College Prep

Near the conclusion of the book of 1st Thessalonians, the apostle Paul gives an admonition for believers to recognize the hand of God upon their lives. Paul writes:
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

In order to "hold fast" to what is good, we have to know and embrace what is good.  That comes from a knowledge of God and from His Word.  We have to be fortified by the Holy Spirit so that we can do what is good and reject evil.  We realize that He is with us, working spiritual growth within us.  He is totally faithful and we can trust Him with our lives, knowing that we can rely on Him to do what is best for us for His glory.

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In Philippians 2, Paul encourages us to rely on God throughout the challenges we face, recognizing He is with us and He has a work that He desires to do:
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

The season in-between a high school senior's graduation and his or her beginning school as a college freshman is a time of preparation and anticipation. You'll have those events leading up to the first day of classes, such as student orientation in the summer, and those hectic and exciting move-in days.  

But, what if there were a spiritual orientation, if you will, that can help prepare a Christian student for what he or she may face during the school year.  A series of articles at The Alabama Baptist website recently reported on one such opportunity - for students at Auburn University. 

According to one of the articles, building on his own experience as a freshman at Auburn and his need for Christian connection, when he became a college pastor at a local church, Trace Hamiter began a retreat for incoming freshman. It was called The Oaks Retreat and the ministry he launched was called All Things Ministries.  The Alabama Baptist describes what occurs:

Two weeks before classes start, freshmen gather to hear the gospel from local pastors, meet like-minded students and peers and get involved in various ministries by attending a ministry fair. Between sessions, freshmen are divided into small groups with student counselors where they hear others’ testimonies and have group discussions. In addition, freshmen enjoy free time and a party that may include tailgating or music.

While about 120 students attended the first two years of the Oaks Retreat, Hamiter said the “third year just really blew up.” As a result, Hamiter created the nonprofit All Things Ministries, which is based on 1 Corinthians 9:20–23.

“We thought we were going to be doing just a lot of different types of ministries in the Auburn area, reaching all kinds of demographics,” Hamiter recalled. “But the Lord had other plans.”

Hamiter devoted himself full-time to the ministry, and it began to expand.  A retreat was launched for Troy students, then the University of Alabama.  Now, there are retreats serving nine different campuses, and in the past year, over 1600 students attended.   Through the ministry website, you can see the various schools served and the retreats have a specific name that contains meaning for those schools, such as the Chimes Retreat at Alabama and the Grove Retreat at Ole Miss.

The retreats are described as "student-led," with partnerships with local churches and ministries. The Alabama Baptist article notes:

Instead of freshmen walking into a new environment and making decisions they normally wouldn’t due to feeling alone or scared, they realize they have Christ-minded community around them.

“Now, when [freshmen] get to campus, they’ve learned from upperclassmen that are living for Jesus, and they realize that you really can live for Christ in college,” Hamiter said.

The second Alabama Baptist article spotlighted the Oaks experience of a freshman named Hudson Hall. It relates:

During the student-led retreat, freshmen are assigned to a counselor for small group discussions.

Hall was assigned to 22-year-old counselor Ethan Jones, who had attended the retreat himself as a freshman and decided to be a counselor his sophomore, junior and senior years — and even following graduation.

After Jones realized “the value of discipleship and the importance of getting someone who’s more mature spiritually and older than you to help you follow Jesus,” he decided to pay it forward to others.

For Hall, Jones has been much more than a short-term counselor. He’s an answer to prayer.

“I had been praying for the past six months that the Lord would bring someone in my life to disciple me,” Hall said.

Now, the two friends meet biweekly for discipleship.

Hall says, “I’ve had the chance to really grow spiritually...," and adds, "For me...the Oaks Retreat was really a turning point in the way that [I see] Jesus’ grace and conquering sin.”

College can be such a defining time in a person's life and can really contribute to a teenager owning his or her faith - really being able to live it out in a new environment is really critical.  

Let's talk about that new environment, shall we?  We will encounter those from time to time.  We have to make sure that we are spiritually and mentally prepared to face what God has ordained for us for that season for our lives.  We do that through recognizing the challenges and relying on the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us through.  He is with us, and He desires for us to fulfill the calling that He has placed on us.