Though the story unfolds differently for each college student, these six spiritual needs seem to show up consistently.
By Kim Abernethy
She sat across the table from me, expectant and sober. Though she had been coming to our weekly Bible study for months, she had purposely kept to herself.
In a blink, as it often happens, her life shifted, and she knew she needed someone to help her figure it all out. She reached out to the only ones she knew on campus that she felt could guide her.
That’s how campus ministry works. As missionaries to college students, my husband and I show up to events over and over, proclaim God’s truth again and again, make the effort to love the students consistently, and pray unceasingly for them.
And then we wait.
We wait for the work of the Holy Spirit in a student’s heart and the eventual cry for help. That’s what happened with Patricia.
In the following weeks as I met with her, I began to see her spiritually panoramic needs. While she initially felt she just wanted someone to help her hear the voice of God, it was soon evident there was much more missing in her life.
Though the story unfolds differently for each student who seeks Christ during his or her college years, these six needs seem to show up consistently among those to whom we minister during what can be spiritually formative years.
A Transformation From the Inside Out
Initially, Patricia asked for help in hearing the voice of God in her life. As I began a Bible study with her, it became evident she’d never accepted Christ as her Savior.
She had never experienced the deep, abiding transformation of the heart that comes from handing it all over to a faithful God who sent His Son to redeem us.
First things first: It’s vital that college students understand spiritual transformation is possible only through Jesus Christ. When our souls are at peace and in tune with our Creator God, we can find purpose, passion, and joy.
It’s a heady thing for these younger generations because many of them have grown up believing that nothing is really as it seems.
Why would Jesus be any different? This is a powerful question that must be addressed in word and in deed. In love and in truth.
Acceptance of God’s Unconditional Love
Performance is one of the main ways people gain attention and love in our culture.
This couldn’t be more evident than on YouTube, where people post videos of themselves on their channels in an effort to gain the attention of the world. The pressure to “one-up” is unmistakable.
[epq-quote align=”align-right”]When we tell college students God loves them for who they really are—that He can’t be fooled by who they pretend to be—it’s rather hard for them to believe.[/epq-quote]When we tell college students God loves them for who they really are—that He can’t be fooled by who they pretend to be—it’s rather hard for them to believe.Our society has desensitized us to genuineness. It seems too broken. Too dull. Too underwhelming. It’s not sensational enough.
But grasping the truth of God’s unconditional love is vital to our identity at any age.
Trusting the Bible as a Steady Compass for Living
With the easy access of search engines on our mobile devices and computers, information can be consumed within seconds.
TED talks, YouTube heroes, and societal influencers of all persuasions compete for the time and minds of college students. One person says one thing and another group contradicts.
Truth has become foggy and elusive to these younger generations. Teaching the ultimate trustworthiness of the Bible is one of the greatest gifts we can give a college student.
But in their world, seeing is believing. We can’t dare talk what we don’t walk.
Seeing the Gospel of Jesus Christ Lived Out in the Lives of Others
By the time a college student enters academia, they have most likely been lied to, deceived, betrayed, and conned several times—often by people close to them.
These young people often don’t know who to trust. Having been campus ministers for 16 years, we’ve watched the skepticism and mocking of Christianity come front and center on the college campus.
Students have seen so many different faces of Christianity via social media and in their personal lives, they hardly want to look our way. It has become difficult to capture the attention of students with the promise of an abundant life through Jesus Christ. It has become an affront to them.
We must take this seriously, or we will begin to lose complete generations to the clutches of the Deceiver.
Learning Basic Bible Doctrine
For various reasons, many millennials and Gen Z’s—even those who grew up in the church—are biblically illiterate.
While we might come across a few students who know minute details of well-known Bible stories, most college students know little to nothing of the ancient stories given to us for “teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
It’s hard to expect college students to have a biblical worldview when they have never been exposed to the life-giving truths of salvation, redeeming love, virgin birth, Deity of Christ, eternal life, and other important doctrines.
It’s through the time-tested effort of discipleship this happens most effectively.
Being Accountable to Another Christ Follower
College is a time of challenge and change, of soaring and struggling, of friendships and follies.
Accountability can make a significant difference in the spiritual and personal growth of a college student. It’s most effectively lived out with someone of the same gender who has merit, strong moral values, and a passionate desire for God and His Word.
But it will take time to build the trust needed for a college student to be spiritually vulnerable with another person. It will also take patience, lack of judgment, and consistent love on the part of the accountability partner.
A college student needs to feel safe: safe with us and safe with Jesus. In a world where safety is as fleeting as life itself, a sense of security is crucial to the spiritual development of someone in this early stage of life.
Patricia became a Christian after seeing her need and Christ’s provision. She accepted God’s unconditional love for her, and she knows the Bible is her true compass in life.
And thankfully, she has seen the gospel lived out by other Christian students in our Bible study group.
However, becoming biblically literate takes some discipleship and delving into the Word of God. We haven’t gotten there yet. When I ask her to meet for further study, she lets other things get in the way.
But such is the way of working with a college student. We rejoice at their victories and love them through their need and lack. And all the while, we realize the Holy Spirit is at work in their lives as He is in ours.
Kim Abernethy
Kim along with her husband, Jeff, have been campus missionaries at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte (UNCC) for 16 years. Prior to their ministry at UNCC, they spent several years as missionaries in West Africa and Jamaica.