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Life's Problems

Being a Christian Student at College or University

Being away from home and church for the first time in your life can be both exciting and difficult for your faith.

As a Christian you will understand the concept of being born again and starting a new life. Becoming a student includes many pararrels to being born again. You get another chance to create your life. Only this time people do not know you. They do not know your past. They do not know your normal behaviour. You can create a new persona.

What you choose to do is up to you, your conscience, and between you and God.

Here are some suggestions regarding your behaviour and the decisions you can make.

The core of what we believe is:.

Christianity is believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

Christianity is believing that Jesus Christ was both God and also a perfect human being.

Christianity is believing that the life that Jesus lived was without any sin (or flaw). He did nothing wrong. His life was as good and perfect as our lives should be.
Jesus allowed himself to be put to death as a sacrifice (or substitution) for the things we do wrong.

Christianity can also be used to describe the type of life a Christian should life, the beliefs they hold and the way they behave.

Freshers Week - find other Christians. Some will be members of organised Christian groups.

Church - find a suitable church. Try several over the first term. They do not have to be the same denomination as your previous church. Find a church which welcomes students and understands that your attendance can be erratic as you will have many other things competing for your leisure time - including college work. A good church will have worship music you can enjoy, sound teaching to help you grow and if you are lucky church families who will offer you a good meal on a Sunday.

Drinking, drugs and sex - its very easy to get involved in behaviour that you would not have done back at home. The only person who can tell you what to do now - IS YOU! You will probably find that most students will enjoy a drink, including Christians. The important thing for your peace of mind (and personal safety) is not to get so drunk that you do not know what you are doing or would be embarrassed by your own behaviour if you were sober.

Drugs - the same guidance applies as to drink but there is enough evidence to show that trying so called soft drugs does lead on to harder drugs. More importantly your circle of friends will change. You will have less Christian friends. Not that they will drop you but you will no longer feel comfortable in their company and will choose to avoid them. Also consider the reasons you went to college - to study and gain a good qualification. Evidence shows that people who regularly do drugs do not achieve their true potential and many will drop out without completing their qualification.

Sex - ideally Christians will remain virgins until they marry BUT lets be real about life in the 21st C. Your choice of partner is influenced by many things -

your circle of friends - if you have more non Christian friends than Christians then the chances are very much higher that your first sexual partner will be a non Christian. Remember when the Bible talks about not being unequally yoked with unbelievers. Simply put this means you are setting up potential problems for the future. Lets assume that the person you decide to have sex with is someone that you truly love. That implies that you want to spend the rest of your life with them. You cannot see any future problems as you get on very well together. You think alike. You agree on so many things. Your politics are similar. Your expectations of life are the same. I know you will not be thinking about children just yet but at some time you will probably want to have children together and it will not be the end of the world if you become pregnant. But and it is a very big BUT have you discussed your faith and beliefs. One of the biggest reasons that relationships break down is when parents cannot agree on how to bring up the children. They cannot agree on the correct form of discipline. They cannot agree to go to church or only one parent goes causing conflict in the mind of the child. You need to discuss these issues BEFORE you have sex and yes I do know people who have become pregnant the first time they had sex and through heavy petting.

Health issues - probably for the first time in your life you are responsible for your medical and mental health. Do register with a local doctor and make use of them - they get paid to treat you.

Sexual health - make sure you know about contraception BEFORE you need it. Girls get some condoms -you don't have to use them. As mentioned before its better to abstain but that is not always easy.

Mental Health - it is estimated that at least 1 in 10 people will suffer a mental health issue at some time of their life. When does it start? What causes it? Stress can sometimes be a cause and while at college you will be stressed as you study and prepare for exams. Do make sure that you do not suffer excess depression or stress by seeking help at an early stage. If there is nothing wrong the nurse or doctor will tell you which will put your mind at ease. See the section Life's Problems for organisations and information which can help.

So some general guides:

Choose your friends carefully -will they be good for you?

Choose where and how you spend your spare time.

Find a church which suits your personality. If you are a quiet person you can find churches which match your personality they will often be the ones that students give a miss but will be equally caring and considerate as the bigger churches.

Above all if you do get into trouble - in body, mind or spirit SHOUT for help - see the college chaplain, Christian union leaders, your home church minister or a minister in your college town - all will treat everything you say in confidence.

If you need help and cannot find it locally please email us and we will try to find you a local (UK and some USA) contact.