Before They Leave for College
University is Warfare
The college campus is no friend to Christians. The world is no companion to Christians. And your children are heading off into a barren land of spiritual warfare and worldview clashes.
According to Peter we are all “sojourners and exiles” in the world as we travel our way to Promised Land (1 Peter 2:11, ESV). There is no safe passage; through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).
Are your children spiritually prepared to leave the fold of the home and enter into battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil? Your children have a good chance of graduating with honors, but they have a 100% chance of standing before God on judgment day.
Do you value their eternal future more than their material future?
Parents, before you children leave for college, help them endure on the battlefield of spiritual warfare.
Help Them Find an Outpost
They need a local church, plain and simple. The church is essential for the Christian life and is not optional for their spiritual survival. The local church is a spiritual outpost in a hostile world.
Here, they find refuge for their weary souls, strength to press onward to Christ, commands to cast away sin, good news of forgiveness, and a community committed to their good and God’s glory.
Before they leave, explore churches with your children. Either online through the church website or visit with them in person.
I recommend the following sites for finding healthy churches: 9Marks Church Finder, the Master’s Seminary Search, and the Gospel Coalition’s site as well.
Help Them Find a Band of Brothers
Jesus commanded that His disciples walk the streets in teams of two (cf. Luke 10:1). Christians need a band of brothers in the trenches.
There are no lone wolves in the Christian life. Satan prowls around like a roaring lion picking off the straying sheep (1 Peter 5:8).
Therefore, encourage and find on-campus college ministries for your son or daughter to plug into. Like the search for a healthy church, do your homework. Ideally, one that is already affiliated with their local church.
Just to clarify: campus ministries cannot and must not replace the role and authority of a local church.
On campus ministries are not churches, but serve as an extension of a church. They serve as a foxhole in the midst of battle.
Campus ministries were tremendously helpful for me in my Christian life. I was discipled by a faithful pastor who not only lead the ministry but pastored the church that supported it and I met many good brothers and formed lasting friendships.
These help to form immediate friendships on campus as well as foster time for Bible study and accountability.
Help Them Sharpen Their Sword
The Bible is the sword of the Spirit to destroy and dismantle faulty worldviews (Ephesians 6:18; cf. 2 Corinthians 10:5).
Do they know their Word? Is Christ their treasure? Are they spiritually weak? Encourage them and help them sight in before battle. Arm them with truth from the Scriptures. Sharpen them spiritually with rich means of growth.
Send them off with a MacArthur Study Bible or an ESV Study Bible if they don’t already have one. Equip them with rich books of enduring truth from writers such as John Piper, R.C. Sproul, Kevin DeYoung, J.I. Packer and Charles Spurgeon.
We would never forsake our children in warfare, may we never forsake them in their spiritual warfare. Fit them as arrows to be fired into the enemy’s outpost.
Arm them to charge the enemy and not to cower; strengthen their resolve and encourage their steadfastness.
Pray for them as they venture into battle knowing that their Father watches over them and their mighty, conquering Christ stands beside them in battle (Matthew 28:20).
Remind them that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and not in their professors (Colossians 2:3, 8). Teach them to fear the Lord and all shall be well (Proverbs 1:7, 14:27). Charge them to flee from all forms of sexual immorality, including pornography (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5).
Rest in God’s sovereign care of your children. If God is your child’s Father, remember that He loves them more and better than you do.
