“There is something different about my child after returning home from college. They are noncommittal about their faith and acknowledge that they don’t know what or if they believe anymore.”
It doesn’t take long for a new college student to experience an abundance clashing worldviews that they never knew existed! Hundreds of campuses around the nation are filled with aggressive agendas designed to destroy a student’s faith in God, their country and the value of human life. What most students do not know is that there is a war waged on them for their heart, mind, and souls. This war is real and is a war that most of our children are not equipped to fight. Unless they have a firm foundation of faith that can withstand attacks, their faith will take severe hits, with the majority of students losing their faith in God (70-90%) and themselves by the time they graduate from college.
In 1990, according to survey data by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, 42% of professors identified as “liberal” or “far-left.” By 2014, that number had jumped to 60%.
What can we do to help our kids not only survive but thrive on any college campus? Let me assure you that there is much that you can do! The first being to pray and ask God to give you the wisdom to speak into your student. Today, the average Christian has a very weak foundation of faith. Only 2% of us can give others the reason why we believe that Christianity is true and only 9% of us are living out our faith. It is for this reason that our kids are defenseless when it comes to keeping others from intimidating them out of their faith. This lack of confidence is not their fault; they simply were not taught.
Barna’s latest study, May 9, 2017, Competing Worldview Influence Today’s Christians, write that 28% of practicing Christians strongly agree that “all people pray to the same god or spirit, no matter what name they use for that spiritual being. 27% believe that “meaning and purpose come from becoming one with all that is.” This “Oneness” belief is not Christian but is Pantheism whose roots go deep into Hinduism. Another 32% of “Christians” believe if you do good then good will come to you and vice versa, this is Karma which is not Christian but Hinduism.
In countering these perversions of the faith, it is critical for you and your children to understand who the God of the Christian faith is. The text for the Christian is the Bible. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created…” The Hebrew meaning for God used in this verse in Elohim which is Masculine Singular but plural in definition. In Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image.” God is letting us know that He is the Triune God meaning one being, three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Three separate persons who are co-equal. No other religion besides Christianity believes in the Trinity. The word one does not suggest that the Father and the Son are identical persons, rather it means they are one in essence: the Father is God, and the Son is God, but the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father.
The importance of understanding the Trinity cannot be overstated. If people understand this foundational truth of the Christian faith, they will know that Jesus is God and the only way to God the Father is through God the Son. Studying this will help you know for sure who your God is, and will keep you from ever falling into false religions and worldviews counter to the Christian faith. It will also put you in a position to minister to those who are confused as to who is the one true God!
Things you can do to build up your student’s faith during the summer and have a ball in the meantime.
1. God to hicot32.sg-host.com/unanswered and order an Unanswered bundle today. Type in “anchors” in the discount code at checkout. It is a small group adult Bible study that covers these topics and much more. It is easy to use and comes with amazing original videos that will help your understanding of the material. If you do this, your child will be prepared to defend his/her faith as well as encourage others along the way.
2. Check out this 6-minute video on understanding your position in God!
3. Go to hicot32.sg-host.com and download a comparison chart of other religions and cults.
4. Go to vimeo.com to watch an hour Anchorsaway lesson on the Trinity.
5. Check out a Christian music festival or concert in your area.
I am thankful for all of you who are faithful to our ministry. Because of your prayers, offers to help out in our office and your financial support, we can continue reaching hundreds of students every year. Please keep praying and giving to us in any way you can. You are making a huge difference in our ministry. Every dollar we raise makes a difference. Please join us in this effort. Click here to donate.
Please continue to pray for us. We have much to do in continuing to build partnerships with those ministries and churches that God is bringing to us. It is an exciting time for us. I believe that when Christian ministries and churches come together and share with one another, God will bless the Church and those who will grow in an authentic relationship with Jesus.
“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil…” Hebrews 6:19
Thank you so much.
Blessings and much love!