psychology degree to become drug, marriage, and family counselors and provide services for their church. No matter what profession you go into, you can use it to strengthen your faith and use your faith to make you better in your career. When your faith and your career are important to you, they won’t collide—they’ll sync.
